Originally, I thought these certificates were intended to provide evidence of the individual’s expertise, and that’s what most patients/clients believe. I was wrong. It provided nothing more than an indication that they had paid for that certificate. One of those bought certificates was on the wall of someone who supervised interns. And this was an individual who was highly regarded by people in the field in that state.

At the time, I decided I needed to do something, and I wrote an article that was published here on the internet. I believe I called it “Beware the Strike of an Evil Therapist.” Unfortunately, people practicing in all areas of healthcare can be a danger to those who come to them for care, expertise, and help in desperate circumstances.

It’s not limited to therapists. I’ve seen psychiatrists who hallucinated because of their alcoholism. They still worked at hospitals. Another psychiatrist was addicted to specific stimulants and stole scripts from his supervisor’s prescription pad, which was conveniently left on a desk. If you think this practice has been eliminated by digital prescribing, you would be wrong.

I was also a member of a licensing board, where I gained firsthand knowledge of unscrupulous practices by licensed psychologists. Recently, I read a DOJ document online regarding one of them, who, after her license was revoked, continued to practice for two more years before she was caught again. She’s only one. How many more are out there?

Why Do I Write This Today?

I decided I had to write this article because of a comment that was made by Rob Reiner, an incredibly talented film director, regarding one of his children and a problem with addiction and rehab services. Reiner and his wife were murdered over the weekend, having their throats slashed in their home. As of this writing, their son has been arrested but not charged with homicide.

In the article’s quotes, Rob Reiner still clearly remembers specific words. After years of seeing his son Nick go through seventeen rehab centers, he finally realized what had happened. “When Nick would tell us that it wasn’t working for him, we wouldn’t listen,” he told the Los Angeles Times in 2015, as reported in The Hollywood Reporter. “We were desperate and because the people had diplomas on their wall, we listened to them when we should have been listening to our son.”

His wife, Michele, shared more: “We were so influenced by these people. They would tell us he’s a liar, that he was trying to manipulate us. And we believed them.”

The Reiners’ experience isn’t unique. It highlights a broader problem in healthcare, where certificates and impressive titles can sometimes mask incompetence, ethical issues, or even fraud.

The Diploma Dilemma

We are taught to trust signs of expertise. That’s an error on our part. Diplomas, certifications, and licenses on office walls suggest skill and trust. But sometimes, these symbols can hide problems and dishonesty. Today’s impressive digital printers can provide any diploma or certificate you require, and they do it from afar for a fee. Using appropriate AI software, you can create IDs with your photo on anything you wish.

The reality is that healthcare, especially mental health and addiction services, has a problem with credentials. This puts vulnerable patients in danger.

In 2023, federal authorities uncovered a massive fraudulent nursing diploma scheme in Florida. Over 7,600 fake nursing diplomas were sold to individuals who never completed their education. These people then passed national board exams and obtained legitimate licenses, working in healthcare facilities across multiple states.

It’s clear that across the country, 7,600 people with fraudulent nursing credentials are providing care in various facilities and treating patients without the appropriate training. The Justice Department has singled this out as a serious matter, and all of us should be aware of who is providing care for our loved ones and what credentials they possess.

Background checks are not always thorough at all facilities. Do any of you know of the case of Dr. Michel Swango? He was killing patients until one physician decided to do a more intense background check on him, and called one of the prior facilities where he said he had worked. They caught Swango as he was about to board a plane to Asia, where he had another job.

Fake credentials are only part of the problem. A bigger issue is the confusion around credentials, which makes it hard for patients to know who is genuinely qualified to help them. Of course, there’s also the matter of people who, on their letterhead, seem to indicate they have a license number when, in one case, with which I have firsthand knowledge, it was a tax ID number, not a license number. He also liked people to call him “doctor” when he didn’t have a doctorate. The sign in front of his office said “DR….”

The Alphabet Soup of Mental Health Credentials

Mental health and addiction treatment have a confusing mix of credentials. A therapist’s business card might display letters such as PhD, PsyD, LCSW, LPC, LCPC, MA, MS, PA, CAC, and many others. Each stands for a different education, training, and role. A woman who regularly appeared on television as a psychological expert had a doctorate in school administration.

