Couple at Home, Accessing a Laptop
A number of years ago I began offering tele-therapy to clients. Sometimes we call it virtual therapy, or online counseling. We met via a phone call, FaceTime or Skype – whatever worked best for them. At first I had sessions with clients I had already been meeting with in my office, but who had moved away or were out of town and didn’t want to miss our time together. Later I started meeting with clients who I never met in person.
There are a number of reasons that clients choose to meet this way, and some of them are:
Convenience – we can meet at a time and in a place that allows for ultimate flexibility. No commute to my office in traffic. My clients contact me from their homes, their offices, hotel rooms, and even their cars!
Some clients say it allows them to feel that the sessions are less intense and more relaxed, yet they feel a connection.
The ability to schedule sessions after the children are asleep, without needing to obtain childcare, to meet even when their car is in the shop, or their time is very tight.
The ability to work with me, even though it isn’t geographically possible.
How does it work? We agree on the time and date of sessions, and the technology we’ll use. We have a brief set up call to test and be sure we can connect. There are a few forms I send along; Consent For Treatment, Policies and Procedures, Initial Intake, and Authorization For Payment .(I accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express, and charge my Square account so that my clients get immediate notification.) For couples there are some additional forms to help get us started quickly.
Just as we would in person, we meet at a set time on a set day, and our sessions last 50 minutes, unless we agree otherwise in advance. With new couples I often schedule an initial double session. And, as always, I give couples homework to complete between sessions.
If this is of interest to you, I suggest you look through my website and see if you’d like to talk. Then call me at 408-410-4341, or email me at jm@judithmcfarland.com, and let me know if you have questions. Thanks for your interest!
