We are increasingly connected by screens – via text messaging, social media, Skype, FaceTime, and many other platforms. The rapid growth of technology now allows unique opportunities for therapy seekers to gain support in an accessible, convenient way because more and more psychotherapists are offering video therapy as an alternative to seeing clients in-person.

If you’ve considered video therapy, you may have asked yourself, “Could this actually work?” The good news is that numerous research studies have shown that video therapy is a feasible option. It’s been used with a variety of clients, from children, to adults, to couples. According to research, it produces clinical outcomes similar to traditional in-person therapy and is generally associated with good client satisfaction.

One study found that participants using video therapy felt a collaborative, bonding relationship with therapists and believed that video therapy was a positive experience with unique advantages over face-to-face counseling.

One clear advantage is the convenience of scheduling a video therapy appointment and talking with a therapist from virtually anywhere that feels comfortable. That’s attractive to many people who are ready to start therapy, as well as those who have been on the fence.

Furthermore, practicing video therapy helps therapists reach more clients and better meet their needs.

A busy mother in need

When Diana contacted me, she felt overwhelmed with life’s demands. She was a young professional and a new mother, and she was becoming increasingly anxious and unable to cope. We discussed her therapy options and soon discovered that her busy work schedule and parenting duties created a challenge for us meeting face-to-face. Making it to these appointments meant leaving work early and rushing to be on time, which we were afraid would create more distress for her.

I offered video therapy as an alternative, but Diana was skeptical that it could work. “Will I be able to establish an emotional connection with you and get the help I need through video?” she worried. I asked if she had ever used Skype or FaceTime to speak with friends or family, and she had. I explained that, just like using those video platforms, it’s not uncommon to initially feel awkward, uncomfortable, or even apprehensive about connecting with someone. But over time, it starts to feel like a normal conversation and the video component is soon forgotten.

Diana knew she needed help, but she also needed an easier and more flexible way to access it. Pushing her skepticism aside, she decided to give video therapy a try. Her goals in therapy included learning skills to manage her anxiety and to achieve a healthier work-life balance. I taught her techniques for challenging thoughts such as “I’m a failure” and letting go of unhealthy expectations to be “perfect.” She enjoyed a goal-directed therapy approach that challenged her to adopt healthier habits and set appropriate boundaries with her time. We also worked on relaxation techniques to manage stress in and outside of the workplace. When it was time to graduate from therapy, she was taking more breaks at work, practicing mindfulness daily, skillfully reframing unhelpful thoughts, and exercising twice a week.

Although it took a few sessions for Diana to get accustomed to meeting with me via video, she soon noticed that I was able to pick up on her facial expressions and other nonverbal cues. We pushed through occasional technical issues together and built the emotional connection she was doubtful would emerge over video.

Video therapy removed the hassles and scheduling pressures Diana was likely to face if she pursued in-person therapy. She also enjoyed meeting with me from the comfort of her own home at an hour that accommodated her busy schedule. Another perk she appreciated was the ability to spend quality time with her family immediately after her sessions instead of wasting time in traffic.

The benefits of video therapy

Video therapy comes with several advantages that in-person therapy cannot offer:

• Video therapy removes barriers for people living in remote areas, where access to therapy is difficult, and for those who are physically disabled and/or unable to leave their home.
• Video therapy has been shown to encourage children and teens to go to therapy, as they are more comfortable with using the Internet. The same holds for those with social anxiety who are reluctant to try face-to-face therapy.
• Video therapy offers an additional degree of anonymity by allowing clients to avoid crowded waiting rooms.
• Video therapy opens up a wider selection of therapists, including experts offering specialized treatment who would otherwise not be available due to distance. Having more options among therapists can help ensure that you receive the right care.
• Video therapy allows therapists to extend their service hours.
• Video therapy allows you to say goodbye to driving through traffic and searching for parking to see your therapist. You can have a session in the comfort of your own home.

Even with these advantages, video therapy might not be right for everyone. For example, people with severe mental illnesses that cause delusions, hallucinations, or paranoia may be better served meeting with someone in-person. Also, people who are at risk for harming themselves may need to establish an in-person connection with a provider before transitioning to video so that trust and safety can be established.

Getting help in new ways

Although video therapy might not be a solution for every client, it offers a new way to access care for a large proportion of the people who seek therapy. Technology has made communication easy and completely private. Safe, encrypted video conferencing software is available that ensures HIPAA compliance and the confidentiality of your sessions.

If you can relate to Diana’s story and need a more accessible and convenient way to get professional support, video therapy might be the right option for you.

CONTACT US
If you want help connecting with a therapist, Lyra can assist you. You can get started today if Lyra is offered by your employer. Sign up now.

And check in frequently here or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter for more insights into optimal well-being.Sign up now.

DISCLAIMER: The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Charlene Fuentes, Psy.D. is the Associate Director of Clinical Programs at Lyra Clinical Associates. Her clinical specialties include Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Health Psychology, and Behavioral Medicine. She has extensive experience in chronic illness management and has developed inpatient and outpatient psychosocial programs for hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area.