Some addiction counselor certifications only require a high school diploma. Others require a doctorate and years of training. But to families looking for help, all the credentials look impressive. Therein lies one of the major issues here. Remember, palm trees and swimming pools don’t create honest-to-goodness helpful rehab.

In fact, I worked in a facility where the addiction counselors were telling the patients, who had schizophrenia, that they should not be taking any form of medication because that would continue their addiction. The contradiction at that facility between the two types of therapies patients were receiving was mind-boggling. Little was done to improve the situation. And that facility was not unique because another major addiction-related hospital facility told patients they couldn’t even take an aspirin.

A cleric with questionable expertise was also brought in to attend treatment team meetings. He wore a cleric’s collar, and no one ever questioned whether, in fact, he was an ordained minister or had any experience or education in mental health issues. He came and went on the wards as he pleased.

This confusion leaves people vulnerable. When families are in crisis, whether their child is addicted, their spouse is suicidal, or their parent is getting worse, they don’t have time to look up what the credentials mean. They see the diplomas, hear the confident words, and trust. Is “trust” a dirty word now?

The Ethics Crisis in Addiction Treatment

Ethics problems in addiction treatment go beyond fake credentials. Research shows there are ongoing issues with how care is provided to patients.

A 2011 article in Focus, the journal of the American Psychiatric Association, highlighted a troubling pattern: providers develop negative reactions when treating patients who “minimize or lie about their substance use patterns.” These issues can lead clinicians to view normal addiction behaviors — denial, manipulation, inconsistent adherence — as character flaws rather than symptoms of illness. Yes, that’s an old article, but I believe it still has great value.

This is what happened to the Reiners. Providers called Nick manipulative and dishonest, leading his parents to doubt his reports that the programs weren’t helping. The diplomas on the wall made these judgments seem more trustworthy than the family’s own instincts.

Research published in the Journal of Ethics highlights another disturbing reality in that addictions are viewed as associated with a lack of personal control over the behavior, creating concerns about patients’ capacity for autonomy. This philosophical stance can lead to paternalistic treatment approaches that dismiss patient preferences and experiences. Addiction is a biological change in the brain that can make diminished control a given.

A 2024 study in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs found that ethical issues in substance use treatment often reflect “a delicate balance between provision of person-centered treatment and adherence to program-level policies.” Too often, policies are followed instead of personalizing care, and credentials are valued more than listening.

At one hospital where patients were systematically rotated through units, each unit had a different theoretical orientation. Neither the chief of psychology nor the medical director seemed to find this a problem. How can any patient receive quality care if they are constantly being bounced from one theory to another? To say it’s ludicrous doesn’t do it justice.

The Power Imbalance

A big part of the credential problem in healthcare is the power imbalance. Clinicians have advanced degrees, special knowledge, and authority. Patients and families come in during a crisis, feeling vulnerable and desperate for help.

When clinicians tell worried parents that their child is manipulating them, that their instincts are wrong, or that the program will work if the patient just commits, parents may feel unable to disagree. After all, these professionals have diplomas on their walls. I think there should be a rule that only someone’s license should be on the wall.

This situation is especially risky in addiction treatment, where stigma already makes families think their loved ones are liars or morally weak. When providers repeat these ideas, families may stop advocating for their loved ones. I have always told patients to attend any meeting with an advocate.

Protecting Yourself in a Broken System

So what can patients and families do? How can we get through a system where credentials might be fake, confusing, or used to ignore real concerns?

First, check credentials yourself. Don’t trust what’s on the wall. Look up state licensing boards and confirm degrees with universities. For addiction counselors, check certifications with state boards or national groups. The Federal Trade Commission warns to watch for “out-of-sequence degrees” — someone with a master’s degree should also show evidence of a bachelor’s degree.

Second, trust your own experience. If treatment isn’t working, it’s not just your imagination. If your loved one says the approach is not helping, take that seriously. Credentials and authority don’t make clinicians perfect. As Rob Reiner learned, sometimes the person without the degree knows best what they need.

