Online therapy has proven to be as effective as in-person therapy, contradicting initial doubts about its efficacy during lockdowns. Research indicates that individuals receiving online therapy improve just as significantly as those in traditional face-to-face settings. Virtual therapy offers enhanced accessibility, particularly to those in rural areas where mental health resources are scarce. It also addresses logistical challenges, such as commuting and parking, making therapy more accessible to individuals who experience social anxiety or panic attacks, while decreasing no-show rates for appointments.
During lockdown, I was sure psychotherapy would take a hit. How could I possibly help clients through a screen? Selfishly, too, one of a therapist's gratifications is to (literally) sit with people. There was no way two-dimensional therapy could work as effectively as 3D, right? Wrong. And happily, very much wrong.
Research is beginning to show online therapy can prove just as effective as in-person. That became clear in practice, also, when people I worked with online—and had never met in-person—got better as quickly and substantially as those I'd seen in the office.
With virtual therapy, all of us gain greater access to care. 80% of us live in cities in the United States. In more rural states, like mine, a third of the population live rurally and it's difficult to find health care, let alone mental health care.
Online therapy is a time- and anxiety-saver. Not only do you not need to allow time to work your way across town to a therapist's office, you needn't allow time for parking—or any anxiety about that, either.
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