Counselling and COVID-19 (Coronavirus)
Due to recent events concerning COVID-19 and public health measures, the demand for online counselling has grown exponentially. I have been practicing online counselling with a small caseload of clients since my practice opened but have increased my hours and made my schedule more flexible to meet the needs of clients and the community. Appointments can be conducted over the phone or by video via videoconferencing or telehealth platforms.
Many people are experiencing increased stress, anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Online counselling can be an effective way to manage your mental health.
If you are considering online therapy, please look for a professional with verified credentials (CCC, RCC, or R.Psych) and who has expertise and experience in the matters you’re seeking help with.
As a trauma therapist and crisis responder, I am prepared to help you process and understand the difficult emotions, reactions and questions you might be having. I am equipped with an understanding of how the stress of these circumstances are causing disruptions to your mental, emotional, social, and physiological well being, and to find solutions to address them.
It is possible to find peace and empowerment in a time of upheaval and uncertainty.
It is possible to find relief and enrichment in a time of grief and difficulty.
However you have been responding to these recent changes in our world, know that your feelings are acceptable. If you’ve been having difficult or uncomfortable feelings (or an exacerbation of your mental health difficulties), know that this is normal in light of changing events and uncertainty.
Please consider how to best take care of yourself during this time and how counselling may help you.
10 HELPFUL TIPS FOR ONLINE THERAPY AND
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR COUNSELLING
(Created by Vitality Collective )
Setting. We’ve done therapy at home, at the office, in the car, you name it. Just ensure that you’re in a private space somewhere so that you can speak freely, with a stable internet connection, and a device with a good battery charge.
Free yourself from distractions. Turn notifications off, see if someone else can supervise the kids or entertain them with a movie while your session is going on, and try to be in a quiet space where your emotional and therapeutic process isn’t likely to be interrupted.
Turn your selfie camera off or hide it. This can be one of the biggest distractions as people tend to monitor how they appear on live video. If you hide it or turn it off, you can just focus on your session content and process without worrying about what you look like.
Go for a big screen. If it’s available to you, use a computer or a tablet. While therapy can also be successfully done on a smaller phone screen, your eyes will strain less if it’s a larger screen and will feel more similar to an in-person session.
Internet connection. If you’re able to, try to be in the same room as your modem or router. If this isn’t possible, sometimes it’s helpful to just use your phone data, if this is available to you.
Try using headphones. It will feel more private and connected.
Allow an extra five or ten minutes before session starts to try out the encrypted platform that your therapist uses. This will allow you to test your audio and video ahead of time and will enable you to get the most out of your virtual session.
Little known tip here… keep the background simple and wear a plain shirt, without too many patterns. Shirts that have a lot going on (eg. us Canadians love our plaid!) tend to cause the camera to continuously try to render every line, which can cause brief outages or fuzziness.
If you’re at home, try to minimize bandwidth use by asking if others in your home can pause their streaming services for an hour (eg. Netflix), unless your current bandwidth set up can handle the traffic.
Sit back, relax, prop your device on a solid and flat service, and soon enough you’ll have completed a successful first online therapy session!
I want you to feel comfortable and confident when you choose a therapist to work with. If you have more questions, browse the FAQs, or learn more about my approach.
Contact me and we can arrange a free consultation - or if you’re ready, book an appointment online now using the secure client portal.