We live in an age in which anxiety problems are at their highest recorded levels. Social fears and shame-related problems are among the most common issues people report. Jerry Seinfeld told a famous joke about this, saying that the number one fear expressed by Americans was a fear of public speaking, and that number two was the fear of death—so if you were giving a eulogy at a funeral, there’s a good chance you’d rather be in the coffin than behind the microphone.

Why should our fears about how we’re perceived in the minds of others be such a huge problem for us? Consider this: when you look back over your life and recall some of your most intensely anxious moments or emotional challenges, don’t these often revolve around relationships, and whether you would be acceptable or lovable to others?

Humans are Social Animals

In evolutionary psychology we have a saying about how important cooperation and connectedness is to humans and other primates: a lone monkey is a dead monkey. This reminds us that humans survive because we’ve learned to cooperate, connect, and take care of one another. We don’t fare very well in the wild alone, and deep in our brains, a part of us knows that. As a result, our highly sensitive system for detecting threats sets us up to experience social anxiety and attendant self-evaluation, to ensure we aren’t going to be “voted off the island.”

We evolved physically to live in small, highly cooperative groups, foraging for food together on the plains and coastlines of Africa. Over the last 50,000 years, technological evolution has moved a lot faster than physical evolution. As a result, we now live in a wildly competitive society, and are flooded with images at a rate that our brains were never designed to handle. If you live in the developed world and interact with a smartphone, computer, and television, you’re going to be exposed to more images of threat, sex, and competition in one week than generations of your ancestors might have witnessed over a hundred years.

Funnily enough, our brains don’t fully comprehend that not all of these images are real. When we see photographs, read stories, or are exposed to symbols that stimulate our brain’s threat detection system, our bodies and behaviors respond unconsciously, as if they were real. It’s similar to when you imagine your favorite food, or see an episode of a cooking show where the host is preparing a delicious lasagna; your stomach begins to release gastric juices, and you get hungry. It doesn’t matter that real food isn’t present; you’re ready for lunch.

The Power of Self-Compassion

We can use this capacity to respond so intensely to imaginary things to our advantage by cultivating new strengths, like self-compassion. Self-compassion means extending compassion to one’s self in instances of perceived inadequacy, failure, or suffering.

Research has shown that from the day we’re born until the day we die, the compassion and kindness we experience have a huge impact on how our brains mature, our physical health, and on our general well-being. Shame and social anxiety are also affected by our experience of compassion. It turns out that when we use imagery and meditation to train our brains in self-compassion, we’re able to overcome the tyranny of social fears, and we’re better able to approach life with courage, curiosity, and a capacity for joy.

The path of cultivating self-compassion takes time and involves deliberate practice. However, you can start by following three simple steps.

1. Know that it’s not your fault.

We know we didn’t choose our place in the genetic lottery. We didn’t choose to have a tricky human brain that is set up with a hair-trigger threat detection system and confusing loops of thought. We didn’t choose our parents, our childhood, or the myriad social circumstances in our lives. By realizing that much of what we suffer with is simply not our fault, we can begin to activate compassion for ourselves and others.

When we take a perspective of self-compassion, we remember how much of the pain and suffering in life is not of our choosing, and is therefore not our fault. We practice the wisdom of no-blame, which means that taking responsibility for the direction we choose in life is essential, while languishing in shame, social fears, and self-blame seldom leads to effective action.

2. Hold yourself and others in warmth and kindness.

When we are in the presence of warmth, acceptance, and affiliative emotions, we are likely to be our most flexible, empathic, and responsive. When we practice compassion for ourselves, we slow our breathing, adopt a warm and caring facial expression and tone of voice, and cultivate an open and centered body posture. We also use images that evoke compassion to bring us into contact with our compassionate mind.

In this link, you’ll find a few introductory examples of self-compassion visualization practice that can give you a taste of what this work is about.

3. Practice compassion as a flow.

We all can feel distressed when we repeatedly encounter the suffering of others or frequently suffer ourselves. Practicing deliberate, consistent compassion for ourselves and others builds an inner architecture of compassionate strength, and can help prevent burnout.

When you find yourself feeling that your reservoir of empathy, wisdom, and warmth is slightly drained, deliberately breathe in compassionate intentions for yourself. As you breathe in, silently affirm to yourself that your suffering will cease and be replaced by peace and happiness. As you breathe out, you can wish for others’ suffering to cease also, and wish them well-being and an end to needless struggles. You can do this as you’re going about your day or as part of a meditation practice.

When this simple practice becomes a habit, you can quickly activate your compassionate mind to better face the challenges in your life, and to greatly reduce feelings of shame and social anxiety.

CONTACT US
If you want help becoming more compassionate with yourself, Lyra can connect you to a therapist. You can get started today if Lyra is offered by your employer.  Sign up now.

And check in frequently here or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter for more insights into optimal well-being.

DISCLAIMER
The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dennis Tirch, Ph.D. is the founder of The Center for Compassion Focused Therapy in New York City, Associate Clinical Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, and author of several books on mindfulness and compassion in psychotherapy. He trains therapists and researchers in the science of compassion globally and is an acknowledged expert in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT).