Susan Gully - Counsellor & IFS Practitioner Registered Member MBACP (Accred)

Online counselling usually takes place over the internet using a videocall system named "Whereby" which is similar to Skype or Zoom, but is more secure than those platforms.

Some of the benefits of working online are:
• You can create a comfortable and private space in your own home from which to attend sessions
• You may find it easy to talk, focus and express yourself
• You’ll be able to wear comfortable clothes, bring a cup of tea/coffee and avoid commuting to and from sessions
• We may be able to be more flexible about scheduling
• Unlike phone sessions, online counselling means we’ll be able to see each other
• Research shows that online counselling can be as effective as face-to-face work
• Online, you have the choice of counselling or IFS
• Whereby is easy to access and you won’t have to download any software.

If you are generally comfortable with the telephone, it offers a very convenient way of accessing counselling. Once you get started, you'll probably find it easy to talk and soon benefit from the way phone counselling helps you to focus. I have many years of experience as a telephone counsellor, and have often heard clients express surprise at how much can be achieved on the phone

Some of the benefits of telephone counselling are:
• It is a uniquely portable and flexible way of doing sessions - as long as you can't be overheard, you can be almost anywhere
• You do not feel observed while you're talking (which can be valuable if discussing subjects where you feel embarrassed)
• It may be a more comfortable option if you feel nervous about using computers or the internet.

One challenge of telephone counselling is that the elements of eye-contact and body language are not present. We may use more verbal descriptions to compensate for this.