Therapy?
Security - It takes a little more work to verify who you are speaking with via eTherapy. In an office setting, in addition to seeing the Therapist with your own eyes, they likely have degrees and licenses on the walls and you may have been referred to them by another trusted professional (like your doctor). They can even produce identification if requested. It's very important that you have a method of verifying who you are speaking with while utilizing the Internet. On that note, please check the About Rob page where you can verify that I exist with entities like my state licensure board. Additionally, I welcome and encourage an initial phone consultation so that you can verify any information you wish. Once you begin eTherapy, we will establish other methods of verifying each others identity when we communicate.Age - I generally only work with clients over the age of eighteen in eTherapy. Since this service is paid for with a credit card and I typically need a release signed by a parent or guardian in order to work with minors, it is problematic to work with clients under eighteen. If you are a parent who feels their child might benefit from this service, please contact me to discuss the possibility.
Intangibles - In person, we would have additional communication cues to rely on in our work. Facial expressions, tone of voice and body language are lost or hampered in eTherapy. In addition, when utilizing email, we have less opportunity to ask clarifying questions and have the back and forth dialogue that IMing or traditional therapy offer. On the flip side, eTherapy offers the unique opportunity to review previous interactions. After a long therapy session you may forget some of what was said, whereas in eTherapy, you have the option of saving your communications for later reference.