How does it compare to in-person relationship counseling?
Relationship counseling through an online setting is actually very similar to in-person counseling! It just conveniently takes place from your home, your work, or any other location in Virginia. Due to the flexibility that exists in an online setting, it can be a wonderful, and needed, option that fits in well with our busy lives.
There are a variety of benefits that come from pursuing relationship counseling virtually. To start, you don’t need to worry about getting stuck in traffic and not making it to your session on time. You also don’t have to worry about not having time to eat a meal before your session starts. If you or your partner is too ill to leave the house and not too ill to focus on counseling, virtual counseling is a great option. Depending on your child’s age and their ability to remain unsupervised for the length of the session so you can remain focused on the therapeutic space, you might not even have to worry about finding childcare. Plus, if you have pets you can even have them with you!
Yes, but I get distracted too easily and would have a hard time focusing.
It is human nature to get distracted at times, whether we are in an office with our clinician or we are at our home when we meet with them. Our lives can be full of tasks, lists, and duties, and sometimes it can be hard to shut off all distractions. Our clinicians take an active, direct approach with partners and we find therapeutic value in where distractions may lead and facilitate insight as we bring the focus back to the space! Through support and encouragement we give all partners the skills to set aside those lists and tasks and take some time to focus on each other and their relationship(s).
Ok, that’s cool but what happens if we start to argue when we are in our virtual session and we can’t stop?!
As clinicians we find it helpful to work with clients who are in their natural habitat! We tend to be most comfortable when we are in our home and, consequently, it is there that we are more likely to fall into habits and patterns that we want to get rid of as we are in a comfortable setting. Having the chance to meet partners in their home can be a powerful way to reshape patterns that only emerge in the home environment. And plus, if you are in your home, you are also surrounded by objects and items that can act as calming, grounding sources.
I don’t think it will be as helpful as in-person
Our clinicians have taken extensive trainings in offering relationship counseling through an online setting, and the ways we manage conflict don’t vary much in a virtual setting compared to an in-person setting. As you explore themes and patterns in your relationship(s), you start to more easily notice when things might be getting heated, and in working with your clinician you learn new ways of responding to each other in spaces that foster closeness instead of distance.
Virtual counseling has been around for decades; research before, during and after COVID strongly suggests virtual counseling is just as effective, if not more effective, as in-person counseling. You and your clinician will monitor throughout to determine whether it is working for you or if in-person would be better. We will facilitate the move from virtual to in-person if this is the case.
It would be awkward to sit next to my partner(s) and share a computer screen.
We register each partner individually on our HIPAA and HITECH secure telehealth platform. This allows us to send separate links and invitations to each partner who can then log in on their own device from anywhere in Virginia. If it is more convenient, there is no need to be in the same space.
In general, what is the feedback from clients about virtual counseling?
About 50% initially report hesitation and anxiety related to the concerns listed above. After trying it the response is overwhelmingly positive. Noted benefits include: we can be in two separate places, it works great if we don’t feel well, we can still meet even if we are traveling as long as we are in Virginia, I can meet during my lunch break, I don’t have to take the time to leave my command or ship, drive off the base, meet and then drive back through the gate, I don’t get stuck behind a train, we get to have our pets with us and we have access to my calming and grounding items, we can snack, it’s easier to pay attention to facial expressions…