Therapy On Line Requires Additional Skills
The advent of the internet has created many new opportunities for practitioners. One of the most novel is the idea of doing therapy over Skype, Vsee or FaceTime. These platforms mean that a person can undertake therapy from the comfort of their own home or office and be able to more easily schedule in the appointment. Indeed, recent studies show that online therapy is just as effective as in office, face to face sessions.
However, as with all innovations, there are those who are willing to cut corners and offer these services without giving any thought to their own competence or abilities. Online therapy requires additional skill sets and knowledge, one simply should not offer the service unless they were trained to do it. This is the same argument that I and many others have made with regard to offering clinical supervision. It is simply a different skill set.
As always, or at least it seem always, I am here writing to you to remind potential clients to be mindful about the practitioner they choose and to ensure that he or she is properly qualified to offer the service that is being advertised. Additionally, I ask that practitioners who offer on line therapy to consider their own competence and ensure that they are truly qualified to offer this most novel delivery of therapeutic service.
