What to Expect in Online Therapy?

Online therapy is similar to traditional face-to-face therapy in that a professional psychotherapist or qualified counsellor works with a client to provide tools, solutions and ways to work through any issues you may have. The objective of therapy is to help anyone with mental health struggles to improve their mental health and equip them with better, healthy coping strategies so that they are able to manage and overcome challenges in life. 

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Online therapy differs from face-to-face therapy in that therapy can be more accessible due to increased convenience, flexibility, and affordability. The use of technology to offer therapy through online communication tools makes it possible to get help anywhere, anytime. We do recognize that some people may prefer to be in a physical space together with their therapist, and we want to highlight that though online therapy can be just as effective, it is not a superior method to traditional face-to-face therapy.

Here’s what to expect when beginning your first online therapy session, and how to set expectations for positive outcomes along the way.

Starting the Conversation with Your New Therapist

After you’re matched with a therapist, we encourage you to set up your first session soon. Take the first session to get to know your therapist as well as let them get to know you better and your goals in therapy. 

For some of us, the first time talking to your therapist may feel foreign and intimidating. “What should I talk about?” “How do I communicate?” are common questions. Here are some suggestions to help you prepare for your first session.

Write down what you are struggling with

It’s important to think about what you want to achieve from therapy. If you have been experiencing feelings of sadness and have become uninterested in social activities or things that you used to enjoy doing, think about what you hope to feel after sessions of therapy. If you are able to identify some of the things in your life that are negatively impacting your mental health, note them down to share it with your therapist in your session. If you are unsure of what those triggers are, that’s okay too, try to record how you’ve been feeling.

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Some examples can be:

• “I’m feeling very stressed out from work.”

• “My partner and I are fighting all the time. We can’t seem to agree and communicate with each other anymore”

• “I’ve been feeling lonely and sad and I’m not sure why. Some days I feel okay, but most of the time I just want to stay in bed all day. It’s been going on for a couple of months now”

What To Talk About In Therapy

Being prepared with a few topics you would like to discuss during therapy may help you and your therapist understand what’s most important for you at the moment and what can be worked on in therapy.

It’s helpful to organize your thoughts beforehand. However, it’s quite common for many people to struggle to identify the underlying issue. If you are only able to write down the symptoms or describe your day-to-day, that’s still a good place to start. Depending on your situation and your needs and goals in therapy, your therapist is trained to look at your current problems as well as work with you to explore past experiences in order to better understand patterns of behavior and core beliefs that are influencing the present. This may also depend on your therapist’s treatment approach.

Know that you will always have control over what is discussed in therapy. If you are seeking help with past trauma, you may want to share that with your therapist. If you prefer to focus on present issues, that is also something that can be worked on in therapy.

When seeking professional help, you can set your own agenda, decide what you do and don’t want to talk about in therapy and always communicate that to your therapist.

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Set Goals for Therapy

After you’ve thought about what you want to talk about in therapy, think about what you want to be able to achieve at the end of the sessions with your therapist. Depending on the problem you are struggling with, it may be possible to set behavioral changes as your goals. For some others, it may be more important to be able to talk to a professional about past trauma or event. Don’t feel the need to set a specific timeline for therapy. 

Communicating in Online Therapy

With online therapy, one of the main benefits is being able to be in the comfort of your own home and talk to your therapist. 

If you’re transitioning from in-person therapy to online therapy and prefer to have a “face-to-face” conversation you may choose to have a video session. For some people, an internet phone-based session may feel more comfortable and less intimidating.

The therapists on our platform offer both video and phone sessions. Communicate to your therapist about what makes you feel the most comfortable.

Common Care provides a full-service online therapy platform with the largest selection of qualified online therapists. After completing an initial intake assessment, we recommend suitable therapists based on your needs, preferences and goals in therapy.  Begin therapy anytime, anywhere at affordable prices.