Back to the room? Stay in the Zoom? And for whom?

Is it time for therapists to get back to seeing clients face to face?

Is this the right time to return to working with clients in person? This is the question many of my supervisees are grappling with now. I hope that by the end of this blog post you will have the answer. And my answer may well surprise you…

I was in Central London the other day and there is no doubt that life is returning to some kind of ‘normal’. Or at least a variation of what normal used to be. There was a long queue of people waiting to enter the Apple store, people were carrying shopping bags again and others were sitting outside in the May wind and rain drinking coffee. The world was awakening from its 15 month slumber.

Some of my supervisees have been really keen to return to working with clients in person in the room. It’s not surprising, in person is how we learned to deliver therapy. But is it better, more satisfying, effective and real? And if it is, for whom, client or therapist?

I’ve been supervising online for 7 years and delivering psychotherapy sessions online for even longer. There are some obvious advantages to therapy in person. Picking up body language cues and what psychotherapist Phil Mollon refers to as energy fields in the room.  Sometimes I can pick up those energies even before a client rings my doorbell. It’s a sharp attunement that comes with experience and a solid working alliance.

For the client, however, there are many advantages to not coming to the therapist’s office. It’s more convenient not to have to spend time travelling, it opens up a far greater selection of therapists unconstrained by location and the therapy itself can actually feel more intimate for the client. I am yet to be convinced that seeing a therapist in a bland, anonymous, rented by the hour room which reflects nothing of the therapist is such a great idea.

I’m thinking of Freud’s house in Vienna. Even visiting many years after the great man had departed I had an immediate sense of him. His spirit was still in that room.  Dr Freud was not afraid of displaying his personal objects and photos in his consulting room. I wonder what he would have to say about the Room v Zoom debate?

Talking therapy is a relational activity. As Carl Rogers knew it’s the relationship between therapist and client which effects the ‘cure’. So is the rush to get back into the room for the client’s or therapist’s benefit? 

Working in the room we set the boundaries of location, time, duration. We say no food, turn off your phone, remove your shoes please. Working in the Zoom the client has more control of the environment in which the therapy takes place and some of the therapist’s authority is eroded.  So is the desire to return to the room bound up in therapists wishing to reassert our authority? Is it for the client’s benefit, the therapist’s or both? 

The remote therapy genie is now well and truly out of the bottle.  Many GP and consultant appointments are now by video.  AI is more effective at diagnosing skin conditions than a doctor. Legal documents can be signed by Docusign.

So where does this leave us?  

If you’re grappling with the Room v Zoom quandary, ask yourself these questions.

1.     How do I deliver my best work?

2.     What do my clients prefer?

3.     Where are my clients coming from now?

4.     Where will future clients come from?

For many of us in the therapy world, the pandemic has given us an opportunity to rethink the way we do things. To design our working lives so that we can help more people, with more ease and build more rewarding practices.

My view is that for many clients online therapy is actually the right choice. Online can provide the client with a lower barrier for entry into therapy as it can feel less intimidating.  It offers greater convenience, a larger pool of therapists unconstrained by geographical location. Some clients may actually feel more comfortable working with a therapist outside their own community (no bumping into your therapist in the supermarket or gym). Sessions can potentially be delivered at lower cost and so be accessible to a larger number of people. And all this must be good.

If you’re looking for a supervisor to help you deliver talking therapy effectively online please get in touch.