Accessing mental health treatment has seen a shift in more recent years whereby more and more people are understanding the benefits that working on your mental health can have on your overall wellbeing. While there are a number of services and resources available it can be difficult to know which is the best option for you. One set back that can occur when accessing mental health treatment is a reduced number of services that may be in your local area, some services may only be community based, or simply they may not specialise in specific modalities of therapy. Another common issue may also be that there are long waiting times to access these services. In some cases this can deter you from engaging in mental health treatment as it may be too difficult for you to find or access a suitable service that will meet your needs. Online therapy is a suitable option for accessing high quality mental health treatment. It is a convenient route that helps you access directly the mental health treatment that you seek, provided by trained professionals. There are numerous professional counselling, psychotherapy and psychology services available online at Mind and Body Works, providing the same level and experience of treatment as an in-person appointment.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic online therapy has become more widely accessible. It rapidly became the most suitable option for therapists and clients to continue their mental health treatment,
especially in a time when peoples mental health was struggling. The choice receiving therapy online still suited clients once life started to go back to how it was pre-pandemic, as many people realised that it worked better for their lifestyle, and it was experienced as being as effective as attending in person. You may still be some hesitation about working online with a therapist, but you will now find that you have more options available than before.
What services are available online?
In Mind and Body Works, we have a range of psychotherapy services available online, we have a specific team of therapists that works solely online and hold their appointments from 8am to 10pm in the evening, including some appointments at the weekend. The type of therapy services that we provide are:
- Individual Psychotherapy and Counselling
- Couples Counselling
- Family Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Psychosexual Therapy
You may have questions about the qualifications of an online therapist. Our online therapists at Mind and Body Works are fully qualified and accredited with professional associations including the Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP), the Irish Association for Humanistic and Integrative Psychotherapy (IAHIP), and the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI). In some cases our therapists may be based abroad and they will have received a training, professional accreditation and insurance, equivalent to that of our mainly Irish-based team.
Online therapy can be a suitable service if it is your first-time attending therapy. The idea of attending a clinic or centre may seem too overwhelming and you may be feeling nervous or anxious at the thought of coming to speak about your mental health. Those kinds of fears are not uncommon. To help counteract this, online therapy can allow you to work from a space that you know you will feel comfortable in. Once you feel comfortable in your space you will be able to feel more engaged in the treatment.
How do I know if online therapy is right for me?
Online therapy can be a suitable option for most people. The sessions are held on a customised video call platform which has been deigned to be very simple and user-friendly. The process for setting up and attending sessions online is easily accessible for everyone and your therapist will talk you through the steps beforehand.
Sometimes you may feel that you can connect better with someone face to face or in-person, which is the alternative to online therapy. However, when starting therapy, either online or face to face, the most important factor is the relationship that develops between you and your therapist. Finding the right connection with a therapist can be a key factor in supporting you to stay in your therapy. This can be more important than whether the therapy is happening online or in-person.
If working online or through video call is a new experience for you, it is understandable that you may be hesitant to try online therapy. When starting therapy it is important that you feel secure in the process to help you work through the issues that you are trying to change or to understand better. Your online therapist understands this and will be able to help you work through any anxieties that you may have about the process. They can also recognise if the process would not be suitable for you, in which case they will do their best to try direct you towards a better alternative option.
If online therapy is an option that you would like to pursue, please browse the Mind and Body Works website to read about the team of online therapists we have working with us. There are clear descriptions of each form of therapy that is provided, and of the relevant fees. We have a profile and biography for each therapist to help make your choice of therapist easier for you. Alternatively, you can contact us on 01 6771021 or email us at info@mindandbodyworks.com and our administration team can help offer you some guidance.
