Is Online Therapy helpful?

Online! A six letter word which we have been hearing every day and night and also have been experiencing everything online for almost last two years because of the ongoing pandemic. And although at the start of the online era, as I prefer to say it, all of it felt very exciting and nice as it gave us all a chance to stay at home, spend time with our families and rest as well but as time passed by doing everything online became a sad task for us, as it restricts us from meeting our friends and colleagues, having any friendly conversations and outings and also a lot learning has become limited because of it.

Not only that but because of the pandemic we are not only ordering food line, study online, working online but also watching concerts online and getting treated online.

And one of the biggest thing that has happened if not to all of us, but to many of us is that we are getting affected and suffering from many mental health diseases because of this pandemic and getting confined to our homes, as it limits our conversation with others, our exposure to the outside world and so on. And when one is suffering from any kind of mental health disease, they have to take online counselling or resort to online therapy because of the ongoing and seems like never ending pandemic. 

And because this is a serious issue that we talking about as our mental health is one of the most important things that we can cherish, we also have to look into the fact that whether Online Therapy is helpful or not? But like every other thing in this world, even Online Therapy has some pros and cons and only after looking at those pros and cons can we come to conclusion whether Online Therapy is helpful or not. But before any of that let’s have a quick look at what is Online Therapy?

What is Online Therapy?

Online therapy alludes to psychotherapy or counselling services regulated over the internet. In divergence to in-person therapy, online therapy let’s one to connect with a licensed therapist or counsellor using any device that has an internet connection, such as a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Other terms that are frequently used reciprocally with online therapy are tele - therapy or e-therapy.

 

Now that we know about what Online Therapy is, let’s have a look What are the pros and cons of Online Therapy, in order to reach the conclusion of whether Online Therapy is effective or not.

 

Pros of Online Therapy:

• Best option for people leaving in remote areas – Travelling has always been a hassle for those living far away from the main city or living in the remote villages or in sub - urban areas away from the town and Online Therapy for such people comes as a blessing, as they can have an access to all the medical facilities from the comfort of their homes.  And with the advent of the internet all of this has become easier and accessible for people staying in remote areas.

• Easy access for people with physical limitations – Online Therapy proves to be a boon for people with physical limitations, like when they are handicapped or are suffering from any kind of health problems which restricts them from a lot of movements. And Online Therapy helps such people and get treated from the comfort of their homes.

• Convenience and Affordability – Online Therapy is convenient as anyone can have access to it without wasting much time and resources, thus also making it affordable as one doesn’t need to spend a lot of money in order to get the therapy by sitting comfortably at their homes. Thus even a financially not so stable person can also have access to it and get their treatments without much hassle. 

 

Now that we know about the pros of Online Therapy, let’s have a quick look at the cons of Online Therapy.

Cons of Online Therapy:

• Insurance Companies may or may not cover it – With the advent of the technology and also economics, people have started investing in insurance bonds as that pays their medicals fees at the times of need and one doesn’t need to worry about paying hefty amounts suddenly when a severe health issue occurs. But these insurances have some conditions applied to them and one won’t be paid until and unless they fulfil all those conditions and Online Therapies for mental health may not fit into those conditions thus leading to no payment from them. But then again many insurance companies may include them so it depends on what is yours.

• Not appropriate for in – person or direct treatment – Some treatments need to be done treated directly and in person, and doing online therapy can be a dis – advantage at situations like these.

• Lack of response at crisis situations – The problem arises when there is an emergency situation and the patient needs immediate treatment, and at times like these it becomes really difficult for the patient and the doctor to understand each other and give them proper treatment. And with personal experience I also vouch for the fact that when at times of emergency Online Therapy can really prove as a failure.

• Issues with privacy and confidentiality of the patient’s information – As we all know that patients information are always kept private and not shared with anyone without their consent but when it comes to technology there are no such promises even after the doctor or therapist tries their best to keep it confidential and this happens because with the help of technology one can not only hack computers for data, but also the information is easily accessible to anyone with just one click of a finger.

 

Thus now, after looking at both the pros and cons of Online Therapy in detail we can come to the conclusion that for some it may be beneficial and thus prove to be helpful, whereas for some it may not be helpful as they have faced problems even after having an easy access to the medical help that Online Therapy. So we can’t really give you people one single answer, whether Yes! Online Therapy is helpful or No! Online Therapy is not helpful. You all can decide it for your own self whether it was helpful to you or not.

Like if someone will ask me, whether Online Therapy is helpful or not? At first I might give a negative reply as to no it wasn’t because a relative of mine had to go through a lot of hassle in order to get treated for their severe and emergency health condition, but at the same time on second thoughts I might give you all a positive response stating that, yes Online Therapy was helpful because of the incident where my friend who was suffering from depression could continue with her therapy sessions with her psychiatrist even after being locked up for months at home and no access to the outside world.

Thus, in short it is only you who can decide whether Online Therapy proved to be helpful and a boon to you or not, and that is why don’t just listen to us but see it for yourself. 

 

Ref: The Pros and Cons of Online Therapy (verywellmind.com)