I heard of one family who took their son to a psychiatrist who promised he could cure the young man of his specific issue for $10,000. The family paid. The work didn’t result in a cure, and the psychiatrist admitted he had no experience in the field.

Third, get a second opinion. In other areas of healthcare, this is normal. Mental health and addiction treatment should be the same. If a provider discourages you from seeking another view or makes you feel bad about it, consider that a warning sign. I don’t believe there should be a fee for a meeting to explore whether this person would be suited for the care required. But I know that’s not always the case.

Fourth, look for care that centers on the patient. Here, the best results might be provided by someone with firsthand experience with that facility. Research shows that treatment works best when providers and patients work together, not when providers give orders. Providers should explain their choices, answer questions, and change their approach if needed.

The Path Forward

The healthcare system needs real changes. Credentialing should be stronger. Ethics training in mental health and addiction programs should focus on patient independence and working with families. Harsh, shame-based methods should be replaced with care grounded in evidence and compassion.

But until these changes are made, patients and families should be careful and ask questions. Diplomas on the wall are just a starting point for trust. They show someone has finished school and passed exams, but they don’t guarantee skill, ethics, or real help.

One psychology intern at a hospital was in the field because he had been told in medical school that he should leave because he didn’t have patient empathy. What did he choose? The worst field of all if you have no empathy — psychology.

Rob Reiner’s regret teaches us something important: “We should have been listening to our son.” In a healthcare system where credentials can mislead and authority can silence questions, listening to patients and trusting our instincts may be the most important thing we can do.

The post When Diplomas on the Wall Become Dangerous appeared first on Medika Life.

The therapist is free to violate that implicit understanding of confidentiality under certain conditions. Occasionally, a lawsuit will be brought regarding a violation of confidentiality and an organization may file an amicus brief to offer reasons why it has not been violated and information was appropriately released.

The American Psychological Association has listed a number of these amicus briefs on their website. Additional examples of confidentiality issues may be found here. A good overview of therapy and how it works has been provided by the APA.

Besides confidentiality, there is something called privilege and that is information that is left to the sole discretion of the patient whether or not to permit a therapist to release it. The patient controls privilege.

Exceptions to privilege include child abuse cases, mental health at issue cases, disputes between co-patients, disputes between patient and therapist, crime or fraud, and duty to warn. The latter refers to the 1976 case of Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California, in which a patient informed his therapist that he was having violent thoughts about a young woman he had been dating.

Prior to this killing, there doesn’t seem to have been a legal duty to warn but the “future crimes” standard releasing a therapist would seem to have been the standard of practice. The therapist at UC thought he took appropriate steps, but never warned the identified victim, and she was murdered. The murderer was found guilty, spent a short time in prison, and was then deported to his homeland.

In the above-mentioned instances, the therapist is not only free to release privileged information, but required by law to do so. In the Tarasoff case, curiously, the therapist’s supervisor ordered him to destroy all his therapy notes. The laws vary by state and there is a chart providing each state’s requirements regarding duty to warn.

An exception to the duty to warn (the third-party informant) came up in a case in California where a young man, who had broken off with a young woman who began to date another man, indicated to his father that he wanted a gun and he wanted to kill the other young man.

The father went to the patient’s therapist and informed him of this. The therapist told him to take his son to the hospital, where he was voluntarily admitted overnight and released. The next day he killed the young man and himself.

A court in Ewing v. Goldstein and Ewing VA Northridge Hospital Medical Center found the therapist was liable for the death of the young man. The California Court of Appeals indicated that the young man’s father had told the therapist of his son’s threats, and there was a duty to protect, which the therapist failed to follow through on, which resulted in the death of both the young man and the patient. The “failure” hinged on the therapist’s failure to tell the hospital of the impending danger the young man posed if permitted to be released after one day.

The court indicated that the therapist should have been aware of the patient’s state of mind and the dangerousness which he presented and revealed this to prevent his hospital release; he did not. This, then, indicates that even if a third party tells a therapist about the patient’s potential danger to someone or the community, there is a requirement to report it.

