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Is Online Therapy a Good Option?
Online therapy can be an effective, affordable, and convenient way to work through mental health matters. Therefore, it can be preventative care for mental health difficulties that appear later, in a post-COVID-19 world. We should start to prepare for the long-term impact that it may have on mental health.
It’s evident that the availability of online therapy has very rapidly increased due to the pandemic the world is facing. Patients, potential patients, and therapists are more confined in their homes and are not meeting in-person. There has been a massive increase in the collective anxiety levels of people in isolation. Some people predisposed to anxiety have really felt it. Others, already diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder, may be feeling their levels of mental health declining. Even people who have never felt symptoms of anxiety may be feeling them now.
Is This a Good Time for Online Therapy?
Now is a good time to be proactive for mental health difficulties since we have never faced anything quite like this. Different states have had different levels of urgent changes, and some families have experienced a great deal of tragedy. Healthcare workers will have different reactions from the high-risk situations they experienced as a part of their jobs. Each group has experienced individualized levels of experiences and stress.
Therapy had already begun to adapt to modern times and technology changes, shifting from only face-to-face therapy to virtual options. Many more therapists began offering online options in the March 2020 timeframe. There are therapy platforms for video calls, text messages, or phone calls to cover each person’s preferences and/or accessible technologies. Even in cases where health insurance is not available, there are also support groups and counselors that are available on a volunteer basis for free. There are many options to explore.
How Accessible is Online Therapy?
Prices were reduced, in some cases, for online therapy that used to be out-of-network or not affordable. There are also subscription-based services that charge monthly rates to communicate with licensed therapists. Many barriers have been broken down, which previously prevented or delayed people from getting help and support.
The current crisis has impacted everyone in some way. There is not a group in society that will come out of this without some type of scars. The social impact of COVID-19 is far-reaching. Individuals, couples, and families can prepare for these impacts with guidance from professionals, who have strategies to work through changes in mental health. Couples’ counseling can help get through the stresses and anxieties that are brought on by this public health crisis. Schools have been closed for several months.
Parents are also concerned about how their children will change, and what trauma and stress may come about later in their lives. Children, for the most part, have been even more confined to the home than adults have. Children have had fewer options since it was not essential for them to leave the home, and it was best for them to stay homebound. Unfortunately, some children have suffered greatly, for a variety of reasons, because of not going to school.
Is Online Therapy Proactive for the Future?
We don’t know what is coming next. It may get better, or it may get worse. For this reason, consider talking to a professional, to acknowledge and process feelings about this time, and to tackle anxiety, depression, and panic attacks before they become unmanageable. The stronger each person is in their mental health, the more they will be able to be there for themselves and others to get through this difficult time.
We will all need our mental and emotional strength to get through this. To move into the next stage, therapists have begun to share details on quarantine fatigue, and ways to handle it before it becomes a problem. We have many resources to work with, so take the time to make sure mental health is a top priority to stay as strong and healthy as possible.
