Web Cam Therapy

Everyone knows about videoconferencing between company offices and between companies. Consultation in the office, everyone knows. But consulting via webcam is less common in France! And numerous North American studies show the effectiveness of this practice. So much so that the code of ethics for psychologists in Quebec itself recognises this practice.

Webcam psychology opens up new perspectives and makes it possible to reach people who would not come to the practice for various reasons:

Gathering the necessary energy to ask for help from a therapist when you are suffering, and therefore already weakened, is a difficult process that is made easier when you can choose to remain in the comfort of your own home. This is common for the first consultations.
Sometimes it's the shame that holds you back. With the possibility of consulting via webcam, you can stay at home and not run into someone you know in the street!
The usual working hours leave little room for self-care. Taking into account one's suffering or difficulties by adding the stress of having to free up time during office hours or by running to the office between 12 and 2 pm (not to mention that the therapist can always be a little behind schedule throughout the day!) does not create the most favourable conditions for a moment of therapy.
Expatriates: in the host country, it is sometimes impossible to find a therapist who speaks your language.
Some people are unable to visit the practice because of long travel times (rural areas), difficult weather conditions or mobility problems (disabilities)

It is still not widely used in Europe, yet in the US and Canada, online psychology has shown that its medium is of greater value than office-based psychology can offer. There are many pragmatic advantages to be appreciated by patients in their choice of therapy:

The therapy time is gross since no transport time, no parking time, etc. must be added.
It is very likely that you will get an appointment at short notice: within the day or the next day.
Generally better rates.
No additional costs for transport and parking meters.

All this for an efficiency equivalent to that of psychology in the office, and sometimes superior!

To go further...

Most psychologists and psychotherapists now offer their services online.

I have been part of it for years, but the movement has grown with the health crisis, the complications of travel, the insecurity for some, sometimes fear.

But can we really be treated via a webcam or a telephone call? Does this method of communication change the course of the consultation? What types of problems can it be used for?

On-line therapy has been very successful and attracts young patients (20-45 years old on average), men and women alike, who have mastered the tools of connection, but not only. It is useful in many situations: when you have moved and you want to continue to consult the person with whom you are comfortable. When you are constantly on the move for work or when your schedule is so tight that you struggle to find time for yourself: scheduling a consultation during lunchtime, sometimes at the last minute, is useful. The same goes for stay-at-home mothers who cannot consult because they do not have someone to look after their children: thanks to teleconsultation, they can do so during the children's nap. Without this possibility, many people find it difficult to consult, simply because of organisational difficulties. But not only that.

This option also suits people who have difficulty moving around (disability, panic disorders such as agoraphobia), those for whom it is complicated to face the gaze of a shrink (e.g. perversions and sexual disorders), but also expatriates. In addition to the ease of access to the consultation, they appreciate being able to confide in their own language, which they miss in their daily lives.

Online therapy has the merit of making the process easier and the consultation more accessible. Taking the plunge is less impressive. Going to the shrink" also seems less burdensome. Teleconsultation creates a kind of protection, especially for people who have already had a bad experience in a practice. The patient is at home, more at ease. They feel that if things go wrong, they can disconnect: a calming option. Often, it is this different setting, that of the intimate cocoon, which invites confidence. In a place where one feels comfortable, it is easier to open up.

Ease, speed and time saving are the winning trio of this new form of consultation. E-mail, telephone or video-appointment exchange, in one day, it is possible to reach your therapist! A considerable advantage when faced with an emergency or time difference. "The therapy progresses all the faster because the exchange is easy and the patient feels that he is the actor of his treatment: it is he who decides when and where to consult, which reassures him considerably", adds the therapist.

The therapist becomes more contactable, like a private confidant, and is thus desacralized: the patient, certainly having less of a feeling of being disturbed, is more likely to ask for help when needed. For his part, the therapist also benefits from this exercise: the time saved is valid for both the patient and the therapist, so...

Give it a try!