Although Telehealth therapy was a thing long before COVID, the pandemic has caused more therapists and clients to move to online therapy. While some have chosen to return to in person sessions, others have chosen to stick with telehealth permanently. However, the benefits of telehealth extend beyond just your ability to go to therapy in your pajamas!
Is Telehealth Therapy Effective?
Let’s get this question out of the way first because with anything new comes some wariness and that is normal. The short answer is yes, and in some cases more effective than in person therapy. Although there are certain clients or presenting issues that are not a good fit for telehealth therapy, generally, telehealth therapy sessions increase access to care. Not only does it take out the hassle of commuting to therapy–not dealing with the stress of travel time, traffic, parking, etc–it also expands your access to the type of clinician you can work with. You no longer have to limit your search to a therapist that is in your immediate geographic area which means you have a better chance of finding a therapist who is the best fit for you and your presenting concerns. You now can choose from a pool of all the therapists licensed in your state versus just the ones you can drive to easily. That means you are more likely to find a therapist whose expertise and style match your needs.
The Benefit: Experiential Therapy Sessions
Besides pajama sessions and access to the right fit, here is the major benefit of telehealth that no one is really talking about: experiential sessions.
Have you ever had trouble implementing something that you talked to your therapist at length about?
Maybe you say you’re going to practice in between sessions but your next appointment rolls around and you haven’t done it. Perhaps you try to tap into the emotions related to this thing but can’t “get there” in the therapy room. You may be hard on yourself for not being motivated enough or achieving your goal. However, there is most likely something deeper at play that we don’t have access to just by talking about it. In an experiential session, my clients actually do the thing in session while I provide support and tools to process the emotion that arises. This can take your therapy to a whole other level. It’s one thing to think about your emotions but we can’t actually move through our emotions without feeling them. Experiential sessions help activate your emotions in session so that you can process them in real time.
So for example, say that one of your goals related to body acceptance has been to clean out some clothes that don’t fit but you are having a hard time letting go. We’ve talked about it in session and you’ve said every week that this is the week you will clean out your clothes but you don’t. You tell yourself that the reason you can’t bring yourself to do it is because you’re lazy or unmotivated. You know that you are still grieving your “ideal body” but you know you want to grow towards body acceptance so you can finally be free from yo-yo dieting. We decide to do an experiential session where you pull out some clothes that don’t fit. As you hold each article of clothing you begin to process all of the memories you have associated with it. Then you begin to cry and realize that you are afraid that if you stop trying to change your body, you will never have a fulfilling life. You release the emotion and we explore the belief that you can't have a fulfilling life if your body doesn’t look a certain way.
What makes telehealth the perfect vehicle for experiential sessions is that we are not limited by the therapy room itself. That means that the thing you’ve been saying you’d practice at home we can actually do right in session because you are home! Additionally, some people feel much more comfortable in their home environment. While therapy is not always about being comfortable, some level of comfort is necessary in order to take risks or embrace a challenge.
For many people, being in certain environments activates emotions related to that environment. Similar to when you revert to old behaviors when you go home to visit your family, you may have the most access to emotions that are related to issues in an environment in the actual environment itself rather than in a therapy office.
Examples of Experiential Session Activities
I love getting creative with clients and brainstorming what type of experiential session will be effective. These ideas typically arise organically after building a therapeutic relationship and understanding where they are getting stuck in their therapeutic process. We think intentionally about what activities will best serve your goals for growth in therapy.
Here are some examples of actual experientials I’ve done with clients:
Karaoke for challenging perfectionism and building shame resilience
Listening to music to access grief related to a music career cut short
Eating together in session to process disordered thoughts that impact adequate eating
Trying on outfits that feel like a fashion risk and processing fear of being noticed
Looking at photographs to get in touch with old versions of yourself and forgive yourself for past choices
Letting go of items that remind you of a painful experience and processing feelings related to it
Eating a “challenge” food in session together to practice having freedom with all foods
Making a phone call that you’ve been avoiding and practicing distress tolerance
Regulating anxiety or stress in a work environment by joining session from your office
Engaging in movement to challenge beliefs about “what counts” as exercise
Looking at your reflection in the mirror to process harmful body image beliefs
How is an experiential session different from doing it on my own?
One important difference is my clinical observation. As your therapist, I am using my clinical training to make observations about you in the moment during an experiential session. This does not mean I’m judging you, but it does mean that I might notice something you don’t and understand how it might be connected to other things in your life. These observations can then inform our future therapy sessions and take your therapeutic work to a deeper level.
The real major difference is support. The reason you haven’t done this thing yet is probably because it feels too challenging to do on your own, not because you are incapable of doing it. Think about a toddler who wants to try out the big kid slide. They may be timid or fearful, not sure if it's safe or that they can handle it. They look back at their parent and the parent is engaged in conversation and doesn’t notice them. The kid decides not to take the risk and runs back to their parent. Now think about the same moment when the toddler looks back at their parent and their parent cheers them on and says, “you can do it!” or walks over and says, “I’ll stand at the bottom and catch you!” The kid feels more confident and tries it out.
We are adults now, but the need to be seen and supported in our fear doesn’t go away. We all still need someone to tell us it’s going to be okay and that they’ll be at the bottom of the slide to catch us. Maybe you didn’t have someone in your life do that for you or maybe it wasn’t done often enough. Eventually, the goal is to be able to meet that need for yourself or ask for it to be met by a trusted other like your partner or friend. However, it's a big leap to take if you don’t know what it feels like, it doesn’t just happen. Having practice in a supportive and therapeutic environment helps you build skills for finding ways to have this need met in your life outside of therapy.
Interested?
If this is something you’re interested in, let’s chat!
As a telehealth-only practitioner, I can work with clients across Washington state. As long as you have an internet connection and a device with audio and video capabilities, you can join session from almost any environment where you have comfort and privacy. If you’ve found yourself getting stuck in talk therapy sessions or are looking for another way to access emotions in your therapy sessions, this might be a good fit for you.
Photo by Vlada Karpovich via pexels