That was one of the main concerns. Michael Phelps Betterhelp Promo…that was truly crucial to me as a psychologist was that I would have autonomy over what I discussed what what topics I selected to present and also you understand my own views when when necessary or appropriate to share them and I was given that by a better help they basically said you understand we trust you as a scientific expert and we’re gon na trust you to head out there and discuss what you know and one of the things that I really wished to address is the reality that I’m not simply here to state that online therapy is the answer for everything you know I believe it can be incredibly helpful for many people I have actually seen it myself working with individuals from a few months approximately over a year and I seen how having the ability to message and likewise have video sessions with someone is actually a it nearly enhances the the therapeutic experience in such a way at the same time I have a private practice where I see people face-to-face and I thoroughly delight in that and there
are individuals that I see there that I would not consider seeing online either they would not be appropriate we would not have the ability to do the level and depth of work we’re doing or it just wouldn’t feel comfy and which’s fine those two things can both be true and I think one of the things that I want to begin to have individuals think of is there’s a place for both online and offline treatment it is actually a matter of you understand deciding what’s right for you but likewise what’s most appropriate for you with the help of a professional when I talk about particular counseling styles or techniques as being appropriate for you what I mean by that is that it would be the best technique for the particular problem that you’re dealing with and I think that one of the concerns that a great deal of people have is that online counseling is trying to change offline therapy and I can inform you 100% that that’s not real I’ve had many discussions with the creator of better help where he has mentioned that his audience isn’t to take on brick and mortar practices or put psychologists or certified specialists out of business his objective is to offer psychological health access to the people who aren’t going to enter into the therapy office and I 100% support that objective and I believe it is necessary and we have a problem with access to psychological healthcare in this country and
betterhelp controversy
better hope is one service as our other online companies I was mentioning earlier that there are things that I personally think that online therapy is more appropriate for or offline treatment is better suited for and I’ve actually I’ve actually spoken about this in other settings due to the fact that it is something I feel quite enthusiastic about and I need to state that my viewpoint has actually been well-received by companies like better help in terms of hopefully how they how they work with the people that provide for care so I just wanted to invest a couple of minutes discussing my own is my own individual viewpoint about the important things that are most appropriate for offline versus online treatment so in my view I see online therapy as a wonderful location for people who are battling with hard life shifts for situations where they’re experiencing more stress than normal for situations where you know they have a very precise problem with anxiety or social stress and anxiety and a treatment like cognitive behavior modification which is extremely structured can can benefit them which therapy since it’s not as social as others is best for online counseling since it includes a lot of homework it includes worksheets it involves learning specific abilities and methods so mild milder conditions like moderate stress and anxiety mild depression change conditions even PTSD as long as like the individual has received care at first in other places these are all things that can be resolved through online counseling you understand consider somebody who has a agoraphobia and possibly they connect to a therapist from their home since they can’t leave their house and simply simply to clarify agoraphobia is a condition where people are truly horrified of being trapped and trapped in a location where they may have a panic attack and so essentially they start to restrict their activities and limit their activities up until a number of them can’t leave their house without actually feeling substantial distress so if someone like that is at home and they can reach out through their computer and link to a counselor that’s an excellent first step is that going to cure them absolutely not because agoraphobia to be successfully dealt with requirements that person to be able to go outdoors and to resume normal activities and sometimes that includes a therapist going to their house to help them with that procedure obviously online counselors are going to have the ability to do that however might they be the bridge that got that individual who’s afraid to leave their home from that initial encouraging approach to therapy where they can actually have a better life 100% and this is what the gap that better help intends to fill with their services my point to this to this specific video and bringing these things
up is that I I wish to clearly communicate that anything that I show you is going to be fully from where I stand as an expert psychologist and more significantly what I think is as simply a human being on this earth attempting to do the best that I can therefore I I won’t tell you that something is appropriate that I don’t believe is appropriate I won’t share with you that online counseling is the cure-all for everything because I do not think that therefore you can always expect to hear my honest viewpoint on what I believe from my own experience and knowledge base as a licensed psychologist I hope you discovered this video interesting and helpful if you did please like it below and feel free to sign up for our YouTube channel where we’re going to be producing a growing number of videos on a range of various mental health topics and please reach out if there’s something specific you would like us to resolve or cover in an approaching video