The convenience of video sessions, or telehealth, is that you can do it in the privacy of your own home. If you feel teary or if you just want to journal or nap right afterwards, you can do that without having to worry about getting home first. If you prefer to distract yourself after a session by watching something or spending time with a loved one, that might also be readily available if you’re at home. Research shows that telehealth can be as effective as in-person sessions.

At this time, I am offering solely telehealth sessions.

Privacy

The most important piece of telehealth, is ensuring your privacy. Doing so will help you to open up in a similar way as you would in person.

Here are some tips to make sure you’re having a confidential experience:

• Find a room that works for you. This may be easier said than done if you share a one-bedroom with someone. But, I’d encourage you to think first and foremost about your privacy over your comfort. So, for instance, it might be preferable to use a small bedroom with minimal furniture, rather than a nice couch in the living room, if that means you can ensure more privacy.

  • Consider using your car parked in the garage, or sitting in an enclosed closet or bathroom space, in a pinch.

  • Consider whether there is a time of day when you’re able to have the place to yourself. For instance, if your roommate usually goes for a run on Friday mornings, you might schedule with me during that time and let them know that you’ll need the place — alone — for an hour.

• Add some white noise. You can download a white noise app or use a simple white noise machine; this can help you to replicate the office experience and protect your privacy. You might want to leave it in an adjacent room or right outside of your door.

• Experiment with headphones. If you find that telehealth audio quality stays the same with headphones, this might give you an increased sense of control. For instance, if you hear the door open, you won’t have to worry about quickly shutting your laptop. Also, you might feel better knowing that if you are overheard for a brief moment, only one side of the conversation can be heard.

• Recruit others! If you live with someone safe, whom you trust, who already knows that you’re going to therapy, now might be a good time to advocate for yourself. You can ask your roommate/partner/suitemate/spouse if they might help you out by using headphones of their own if they find that they can hear you during your session. You might ask them to turn up the white noise if they ever find that it is too low. You can let them know that this does not mean that you are necessarily talking about them, but that you are trying to let yourself open up completely in therapy and meander wherever you need to. You can let them know that part of that process is to know that one has the privacy and confidentiality to really open up to discuss various sensitive topics.

• Turn off/unplug your smart home device or smartphone, if you are not using it.

Comfort

Another important aspect of telehealth sessions is your own comfort. Think about what you’d do to prepare to speak on the phone to a best friend or trusted loved one. If you knew you were going to chat for an hour or two, would you pick a particular chair in your home? A particular couch? A certain pillow to support your back? Would you wear yoga pants? jeans? basketball shorts? a sweater? Now, imagine if they came to your home. Would you want to have tea out for them? water? Now pivot to my office… would it help to have tissues nearby? A feelings chart? See if you can muster the kindness and hospitality you would give to a good friend, and turn it towards yourself. Think about creating a space that is physically comfortable for you before the session starts. It doesn’t have to be a big to-do. It could be as simple as choosing to sit on a comfy chair instead of your dining room table, grabbing a throw blanket, or making a cup of tea.

You may want to budget an extra 5 minutes of time for the session as a buffer, in case we go over by a couple of minutes due to internet connection issues.

If your pet makes you feel more comfortable, feel free to let him or her into the room with you.

In order to replicate more of the in-person experience and decrease feelings of self-consciousness, feel free to use a post-it note to cover your own screen. While I do need to see your face, you don’t; you wouldn’t if you were in the room with me. I want you to be as comfortable, in-the-moment, and frank as you would be in my office. So, I would encourage you to experiment with a sticky note and see if it makes you feel less in tune with yourself and more in tune with the moment.

And to reassure you, if you’re uncomfortable with the new medium, that’s okay! Consider what could be making you less comfortable, and see if you can address it with me. You might think I would not have a solution (and I may or may not!). But, if we brainstorm, maybe we can think of something together.

Last but not least, the feelings chart may come in handy during sessions.

Connection

During this time, with increased telehealth usage across the globe, the connection might be a little tricky at times.

Here are some things you can try to increase your chances of a strong connection:

• Keep an eye out for the reminder email, which should be sent 48 hours in advance and will include a link to the session. If you don’t see this, you can send me a Secure Message, and I can resend the link to you.

• If you’re using a laptop, use a wired Ethernet connection for a stronger connection, if possible.

• If you’re using your laptop, update it nightly. The frequent update reminders that pop up? Do those the day before our session if possible (they might take a while, so be prepared for that).

• Close all other windows and apps during our session.

• Stay close to the signal. If there is a spot in your home with strong WiFi (close to the router) and you’re able to do sessions there, then go there if possible.

• Experiment with using your phone, tablet, and laptop (if you have more than one of these) to see which is the clearest video. Video chat with a friend and see which of these devices gives you the clearest images with the fewest call drops.

• If you have unlimited data, compare the connection when using your WiFi vs. when you’re not using it (e.g. WiFi vs. LTE)

• If you find that Simple Practice is not working as well as you’d like (but other video platforms are working better for you), let me know and we can try to connect via Spruce.

• Check out the Simple Practice FAQs for clients.