What about prior criminal activity or prior crimes committed by a patient? Does a therapist have to report them? The answer to these questions remains vague, and it appears there is no current law requiring therapists to report. Therefore, Tony Soprano was in the clear when he told Dr. Melfi about his criminal actions.

I was in a group session in my doctoral studies where one student revealed that a patient told him he murdered someone five years previously. The student asked what he should do. Neither the professor nor the group had an answer, and the professor told him to seek guidance from his professional association. After he did contact the association, guess what happened? They told him to talk to his supervisor. And so it went.

A good overview of the situation may be read here. There are still grey areas that legal scholars and laws must address. In the meantime, anyone entering therapy should consider current legal protections for themselves as well as problematic areas.

Some mental health professionals have questioned this believing a discussion of legal releases of information will prevent either full disclosure in therapy or lead to an individual not attending therapy, even when they need help.

The post Patient/Therapist Confidentiality Has Its Limits. What Are They? appeared first on Medika Life.

Ball culture describes a young African-American and Latin American underground LGBTQ+ subculture that originated in New York City, in which people “walk” (i.e., compete) for trophies, prizes, and glory at events known as balls. Ball culture consists of events that mix performance, dance, lip-syncing, and modeling — Wikipedia

I had the recent pleasure to witness a mini creative adaption of Ball culture, an exercise inspiring people to walk against a musical soundtrack in different genders and express unique emotions and scenarios. The joy, experimentation, and personal realizations were surprising and, in some instances, profound.

For coaches and therapists who wish to integrate ball culture into their practice, let’s explore the unique multi-dimensional exercise to unearth new truths and spark personal curiosity while ensuring the activity is built inside a psychologically safe container.

The Toronto Gestalt Psychotherapy center hosted the virtual embodiment exploration of gender exercise. Here, everyone is encouraged to participate while recognizing the spectrum; for some people, gender is top of mind, whereas, for others, it is an afterthought. Within the Gestalt therapy context, each individual is welcome to explore Ball culture in their own experience of personal embodiment.

Facilitator Instructions

In a safe space, encourage participants to explore their sexuality through movement and sound. The mini Ball culture exercise provides room to perform deep personal work, especially from the lens of childhood, upbringing, and culture.

Given our bodies hold onto memories, for some people, the topic of gender identity is more present than others. Before the activity, remind individuals to stay aware of the shifts, transitions, and sensations occurring within their body in the here and now. And to pay close attention to what happens when in contact with self, out of contact, and everything in between.

Finally, encourage people to use their face, hands, spine, pelvis, feet placement, shoulders, arms — as much of their bodies as they can form a complete experience.

Facilitators, prepare the following either in person or online:

• Ensure everyone has a safe, clutter-free space to walk.
• People can perform the walk any way they chose.
• Adjust video camera to point to the walking space.
• Allow individuals to keep their camera on or off; individual choice.
• Ask participants to feel the polarities of the categories.
• Do not force emotions or sensations; see what comes up.
• There is a performative aspect to the exercise; have fun.
• Facilitators must play inspiring music to accompany the role play. And to remain authentic to Ball, consider selections similar to the proposed list below.
• As the music plays, the Facilitator will call out each category in the below list for attendees to embody and role play/perform the walk: a sensual female.

How can you encourage an authentic mini-ball experience? Wikipedia further explains:

Attendees dance, vogue, walk, pose, and support one another in numerous drag and performance competition categories. Categories are designed to simultaneously epitomize and satirize various genders and social classes, while also offering an escape from reality.

Here is an example from the Latex Ball, 2019; keep in mind the following video is part of an actual competition. Our exercise is a micro-scaled-down version to introduce people to Ball culture.

Now let’s look at potential music tracks to consider for the role-play exercise.

Sound Track Examples

1. It’s Just (House of Dupree), Leon Vynehall

I chose this track for two reasons. First, the beat has the perfect rhythm for participants to walk and express themselves. And second, the introduction provides a brief historical context into Ball culture, discussing the emergence of “Houses.”

