Counselling
Welcome to the world of counselling online.
This service is great in it’s convenience and comfortability. It enables me to work with more people in various countries around the world, with clients from all walks of life. I’m a location independent counsellor, so all we need is a device and a time that suits you!
Online Counselling Benefits
Counselling online gives you plenty of the same benefits as having sessions face-to-face:
- Tackles anxiety and depression
- Work through loss, changes and grief
- Improve personal relationships and resolve family issues
- Overcome work stresses
- Work through race, culture and minority issues
- Explore sexuality and gender safely
- Gain confidence, resilience and self-esteem
- Gain a sense of direction with life and with self
In most cases, clients will have video or audio sessions at the same time and length of a face-to-face session, with additional benefits online:
- More affordable sessions
- No more traveling to appointments
- No waiting rooms
- No more traffic and transport expenses
- No more clinical settings
Online Options
There are a few ways to have counselling online. Click each option below to see further details and find one that suits you.
Live video sessions
The same as face-to-face – but online! We meet online, usually through Google Meets, and have our session in ‘real time’ through an online platform, at our arranged appointment time and date. Session length’s are up to you; a standard 50-minute session or a longer 80-minute session are available.
Your first initial consultation with me, if you choose to have one, is up to 15-minutes and is free of charge. This is also a good way to test working on an online platform so you feel ready when we start your full session.
Email sessions
Email counselling will work as follows:
We book a date for the session. You spend the full hour writing to me an email of your concerns and difficulties. I receive the email and spend a full hour at least, writing a full response to all things you’ve explored with me. You will receive your therapeutic email within 24 hours (weekdays). This is best suited if you are okay with not receiving something immediately in ‘real-time’.
There are certain benefits to this not being live – it’s not as susceptible to reactionary behaviour, more time is taken for our own thoughts and responses to be thought about and their meanings. The emails can be revisited whenever you need them and saved for a later date, offering a comfortable, safe, no-pressure support.
Voice-only & Phone sessions
These are run in the same way as Live Video Sessions, but without the video! This imitates a phone call session, even if in different countries, which some feel more comfortable doing. If this is something that you feel would suit your needs, this may be the right fit for you.
WhatsApp Text sessions
Similarly to video and voice-only sessions, we meet at your booked appointment time and date. We use a software to host the session, such as WhatsApp, to carry out the session.
As WhatsApp is an encrypted online and international-friendly software, this is acceptable for live chat. We spend this time sending messages back and forth.
Similarly to email counselling, messages can be saved and revisited for when you need reminders, re-encouragement or would like to observe your own progress.
Common Questions
I work online with a variety of anxiety and depression disorders, life issues, relationship and work stresses, race & culture issues, or self-esteem and identity losses.
Counselling online has additional benefits such as eliminating location restrictions and travelling times. It’s ideal for those looking for a certain type of counsellor that suits them. It’s great for those who travel and move around often, those in rural locations, with physical/mobility difficulties, those who have busy schedules and who are comfortable communicating through technology.
I have also often worked with clients in person initially, who then move online because of location changes.
An internet provider may be having issues or there may be really bad weather affecting our ability to communicate smoothly. Sometimes, this can’t be helped but we will find other means to continue our session, we can decide our backup plan together. For example: if we are in the middle of a Skype video session and Skype is having issues, we may decide to switch to a Whatsapp call or Facetime instead. Email may also be suitable for times when someone is unsually busy or access to the internet is not constant.
If all else fails, we can arrange another time or day suitable to finish the session, at no additional charge. If there are issues on my end only, i.e my internet provider has temporarily gone down, your session will be either refunded or rescheduled, by your choice.
Online counselling starts from £80 (approximately $160 NZD) onwards, dependent on what online format you choose and how long the session if for.
Fees are paid before the appointment date. Cancellations needs at least 24hrs in advance to receive a full refund.
Concessions and student discounts are available. Please get in touch to discuss further.
Google Meets:
If you’ve booked with me, you will get an email shortly before session starts that also contains the Google Meets invitation link. You just click this link at our session time and I will meet you there.
WhatsApp and Google Meets have Instant Messaging (IM), video and voice-only software with secure end-to-end encryption services for complete online privacy and confidentiality.
The Google Meets sessions cannot be accessed by anyone who doesn’t have the meeting invitation, keeping it secure and confidential.
There are other suitable apps and software we can use for backup, if there are any technical issues. If you are having any issues, please email me.
Skype:
I like to use Skype as one of our back up options.
If we are having issues with Google Meets or WhatsApp, you will provide your Skype details to me and I will connect with you by either video calling, voice-only calling or sending a message in the Skype chat box at our scheduled time.
If at any point you are also having issues with Skype, please email me, as I will be checking my emails if I haven’t received contact after session start time.
Email:
I will send you a ‘check-in’ email sometime before start of our scheduled appointment time to connect with you. You will then spend an hour, or less if you need to, to respond with what you would like to discuss.
Once I have received the reply, I will also spend an hour or more, reflecting and drawing together a therapeutic response to you. This is then sent to back to you, within 24hrs (on weekdays), for you to re-visit anytime you need before your next booking.
Due to flexibility with emails, if you are a busy bee this is a good option for you.
Yes, since many are familiar with Skype it can often be used as an comfortable backup option.
There may be international locations where we can only use encrypted platforms due to data-protection restrictions. Skype doesn’t offer the same level of end-to-end encryption, making it less private and thus not my first choice for sessions.
Google Meets is free and doesn’t require you to download any meeting software prior to session to avoid any delays. You will receive a Google Meets meeting link before session, unless another option is preferred.
If you have any questions, I am happy to go through this with you in your intial consultation.
Due to care requirements of certain mental health problems, if you have been experiencing extreme bouts of suicidal ideation or thoughts, substance misuse and/or alcohol addiction, online counselling will likely not be the most appropriate or effective method of therapy for you at this time.
However, online counselling and mental health support can be used alongside in-person support you already receive.
If you find yourself struggles with addiction, suicidal thoughts, self-harm and other complex mental health, please seek out access more to immediate care and support from your GP and local community services.
Book your appointment for a free initial consultation today and begin your sessions. Or, if you have any more questions feel free to get in touch!
