I offer remote psychological therapy and these online sessions work.

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With the wonders of modern technology, psychology appointments are available wherever you are.

 

From early in 2020, the world has been rocked by the Coronavirus Covid-19 disease. This has forced us to retreat to our homes, where we remained in lockdown for weeks – unless we had reason to go out for one of the few permitted reasons.

 

During the first few weeks, many of us learned how to communicate with others – for work, family or social reasons – through remote video programs such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp and more. This was part of our adjustment to the lockdown situation. It helped us to connect better with some people that we had grown distant from, due to our busy lives and geographical barriers. Being stuck at home all day allowed us to consider how to remain or re-establish connections with others, joining people on communication platforms, using the technology available within our phones, tablets and laptops.

 

My psychology clinic rooms had to close to visiting clients. All my consultations were switched to  remote video calls. For many of my clients this required a bit of adjusting, as they were used to seeing me in-person at one of my clinics in London.

 

For me, this wasn’t such a big learning curve, as I have been offering remote appointments by video, or even simply by telephone, for over a decade.

 

Perhaps you are sceptical about remote therapy appointments. If so, you are not alone. Over the years my psychology colleagues have reacted varyingly to hearing (pre-Covid-19) that I worked remotely with patients. Some expressed surprise, wondering how it could work. Others have thought that it was a bit odd. Others – perhaps the more forward-thinking ones – have been curious about it and thinking about how it could work for them too.

 

Let me tell you, it works.

 

In my 17 years in the NHS as a Clinical Psychologist, I have been involved in the introduction of and evaluation of remote consultations for psychology services. I have also seen GPs in General Practice and other health professionals introduce them successfully. I know that the Coronavirus pandemic has forced many services to adapt over a short timeframe to deliver help remotely, often for the first time. Otherwise, people would miss-out on vital support.