Having worked extensively in-person and online, I decided to continue to offer both as each have benefits and suit different clients.

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Some people like having a therapist's office to go to, whether that's for a separate space to talk about the hard things, or because there isn't enough privacy at home. Others just prefer that face-to-face interaction, need a break from looking at a screen, or aren't used to using Zoom for conversations. It was an adjustment for me too initially during the pandemic. There's something about sitting in the same space with someone that can feel more comforting and comfortable and make the transition to talking about issues easier.

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There are also real benefits to having counselling online - my clients are often busy people and would find it hard to regularly sacrifice a couple of hours to travel to sessions, find parking, have counselling, and then commute somewhere else. Working online has almost eradicated the issue of sessions cut short for traffic or public transport hassles!

 

There are also no risk of clients running into people they know in the waiting room if they wouldn't want that, and more flexibility - I've had clients dial in from their cars or a spare office on their lunch break, from empty rooms at uni, and from holiday or overseas locations. New mums can have a session while their baby naps in the next room, and people can call in from their couch or bed if they've gotten a cold but still have the energy to talk. I've also had to cancel or reschedule sessions minimally from my end for sickness since working online also.

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Most importantly, I was concerned that I would miss signs of how a client was feeling over video, but I've found that my sensitivity to people's energy, language and facial expressions hasn't changed and I can pick up these signals equally well online.