Is telehealth therapy as effective as in-person therapy?

According to the California Associate of Marriage and Family Therapists, “’Telehealth’ is the delivery of health care services using information and communication technologies to consult, diagnose, treat, or educate a patient while the patient is at an “originating site” and the health care provider is at a “distant site.” The “originating site" is the site where a patient is located at the time health care services are provided through a telecommunications system.”

This is most often done through a video platform like Zoom or Doxy.me, or over the phone.

While telehealth therapy is not effective for everyone, many clients have found it to be as effective, and sometimes even more effective, than sessions in-person.

Prior to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, I only provided therapy sessions in-person. When I made the switch to telehealth, I noticed that some clients actually became more vulnerable in session. I suspect that being in the comfort of their own home and/or having more physical space from me, the therapist, allowed some clients to feel safer being vulnerable in sessions. I found this to be especially true of clients who feared intimacy or were overwhelmed by too much closeness.

In contrast, when I started offering in-person sessions again, I noticed that some clients who struggled to access their emotions during telehealth sessions, became more able to feel their feelings during therapy once we were in person.

And, I have had some clients that seem to process and access emotions in in-person sessions the same way that they do when we are working online.

I have attended therapy sessions as a client both in-person and online. I like the convenience of doing therapy online especially since my therapist works about an hour away from me. However, I do sometimes miss the personal connection of being in the same room as my therapist. In terms of effectiveness, I personally have not experienced a difference between telehealth and in-person therapy even when I was processing very heavy emotions. I feel that I have done very deep work both in person and online.

From my perspective as a therapist, I feel equally connected to and empathetic towards my clients regardless of whether sessions are in-person or online. I have clients that I have been working with for years and have never met in person and I don’t think this has had a negative impact on our therapeutic relationship or our work together.

If you are interested in telehealth therapy, I highly recommend trying it yourself and then deciding if it works for you or not. Many clients who originally preferred in-person sessions changed their minds after trying telehealth simply because they have found it do be effective and more convenient.

Telehealth therapy can be a very effective method of treatment but please keep in mind that telehealth therapy may not be appropriate for everyone. This is especially true for clients who are actively engaging in self-harm or a high level of suicide risk. I recommend speaking to your therapist directly about your specific situation as they can discuss pros and cons and help assess if telehealth therapy would be right for you.

My therapy office is located in Newport Beach, Orange County, California. I offer in-person therapy sessions and telehealth therapy sessions. Please contact me if you are interested in scheduling a free consultation!