Therapy Over The Internet Vs. Phone Therapy: A Primer

Are Phone Therapy Sessions Or Video Chat Therapy Sessions Better For NYC Remote Therapy?

Offering remote therapy in addition to our in-person therapy at our offices in Lower Manhattan and Park Slope, Brooklyn, many patients have asked us: which is better for remote therapy in NYC: phone therapy sessions or online therapy sessions, using video chat like Skype, Google Meet, FaceTime, and Zoom? This is a great question and there is a healthy discussion among NYC online psychotherapists about this exact issue. However, there is a pretty easy answer: whether online therapy or teletherapy, the best choice will be what works best for the patient. 

It may sound counterintuitive, but there are absolutely times when phone therapy sessions are more useful and create a closer connection than video conferencing therapy sessions. Knowing what works for you depends on your specific therapy goals, your concerns and needs, and where your comforts lie.

So let’s take a look at the issues that may influence your decision on NYC teletherapy or online therapy now: 

Phone Therapy Or Video Chat Therapy For Kids And Teens Can Both Be An Easy Transition

Kids and teens, having grown up WhatsApping and FaceTimeing their friends, have a very easy time transitioning to video therapy sessions in New York. Scheduling a time in the day to speak over Skype, Zoom, FaceTime, or Google Meet with someone outside of the house can take pressure off of the family. In particular, teens can be versatile in doing phone therapy or video chat therapy. Depending on where you live, jumping on the phone for a teen rather than a video call while they take a walk around the block can feel liberating. 

Even In Cramped Apartments, Individuals Need Space And Distance In Teletherapy And Online Therapy 

If you are an individual doing remote therapy in NYC while living with a partner or your family (and we do also offer phone and video couples therapy and phone and video family therapy), it is important that you are able to create the space and distance to feel free to discuss whatever you need to with your therapist. Whether a phone therapy session or video therapy session, that can sometimes mean getting out of the house, going for a walk, or hanging out on a park bench for some privacy.

However, it doesn’t always need to. The best online therapy in NYC right now is the one that works for you. One of the benefits of Zoom, Skype, and Facetime therapy is that we can all be extra flexible about scheduling—you don’t have to plan out a commute schedule to get to our offices and so that time can be used for our work. 

Should New Therapy Patients Start With Teletherapy Or Video Therapy?

As you start therapy, you may be thinking that it is deeply important to get in the room with your therapist… and it is! For our initial remote sessions with patients, we prefer to work with them over video chat conferencing, when possible. It helps both us, as therapists, and the patient to be together–even remotely–and get to know each other by looking into each other’s eyes—even if at a distance. However, if the connection flags, your cat chews through a wire, or your father-in-law won’t get off the treadmill, leaving you with no private place, not much is lost in throwing on some headphones and doing an initial phone therapy session.

The important thing to remember is that we will make whatever form of remote therapy work for you. If you’re not the best with technology, we will walk you through it to make the experience painless; if you’re feeling cramped in the house and don’t feel as if you have the space to do video conferencing therapy, we will help you figure out a way to carve out some individual space; and if you don’t know what to do, give us a call—we’ll make it work.