Online, email and telephone therapy
We offer online, email and telephone counselling, therapy and coaching service to clients who prefer to work in this way, such as those for whom regular, face-to-face meetings are difficult to manage. This is available through our First Psychology Online service.
Online therapy
This type of therapy uses new technology to enable a session online. It is the closest to a standard therapy or coaching session in that you 'meet' at a pre-agreed date and time and can see and interact with your therapist in real time (and they you). This type of therapy is very popular with people who struggle to attend a standard therapy session on a regular basis. This may be due to irregular working patterns, mobility issues, travelling for work or leisure and a whole range of other reasons.
Email sessions
Our e-mail service involves you writing your problems and concerns in an email, and your practitioner replying with a considered therapeutic response. Some of the benefits of e-mail therapy:
- You can read and write emails at a time that suits you. There is no need for an appointment.
- You can take as much time as you want to get your thoughts and feelings down in writing.
- Writing down the things that are on your mind is very helpful in itself – the act of sharing can provide some relief. Articulating your thoughts, feelings and concerns in writing can begin to give insight into what is happening in your life.
- It allows you and your practitioner time to consider issues and solutions more thoroughly.
- You have freedom to record what is on your mind as it occurs.
- Writing in comfortable, familiar surroundings can allow you to be more open than you might be face-to-face.
- You are able to refer to the conversation history and look back at what your practitioner suggested.
Just knowing that there is someone there to respond to your problems without judgement can provide an enormous sense of comfort and support to anyone attempting to overcome a difficult period in their life. If you’re unsure as to whether email counselling is a suitable option for you, the best thing to do is to get in touch to discuss your concerns.
How does email therapy work?
Each session is allocated a therapy hour (50minutes) where your emails are carefully read and replied to with a therapeutic response. In your practitioner’s reply, you will be provided with support as well as feedback, suggestions or questions. Each session ‘ends’ once your practitioner has used all 50 minutes of your session to read and reply to your messages. Depending on the length of your e-mails and the nature of your problem, you may receive a number of responses for each ‘session’. Your practitioner will inform you at the end of each e-mail how many minutes of your session remain so that you can plan for any additional sessions you feel you might need.
Our email service is subject to our normal contracting and fee arrangements. We are happy to work with clients using a combination of session types, for example, regular email ‘meetings’ in tandem with monthly face-to-face meetings. We have found this type of combination the most successful way of working using email technology.
Telephone sessions
Our telephone therapy and coaching service operates in the same way as a regular session in that we agree a day and a time to meet, but do so by telephone. This can be a very effective way of working, and increasing numbers of clients are choosing to work by phone. What we generally ask you to do is to email or send copies of any tasks we have agreed you would undertake (e.g. an anxiety diary) before the session, so we can see where we are if we are not meeting face to face.
Further information and booking
Our online therapy service is available via First Psychology Online. Please visit our sister website First Psychology Online for further details.
Ana Georgieva, Senior Counselling Psychologist (Online only)
