How Does Online Couples Therapy Work?
Romantic relationships demand a lot: each partner must find a way to support and nurture the other's needs while identifying and asserting their own needs.
When one person in a couple experiences stress, that stress can affect their partner and the relationship. Factor in kids, jobs, and financial entanglement, and it’s easy to see why so many people struggle in their relationships.
In couples counseling, you’ll work with your therapist to manage relationship challenges and address your needs in a way that’s consistent with your values.
Sometimes face-to-face therapy is not available or easy to access. Online couples therapy offers similar benefits to in-person therapy, with the added convenience and privacy of getting support at home. Here’s what you can expect from online counseling.
WHAT IS ONLINE COUPLES COUNSELING?
Online couples counseling offers the same benefits as in-person counseling, but over the Internet. You will use a secure platform to speak with your therapist, via video, in most cases. Couples often meet with their therapist from the same location. However, online counseling can also be a good option for couples living apart or who are separated by military deployment, long-term hospitalization, or other barriers.
People who choose therapy online report similar levels of satisfaction with their treatment as those who choose in-person counseling. For some couples, online therapy may even mean the difference between accessing therapy to heal the relationship and getting no help at all.
Telemental health may be especially beneficial for:
Couples with busy schedules.
People who live in geographically isolated areas.
People who find driving or going out in public stressful.
Couples who do not want someone else to see them at a therapist’s office.
Couples in which one or both partners have a disability that makes it difficult to attend therapy in person.
DOES ONLINE COUPLES THERAPY WORK?
Online therapy follows a similar model to traditional counseling. Therapists can do nearly everything online that they can in person. It may take a little more time to get comfortable with one another, especially when there are technical difficulties. Quality online therapy on a good platform works well, and even allows the therapist to read subtle cues such as tone of voice and body language.
WHEN TO AVOID ONLINE COUPLES THERAPY
Online couples therapy is not for everyone. When there is domestic violence, most experts advise that the couple avoid joint therapy. That’s because therapy treats the partners as equals, each of whom has valid concerns. Moreover, traditional couples therapy aims to keep the couple together, and some therapists may even ask couples to commit to a certain number of therapy sessions. This may cause a victim to remain in an abusive relationship longer, potentially endangering their life. The online context may make it easier to conceal abuse, intensifying the risk.
Some other signs of online therapy that may not be a good fit include:
The couple can’t access the internet or only has very old computers or tablets, making it difficult to see or hear the therapist.
One or both members of the couple distrusts technology and feels anxious about distance counseling.
Are you a therapist? Join Deborah Weisberg's community today! We offer a secure telehealth platform for therapists. Members also get access to our wide range of continuing education webinars and are listed in our popular online therapist directory.
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