The culture extends beyond the extravagant events as many participants in ball culture also belong to groups known as “houses,” a longstanding tradition in LGBT communities, and racial minorities, where chosen families of friends live in households together, forming relationships and community to replace families of origin from which they may be estranged.

Wikipedia

Paris Dupree, whom the song is named after, was the founding member and mother of the House of Dupree, which mobilized young, urban gays to express themselves in ways that mainstream America could not quite understand in the 1970s. He is also credited to be an originator to the vogue dance movement, vogueing being the imitation of models in magazines and runways.

Here is an excellent video explaining the concepts to learn more about Houses and a House Mother or Father.

2. Vogue, Madonna

Not only is the song an instant, timeless classic, but it also holds an immediate association with Ball culture, the music designed for the catwalk.

3. The Girl Is Mine (featuring Destiny’s Child & Brandy), 99 Souls

A one-hit wonder and throwback, people will recognize the remixed voices of Destiny’s Child and Brandy. Beyonce, once part of Destiny’s Child, holds particular relevance to Ball culture.

Now that we have a potential music selection, let’s move to the possible categories.

Role-Playing Categories

The following list is non-exhaustive and here for suggestion only. As a Facilitator, you are welcome to design your selection to suit what character, emotions, and body parts you want participants to focus on. In the session I attended this week, the following categories were experienced:

• Man — exaggerate masculine traits.
• Woman — exaggerate female traits.
• Sex siren.
• An important business person — who owns the space.
• VIP feminine.
• VIP masculine.
• Anger masculine.
• Anger feminine.
• Afraid in current gender.
• Afraid masculine.
• Sensual as current self.
• Sensual feminine.
• Sensual masculine.
• Super attractive.

At the end of the playlist and catwalk performance, the Facilitator asks participants to walk it off, shake off their character,s and return to their chair or screens.

Debrief

To conclude the exercise, ensure a debrief, engaging in discussion to understand the impact on participants. Facilitators, here are some powerful questions to use as a guide.

• How did you feel entering into the exercise? Did you experience any resistance?
• What constricts and what opens up in your body?
• What felt at ease for you?
• What stirred up for you?
• What are your reflections?
• Please think of the following areas that affect how we view our gender: parents/upbringing, culture, age, and stage of life. Did any memories or considerations emerge for you?
• What different body parts did you notice the most when you switched personas? An example is how we use our hips or shoulders when we moved from feminine to masculine or use the chest popping in and out.
• For people who are a mixed-race culture (for example: Canadian or Amerian with a Latin background), did you notice an emergence or expression from your country of origin or subtleties on how you responded to the music between the two?
• What is this like to try and be androgynous— possessing both masculine and feminine characteristics.

Take The Exercise One Step Further

If time permits, either in person or online, Facilitators can pair people into groups of two and request participants performative walks for one another, followed by a more intimate, collaborative discussion. The intent is to go deeper in the small grouper, unearthing personal realizations about the self.

To Conclude

Ball culture is fascinating and exhilarating to watch. And the intent of the mini-scaled-down version of the exercise is from a psychotherapeutic perspective of encouraging people to explore the multi-dimensions of their gender by feeling the body’s response in a safe environment. I hope the exercise enlightens and delights you — as much as it did me.

Resources

• Wikipedia — Ball Culture
• The Atlantic — In the Kiki Ballroom Scene, Queer Kids of Color Can, Be Themselves
• Esquire — 24 Photos that Spotlight t, and rise of Ballroom and Drag Culture

The post Try This Exercise For An Embodied Exploration of Gender appeared first on Medika Life.

The purpose of the article is to explore the benefits of performing a therapist-client or coach-coachee survey. Next, I look at why defining private practice goals allows a pathway to measure assessment feedback against. I look at a potential set of criteria to define the client assessment. Finally, the article investigates what available applications exist in the market today to solicit, gather and make sense of the data. We have a lot to unpack; let’s get started. 

