Online Therapy FAQs

What is online therapy?

Online therapy is therapy that is performed through a HIPPA-compliant video conferencing service such as Zoom or Doxy.me. It can used on a computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone as long as there is a camera and a mic connected to the device.

Is online therapy as effective as in-person therapy?

In my experience, yes. There is also empirical research that supports the equivalency between online and in-person. Here are the abstracts of two articles that showed no significant differences between treatment outcomes for in-person vs. online: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29215315/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32703092/

So there are no drawbacks to doing therapy online?

Well, even though online can be as effective as in-person, it does have some drawbacks that we will need to address. The most obvious is that we are at mercy of our technology. Drops in internet connection, strange glitches, computer shutdowns, smartphones acting weird, all of this can happen. But I haven’t had any issues, apart from completely losing power in my area, that prevented me from completing a session. Worse case scenario, we can complete our session through speaking over the phone, which some of my clients actually prefer to video conferencing.

The other major issue is your privacy. Even though in-person therapy requires that you drive to an office, once there, you are afforded a certain level of privacy from friends, family, roommates, what have you. When in session with me, you will have to ensure your privacy on your own, as I will have no control over the environment on your end. I have a number of clients who do the sessions in their cars with their phones on their dashboards. This can be quite effective, but you will have to make sure you still feel private and that it’s not too hot in your car as phones can overheat while video conferencing.

A more minor issue is that I may miss certain non-verbal cues, particularly the light tearing of the eyes or perhaps a nervous hand gesture or a fidgety foot. Contrary to popular belief, therapists are not masters of non-verbal communication like an FBI investigator, but it does help me feel out your experience and stay present to you. Therefore, I may require more verbal information from you on your present emotional state than I would in person.

What would you recommend to make the experience more seamless?

I recommend testing your internet speed at https://www.speedtest.net/. You’ll want to have a Ping of below 40, between 40 to 100 can still work, but above 100 would not be pleasant. You’ll also want a download speed of at least 8 Mbps and upload of at least 1.5 Mbps. If your home wifi isn’t performing well you may want restart your modem or call your provider. It may also be that certain areas of the house do not have good wifi. You can take this up with your provider as well. If you are wanting to have the session outside in your car or in your backyard you may want to switch to your cellular network on your phone, assuming you a decent amount or unlimited data available. You can test your cellular network too by turning off the wifi on your phone.

I highly recommend using headphones as well. Without headphones, any delay in your connection will result your voice being cut off on my side as my audio comes through on your side. I may also end up hearing myself speak which can be distracting.

For greater privacy within your home, it may be worth investing in a white noise machine. You can place it near your door to help block out the sound of your voice. They can also be helpful in blocking out distracting sounds coming into your room.

Do insurance companies reimburse for online therapy?

Yes. California requires that insurance companies reimburse providers for online therapy under the coverage parity law. All I need is your consent.