I am so grateful that I have the job that I do! I get to talk to amazing people every day about their feelings and collaborate with them in the evolution of their consciousness, how exciting!
It is the coolest job I could imagine. How lucky am I that what I get paid to do is to connect on a deep soul level, all day long! This is also what I do for fun on my off time with the people in my life. While of course I need to replenish my energy by doing self-care, connecting with myself and nature, and being quiet, the joy I get from connecting with others is super energizing for me as well.
While I do miss the face to face one on one connection with others right now, I am also finding lots of positives to being able to do our work virtually right now. Again, the biggest positive is that I get to do this work at all, I feel so blessed every day to be able to do what I do.
I had never really considered doing online therapy exclusively before this pandemic, but I am grateful that this is giving me the opportunity to explore this new way of connecting with my clients.
I am practicing embracing this and looking for the benefits every day, and it hasn’t been hard to find some really nice positives that virtual therapy has for both me and the people I am working with.
Some of the benefits to online therapy that I am noticing so far for myself and my clients are:
- Convenience:
It’s so fun and easy for both myself and my clients to be able to just roll out of bed and get on a video session. Or to be able to sit outside in the yard with a gentle spring breeze and the sun on their face, allowing the energy of nature to help us with the work of transformation.
It’s much easier for some of my clients to have a session with their child in the other room with their other parent, rather than having to drive in, find and pay for child-care and take even more time away from their family than they want.
My clients can now be baking scones, doing laundry, and snuggling with their animals at the same time as they are taking care of their mental health.
It’s been really fun for me to see how much easier it is for some people to be able to connect in this virtual way!
- Authenticity:
It’s so nice to see my clients in their homes, with their cats crawling over their faces, or their kids knocking on the door, or with a piece of artwork they have created on the wall behind them.
It’s lovely as well as helpful for the therapeutic relationship for me to get a glimpse of my clients authentic unfiltered lives. Their vulnerability is closer to the surface, and we are able to connect in an even deeper way.
This helps me get to know and be able to help them better uncover their internal wisdom in order to continue their forward progress in their lives.
- Relaxation:
As the weeks of us staying at home go on, I’m noticing my clients getting more and more relaxed.
The button-down shirt someone wore two weeks ago has maybe turned into a robe this week. The grooming is more relaxed from week to week. There is nothing to prove, and no one to impress.
The more relaxed someone is, the more that the information we discuss can be absorbed into their subconscious in order to make more sustainable change for the future.
This increased relaxation actually allows the work we do to together to be more effective.
- Effectiveness:
While I already had read some research regarding the effectiveness of online therapy versus in person, I have been able to actually do my own research as well over the past month or so of working with people exclusively online.
Both clinical and my own personal research on this has shown me that there is a similar effectiveness for online and in person therapy.
I am seeing people move forward on their goals now maybe even more quickly than ever.
I think there are a lot of factors involved here: more time for self-reflection, more energy due to working less, etc… the continued effectiveness of having support online through this time is evident.
- Scheduling:
With most of us in our homes most of the time right now, it is offering more flexibility in scheduling. I am able to meet with some of my clients more frequently because they have more time in their schedules without a commute getting in the way.
This increased flexibility in scheduling is allowing some of my clients to make quicker progress in their mental health goals because they are able to prioritize themselves more right now.
These are just a few of the benefits I’m noticing right now, I know there are many more. While I can’t wait to connect with my clients in person again, I am happy that I’m learning so much about this new way of connecting with people as well!
Read more about Anxiety Treatment with Shana Olmstead.