The Background

At this moment, I see an absence of therapists and coaches requesting performance assessments from their clients — unless the practitioner takes matters into their own hands. Let’s examine the challenge through a personal example. 

All students who study Gestalt Psychotherapy must accumulate 50 hours of therapy with a more experienced Gestalt practitioner before the end of Year 3. Through this process, the therapist-in-training gains client hours towards becoming certified while I, the client, can witness firsthand the use of Gestalt in action. The therapist-in-training must write detailed notes regarding their client experience and submit the forms to the Gestalt faculty for review through their mentorship program. All of this sounds great. Except I see one fundamental flaw. 

Where is the voice of the client providing feedback on their experience with the therapist? How will the therapist know if they are truly supporting the needs of their clients?

The current method allows the Gestalt therapist to provide their inherent bias on the quality of the interaction with the client rather than allowing a holistic client-therapist-program feedback loop. When writing this article, I am engaging with Gestalt faculty on this critical question and will update the notes section once I have answers. 

Define Your Goals For Private Practice 

I believe in the importance of goal setting, even when establishing a psychotherapy or coaching practice. Knowing your goals will allow you to measure against them and to adjust and pivot based on client feedback. Examples of goals statements may include:

• I desire to work with people who possess a burning passion for change.
• My client base will remain small and focused, allowing for five people at a given time. 
• I will strive to be present and available at all times during client conversations.

While the above statements are not concrete, the qualitative nature will allow me to measure whether change over some time will occur for clients, what it is like to have a small base of people to work with, and whether others perceive my ability to be present. For those of you who are already seeing clients, do you have goals? Are your original goals the same as they are today? 

Criteria To Assess Client Impact

Like so many before me, in the Fall of 2021, I will find myself a part of the Gestalt student clinic and work with clients in the earlier stages of their psychotherapy learning career. The difference is — I’m from the corporate world and understand the value of data and analytics; in particular, my fascination lies in how data tells a story. Based on my personal experience, the following questions emerge:

• How can I utilize qualitative data from my clients to gauge overall performance? 
• How can I engage with clients in a friendly, engaging way to solicit feedback while avoiding a cold, factual approach?
• How often should I extend outreach to clients? What is the healthy balance to obtain just enough feedback promptly?
• Based on the data, where are opportunities to pivot?
• How can I evolve my practice to ensure I am at my best in every interaction? 

Through this lens, the following sample assessment criteria are under consideration and applied to therapists and coaches. 

•  In what ways can the therapist-client relationship be strengthened? 
• Trust is the foundation upon which the therapist and client perform the work. Are there ways to further develop and strengthen trust in our sessions? 
• Do you have an interest in exploring other ways to collaborate during therapy sessions? And if so, what activities do you gravitate towards?
• In our initial sessions, we established a Design Alliance. Are there areas we need to refine to improve our mutual approach? 
• How likely are you to recommend psychotherapy services to a friend or family member?

Once the assessment criteria are more formalized and data gathered, my objective is to ensure the results are transparent on my website. Honesty and integrity are building blocks of private practice, and I believe this behavior has a powerful appeal for others seeking therapeutic or coaching services. 

Applications To Obtain Client Feedback

Online surveys and options to request client feedback are plentiful. The following list is courtesy of Zapier and amended for this article: 

• SurveyPlanet for beginners.
• Typeform creates visually appealing surveys.
• SurveyMonkey for creating surveys on a phone or tablet.
• LimeSurvey for self-hosted surveys.
• QuickTapSurvey for offline surveys.
• YesInsights for one-click surveys.
• Surveybot for chatbot surveys on Facebook.
• SmartSurvey for collaborating on survey questions.
• SurveyGizmo for optimizing your surveys.
• Constant Contact includes helpful survey builders.

To Conclude

The article explores the importance of possessing clear goals to operate a therapy or coaching practice. Over time, collecting qualitative data from clients will demonstrate the quality of therapeutic sessions and showcase areas where I excel and others where I need to pivot and improve. If any readers have direct experience gathering client data in your therapy or coaching practice, please reach out; I will love to learn best practices as I get closer to opening a private clinic. 

