With Less Room For Risk-Taking During Quarantine, Couples Are Naturally Searching For The Best Online Couples Therapy In New York
Whether in-person, teletherapy or online couples therapy, the stakes often feel high in couples therapy, and this moment in time feels especially pressurizing. There’s no room for insufficient therapy during COVID-19. In fact, some couples are afraid that couples counseling might make their relationship worse, which just isn’t an option for folks now given all the logistical and emotional constraints. Overall, there’s just less room for risk-taking, which means couples are looking for the best online couples therapy in New York right now.
So what does the best phone therapy or video chat therapy look like? We have been getting questions from couples who are both identifying a need for remote couples therapy, but are also feeling protective of themselves and their relationship, for a good reason. Below are the answers to two of the most pressing risk-related questions we’ve received about online couples therapy:
Is Remote Couples Therapy (Such As Phone, Google Meet, Or Zoom) As Good As In-person Therapy?
The answer is yes–online therapy sessions are just as good. And here’s why: together, the couple and therapist can still identify and understand problematic dynamics in a relationship, and then do both exploratory and directive work to rebuild a more healthy foundation. All the material with which to work that is present in the therapy office is also present on the screen in online couples therapy.
A good video conferencing couples therapist should take strong leadership in the same way he or she does in the office. This is important to keep in mind, as simple as that sounds: you don’t have to know how to do the best couples therapy, in-person or online. That’s for your therapist to know, and guide you and your partner in. Many couples therapists had established and thriving virtual therapy practices prior to COVID-19, and know how to adjust the work to accommodate any remote specificities, ranging from handling dropped calls to recommending shared screens/split screens to navigating being frozen just as someone was saying something brilliant. You’re also allowed to ask couples therapists about our histories working virtually prior to committing to therapy–establishing this trust in our ability is crucial to therapy.
What If Online Couples Therapy Makes Our Relationship Worse During Quarantine?
There is a common misconception amongst couples hesitant about online couples therapy that talking about–making space for or exposing–existing pain points in relationships will make them worse. This is only true if you don’t have the tools to talk about them safely and productively. The best online couples therapists know how to establish the conditions of safety necessary to make processing conflict or naming feelings of anger and hurt feel relieving and productive, rather than dangerous or harmful.
Couples are understandably even more worried about this during COVID-19 with the restrictions of self-isolation and stay-at-home orders. A good couples therapist will prioritize understanding the conditions of your relationship in quarantine. Are you living together? Do you need to be able to co-parent at this time? What are the physical constraints of the apartment? We will take seriously working in the context of the existing frame, including each couple’s current COVID-related limitations.