💻 Online Counselling: Does Being in the Same Room Really Matter?

The room itself was seen as an important part of the therapeutic experience. Somewhere separate from day to day life, where feelings, experiences and private thoughts could be explored.

But how things have changed from those early years! Counselling now takes place online and this raises an interesting question that many therapists and individuals ponder.

Does being physically present with someone make the therapeutic relationship more meaningful?

Having worked therapeutically with people for more than 25 years, I've come to appreciate that the quality of a therapeutic relationship isn't determined by where two people sit.

It's shaped by the attention, understanding, trust and emotional connection that develops between them.

Online counselling offers the opportunity to explore personal difficulties from a familiar environment where the individual can relax on the sofa or a room they feel most comfortable in, without the additional demands of travelling, finding parking or fitting another journey into an already busy day.

For some people being in their own surroundings makes it much easier to relax and speak openly. Others may initially feel uncertain about whether a conversation through a screen can offer the same depth of understanding as meeting in person. And that’s a reasonable question.

Counselling involves much more than listening to words. As a therapist, I'm also paying attention to the way someone expresses themselves, the pauses in conversation, changes in tone, emotional responses and the patterns that gradually emerge.

Much of this remains available to me online.

Of course online counselling won't be everyone's preference or the most appropriate option for every circumstance as some people simply feel more comfortable sharing a physical space with their therapist.

But for others the ease and familiarity of meeting from home can become an important part of what makes counselling accessible and sustainable.

Ultimately it's really not the room that creates the therapeutic relationship, it's what happens between the people within it.

If you would like to ask any questions about online counselling please email me at julietbunting1@gmail.com