The post How Do Therapists And Coaches Know If They’re Impacting Clients? appeared first on Medika Life.

Keep in mind that therapists are usually bound by their regulatory college to serve a specific province, country, region, etc. that they are registered in for providing counselling services, so they will advise if they can help you when you reach out to them.

I’ve had clients request virtual counselling services for many reasons. Some people have contacted me because they are worried about being criticized by their family or other people in their life who don’t believe in counseling based on their own personal, cultural, religious perspectives. Because of this, the client wants to access help in private where they don’t have to go into an office and risk being seen. Other people have reached out to me because of the challenges they’ve run into accessing services where they live. There have also been clients who have connected with me because their disability or illness makes it difficult for them to get out and about as often as they would like for in-person services, so they appreciate the convenience that teletherapy offers them. This wide range of issues is what has inspired me to write this article to help the general public learn more about online counseling and how it can be helpful.

If you’ve never tried virtual counselling before and are interested in learning more about it, keep reading to find out more about the possible benefits of going online.

Offers the opportunity to serve remote regions with limited in-person services

One of the best benefits of virtual counselling is the chance to provide much-needed services in areas that may not have in-person counselling available or where excessive travel may be required to get to the closest therapist’s office or mental health centre. This may be the case in more remote regions where there are not a lot of options locally.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to receive in-person counseling previously based on where you live, then virtual counselling services may allow you to get the help you need as the options online are vast and there are many therapy networks and service providers to choose from.

Provides more options than only using your local neighborhood resources

Even if there are some in-person counselling available in your hometown, the options could be restricted to perhaps one or only a few, so going virtual dramatically increases the range of services that can be explored, especially if you’ve tried your local therapy services and haven’t felt it was a good fit or match.

Furthermore, online counselling may allow you to get help for a particular type of need or issue or seek out a professional who offers a specific therapeutic style or approach that you are interested in. This type of specialization or experience may not be available in your local region’s counselling services. Being able to choose an online therapist who is able to serve your region broadens the options available to you so you can search more openly until you find exactly what you are looking for.

If you try out an online therapist but still don’t feel it is a good connection after some time, then you still have the chance to go back online and review the broad range of professionals until you feel you have found someone you trust, who hears and understands you, and who you can be completely open with regarding your worries, stressors, and needs. This is all part of the journey and the learning experience of counselling.

Maintains privacy and minimizes stigma

Let’s say you are part of a family who doesn’t believe in counselling or therapy, or you are worried about stigma and criticism from those in your personal network, cultural or religious group, or other contacts in your social circle for seeking out mental health assistance.

Having the chance to go online for support in the privacy of your own room or home where others cannot see you in a waiting room or walking into a counselling office may bring you the peace that you deserve.

Increases accessibility for those impacted by a disability or chronic illness

For those of you affected by a disability or chronic illness, it may be even harder to get out of your home to access in-person counseling services. Perhaps you are reliant on caregivers to help with your personal needs, or maybe you need help from others to get in and out of your home and for transport due to mobility restrictions, or it could be that you might have many medical appointments and issues with fatigue, pain, discomfort, etc. that adding in-person counselling appointments on top of everything else may seem too overwhelming.

Teletherapy may be a great solution for you since access to counselling is much greater within the comfort of your own home and in between your day-to-day needs.

Allows for greater flexibility with appointment dates and times

Similarly, if you are working an irregular schedule with constantly changing shifts, or if you have a very long commute and might be looking for early morning or late evening services, or if you are very occupied caring for young children, an elderly parent, or a family member with a disability or chronic illness, you might benefit from the increased flexibility that comes with virtual counselling.

You just might be able to find an online counsellor who can offer sessions in the specific time window you are looking for, which may not otherwise be possible with in-person therapy services that might follow a typical business hour schedule.

If you’re looking for mental health support that goes a little outside of the box based on your needs, obligations, and responsibilities, give online counselling a try – you might be pleasantly surprised by the expanded choices and options it could offer you.

Good luck and all the best in your search for a virtual therapist who is a solid match for your unique needs!

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