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Discussions on this topic have not subsided on profile sites for the past 10 years. At the beginning of "internetization" most specialists were full of optimism. Remote consultations, both medical and psychological, were prophesied to have a brilliant future. Then the optimism subsided - it turned out that some things slip away when working as a psychologist online. The therapeutic process lasts longer than during face-to-face visits. The contact between the psychologist and the client is more complicated.
However, fortunately, the existing demand did not allow this trend to die completely. Many of our compatriots live abroad, often in countries where a Russian-speaking psychologist is even more exotic than a Russian-speaking doctor. Even in Russia, there are many remote places where the level of psychological assistance is still insufficient. Even specialists who received education in the capital's universities more often stay to work where they studied than return to their families.
What have we learned about psychological online consultations over the years?
First of all, in order for the work to be successful, the psychologist must have experience in remote work. They will continue to develop techniques and methods, read about foreign experience of this kind of consulting. Yes, the methods are somewhat different, but they exist. Yes, the therapy time increases. But not so much as to make the project of remote work with a psychologist hopeless for the client.
A little specifics. With face-to-face meetings, one diagnostic meeting is often enough. When working remotely, in order to get the same amount of information, you need two or three conversations. When visiting a psychologist's office, the session usually lasts 50 minutes. A remote consultation cannot be shorter than an hour and a half, as any experienced person will say Skype psychologist gives an excellent opportunity to enter into contact remotely, but requires more time to achieve psychological comfort. The process of "rolling out", "immersing in the material" takes significantly more time than during a face-to-face conversation. It takes about twice as much time to clarify symptoms.
How much should online psychologist help cost?
Fortunately, Skype and other means of communication over the Internet make the conversations themselves in most cases free for both parties. Sometimes the psychologist calls the client's phone from Skype and includes it in the bill. But in any case, the amount is small and does not affect the total cost of psychotherapy.
If we talk about the cost of an online psychologist's work based on the content, then today there is a fairly fair practice when an online consultation is cheaper than a regular appointment. For most specialists, it is approximately two thirds of the usual price of an in-person appointment. Thus, the total cost of therapy for the client does not increase. That seems quite fair.
Problems of psychological counseling online.
Let's assume by default that the psychologist has the necessary set of skills and experience of online work. In this case, the first difficulty is the organization of sessions. Yes, the Internet is available, and if necessary, you can read your favorite site or play an online game from multiple places. But calmly talking about important things for us will be possible only from a very limited number of "points". Psychologists, as a rule, are better equipped in this regard than clients. If a psychologist consults in a private office, he already has almost everything he needs. In this regard, the client is in a much more difficult situation. Sometimes there is an opportunity to consult while staying at work. Sometimes such an opportunity is available from home. And as a backup option - by phone when the psychologist calls the client.
The second difficulty that distinguishes face-to-face work from remote work is the formation of trust and contact. Remote conversation leaves us with a huge amount of information that we receive non-verbally. Clothing, manner of moving, facial expressions, the very environment of the psychologist's office contributes to establishing contact. Or vice versa - rejection of this person as a possible consultant. In any case, the assessment is quick. In order to understand whether this specialist is right for you, it will take more time when working remotely.
Even for a psychologist, the job of defining "his case" becomes more difficult. In my opinion, to make a final decision about remote counseling, at least two sessions are necessary.
The results
If all the conditions are met, then the results of remote psychotherapy are no different from the results of full-time work. Moreover, some clients say that it was easier for them to open up remotely than if they had talked to a psychologist face to face.
And if even ten years ago I was very wary of consulting a psychologist online, now I confidently recommend it to those who do not have the opportunity to visit a psychologist face-to-face.
