Benefits of Teletherapy for Artists, Creatives, & Everyone In-Between
As of today, my practice is 100% online and phone sessions. While I had experience with both before the pandemic, like many therapists, my practice and experience was still mainly in person. Now with almost 2 years of no “in-person” sessions, I thought it was a good time to reflect on this change, a time to note what I have seen in myself and my clients. Since my practice is mainly focused on working with artists and creatives, I will take a moment at the end to highlight how teletherapy is especially useful for them in particular. With that said, most of the takeaways here do apply to everyone. So if you are considering telehealth or teletherapy, but need more info…here is a great place to start!
Let us break it into a few key categories that highlight the negative, while also pointing out the very large positives.
1) The space
While you can imagine being in your own space has its share of positives, unfortunately that is not true for all people all the time. I have had to get creative with my clients about finding quiet and private places for therapy. Many of these moments have worked out wonderfully. Who knew a closet could work not just as a converted recording studio, but also a makeshift therapy room? Who knew that an unexpected benefit of my clients having pets, is that suddenly we are doing pet assisted therapy? With all those benefits though, there are the times where a client is clearly distracted due to noisy (or maybe even nosy) roommates in the next room. There are times where a client is stuck in a space that is triggering to them, when in-person therapy would be a welcome break from that. With that said, I do think people are more likely to see assume they cannot make it work, when a little experimentation would actually allow themselves a great space to work on themselves.
2) The technology
Technology is a wonderful gift, but as we see more and more lately, it is not without its downsides. Utilizing our phone or computer for therapy means the unexpected and abruptly ended session occasionally. It means not hearing a key sentence in a pivotal moment, and having to ask the client to repeat themselves. It means for some clients, having to quickly learn some new skills to even be able to log on (though everyone seems to adapt quite well!). With that said, while there are of course awkward or annoying moments, the reality is we have both been paid back with so many amazing moments as a result of it. There are hundreds of sessions that I never would have had at all if online sessions or phone therapy were not an option. The occasional inconvenience or confusion is ultimately a small price to pay for it.
3) The relationship
One of the biggest concerns pre-pandemic that clients and therapists alike had about online therapy and phone sessions, was how it would impact the therapeutic relationship. The pandemic has certainly highlighted how unsatisfying at times “online” interactions can be, especially when talking online is your main type or only type of interaction! In the scope of all our relationship types though, therapeutic relationships seem to be of the kind that are least impacted. The progress in therapy is just the same. The ability to form a deep relationship is just the same. All I can speak from is my experience of course, but I must say my experience being a therapist and being a client virtually is shockingly similar to in person. That is not to say one can not have a preference or a different experience. It IS different still, just not perhaps in the ways we imagined.
Important takeaways for artists
I have not completely made my mind up about what is next for my practice. Online therapy seems to be especially useful to artists, and people are, now more than ever, willing to give it a shot. The flexibility that online therapy gives my clients and my practice is HUGE. When your life is one that lacks consistency because of your career, being able to attend therapy more consistently than ever is immensely helpful. My clients do not have to worry where in Manhattan they will be in order to make it in time to their session. They don’t have to be in the city at all! They don’t have to worry about whether their work day is still happening, as they can take an hour lunch break to do their session.
My clients also get to benefit from my increased flexibility. It is easier for me to manage clients who have different schedules each week, or even to change a session time a day or two prior. This difference alone can not be stated enough. By freeing up both parties schedules in many ways, you put aside one of the biggest barriers to therapy for this population. It is easy as therapists to say that clients should be able to make the time for therapy, but the reality is it is not as easy for everyone. Online therapy though has made it a more even playing field. That reason alone is enough for me to say that online therapy will NOT be leaving my practice any time soon.
