7 answers to your questions about online psychology
If you have come this far to read this article perhaps it is because you have unresolved questions or concerns about how we work with the psychologists we carry out online psychotherapy. Perhaps you have raised yourself before reading this article ... how do they work? Is it reliable? What is the cost? It is effective?
From now on I will try to clarify and answer these questions about the services that psychologists do online .
- Related article: "Types of psychological therapies"
Most frequent questions about online psychotherapy
Maybe you're thinking that you need to go to psychotherapy, and you think you could do it online, from the tranquility, privacy and comfort of your home , without having to make any displacement and without having to face a waiting room.
But since it is something new and unknown to you, it can generate many uncertainties, so you will ask yourself some questions to be sure enough before deciding to start an online psychotherapeutic process. Maybe some of the questions that come up are the following.
1. How are online psychology sessions?
These sessions usually work through videoconferencing, from the platforms that facilitate the video call . The session of psychotherapy without image can be realized, only with sound, by audio-conference or by telephone; also without image or sound, only written in real time, by chat or even by deferred email.
Anyway, I only recommend doing online psychotherapy only by videoconference, I think it is the most effective way since it is with which you get better results.
2. How do I pay the price of online psychotherapy sessions?
Surely you have made some purchase online, because in the same way you pay for online purchases, you can also pay the payments to your online psychologist. At present there are many electronic payment gateways , or sending and transferring money (such as Pay Pal), and payments can be made through them.
Other alternative means of payment can be bank transfers, deposit account or also money transfers through Western Union.
3. Are psychotherapy sessions completely online or do you need to be face-to-face?
The psychological therapy can be completely online, since both the diagnosis and the treatment can be carried out by video call and the payments as we have just said through Internet payment gateways, or by transfer or deposit account.
You should know that psychology, unlike other health disciplines such as medicine, it is not essential for physical contact with the patient to make a diagnosis, nor to carry out the psychotherapeutic intervention; therefore it is only necessary to do it through videoconferencing.
4. Is it reliable to do therapy with an online psychologist?
I could tell you that you can also trust a psychologist who works in person. At the end of the day, the only thing that changes is the way you communicate with the psychologist.
As a psychologist working online, I can accredit my university degrees both as a psychology graduate and as a Clinical Psychology Specialist. You can also see on my website www.rizaldos.com the testimonies of patients, as well as the testimonials.
Of course you can find some fraud or impostor, but that can also occur in person and in that case will have to report to the authorities for professional intrusion. But what you will find usually is that we are the same psychologists who have face-to-face consultation who now also carry out online psychotherapy.
Anyway, today you can check the fingerprint, prestige of the therapist and opinions of other patients of a psychologist before deciding to start a psychotherapeutic process.
5. What is the price of an online psychotherapy session?
I am one of those who consider that both the price of online psychology sessions and the face-to-face sessions should be the same, because the psychologist brings the same work .
You will have seen that there are more or less economic rates. That will depend on the training, the experience and the prestige of the professional of psychology, and this same thing happens with the sessions that are done in person.
What is more economical is in relation to time and the relevant transfer to reach a consultation of the face-to-face psychologist.
6. What do you think of free online psychology?
There are many people who come to certain websites that offer free online psychologist. Unfortunately these supposed psychology services are not reliable and in no case deserve your trust, they are a fraud.Going to the psychologist's office is not free, just like the plumber or the lawyer is not.
The psychologist is a professional who charges for his work, like any other job. We can not give free service , then, like all of us, we have to earn a living with our work.
Maybe there are psychologists who work and their services are free or subsidized since they are part of a program financed by a Public Administration, by a Charitable Foundation or by an NGO. In these cases I do not have the inconveniences mentioned at the beginning.
7. Will online psychotherapy be effective?
I would say that at the same level, how effective is the psychotherapy we do in person. The techniques and therapies that support the science we use in face-to-face psychotherapy sessions to treat and help people with psychological problems are the same as the ones we use online. The only difference is the way to make them reach the patient .
I wish I had answered your doubts about online psychotherapy. It is a viable option, not the only one, that you should not rule out without knowing its benefits and effectiveness.
