Up until quite recently many of us thought in person counselling in Winnipeg offered certain benefits over telehealth. We could not imagine switching to virtual platforms for many of our health needs. Is that still true? Does in person counselling in Winnipeg still offer benefits over telehealth therapies via video or phone? Let’s explore.
In Person Counselling Near You in Winnipeg
You want to look for some support from a therapist for a personal struggle, but everything in you tells you that you’d like to to meet with your therapist in person. With so many therapists now primarily seeing their clients online, you are wondering whether you should choose telehealth counselling even though you live in the same city where your therapist offers in person sessions. You find yourself undecided about which modality (in person vs. online) will work best for you. In this blog we will look at in person counselling in Winnipeg and explore some of the benefits of in person therapy near you in Manitoba.
We offer in person counselling appointments in Winnipeg, including numerous evening appointment spots.
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In Person Counselling in Winnipeg and the COVID-19 Pivot
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, life as we had known it changed in significant ways for all of us. We needed to adapt to varying levels of restrictions, and quickly. As therapists, we needed to find a way to continue to connect with our clients while making sure they remained safe. In person therapy, while it had been the norm for us, was no longer going to be accessible to many people. One of the ways we, as therapists adapted, was to offer therapy virtually. While we, and many of the therapists we knew, were hesitant about it’s effectiveness at the beginning, we quickly learned that virtual therapy is an incredibly efficient and effective way of overcoming some of the main obstacles that people might face when trying to access in person therapy. Virtual therapy has many benefits, including being more accessible for people who have a limited range of therapists in their local area, time constraints, and more. With online therapy, individuals can communicate with their therapist anywhere, provided they have internet or phone connection.
Online therapy can be a great way for people with lower-intensity mental health concerns to get support for these problems. In fact, a review of multiple studies has shown that, in most cases, phone or video therapy was just as effective at treating certain conditions, like anxiety and depression, as in person therapy.
Why Consider In Person Counselling in Winnipeg
While online therapy can be highly effective for some people and is definitely a good alternative to in person therapy in Winnipeg, we have learned that telehealth isn’t beneficial for everyone. There are limitations to what we currently know about the effectiveness of online therapy.
Here are a few of the reasons our clients, who strongly prefer in person therapy, have given for why they prefer in person therapy in Winnipeg:
In Person Counselling Therapy Near You in Winnipeg Can Help You Focus
Some people have an easier time focusing in their therapist’s office where they can eliminate work and home distractions.
External distractions, such has other household members talking, kids playing, partners being on work calls, etc. can impact the effectiveness of virtual therapy. If you don’t have a quiet space in your house where you can guarantee that you won’t be distracted by family members, children, your phone notifications, or things around the house, then it can be difficult to mentally get yourself into the therapeutic environment. Some people have likened online therapy to having a conversation on the phone while driving—you’re only half-listening and distracted by paying attention to the road and everything else that’s going on in your immediate surroundings.
In Person Counselling Therapy in Winnipeg Means No Reliance on Technology
In person therapy means you don’t have to worry about technology affecting your session.
If you are sitting in your therapist’s office, you don’t have to put up with another kind of disruption to your processing like internet drop-outs, speech delays, audio and video issues.
While these disruptions may seem minor as you are thinking about them, the lived experience of being mid-sentence or mid- thought and having your internet connection disrupted can significantly affect your therapeutic experience. Only half hearing what your therapist is saying, and vice versa, can prevent effective communication and can lead to misunderstandings. It also inhibits your therapist’s ability to understand the bigger picture as effectively.
In Person Counselling Therapy in Winnipeg Helps Your Therapist Understand Your Body Language
This is one your therapist may be more aware of than you have been. As therapists, we pay close attention to our clients’ non-verbal communication. Paying attention to your facial expressions, vocal signals, and body language helps us therapists gauge how accurate we are in understanding your feelings, thoughts, moods, and behaviors.
While some delivery methods such as video therapy can give us more access to your body language—as opposed to a phone therapy session—it is still somewhat limited and often lacks the intimacy and personal connection that in person sessions offer.
We have heard many clients talk about how important a visceral felt sense of their therapist is to their experience of therapy.
In Person Counselling Therapy in Winnipeg is More Effective for Certain Types of Therapy
There are a number of types of therapy, with some being better suited for in person therapy. For example, therapies that involve creativity like art or music therapy or those types of therapy that involve training your body’s response to stress and trauma like somatic based therapies or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR). These therapies may work better if done in person.
Nearby In Person Counselling Therapy in Winnipeg Can Help Your Nervous System
At the end of the day, it is important to remember that we are social beings. Our nervous systems respond to each other. Just think of how you can feel soothed in the presence of a loved one, even if they don’t say a word.
While communicating virtually has been, and continues to be, an incredibly helpful tool and, for some people a wonderful alternative and for others perhaps the only option, in person therapy in Winnipeg continues to provide benefits that virtual therapy simply never can.
If you would like to explore in person therapy in Winnipeg, please do not hesitate to reach out. We would be more than happy to explore how we may be able to help.
Check Out Other Pages
Sources
- Teletherapy vs. In-Person Therapy | Pyramid Healthcare (pyramidhealthcarepa.com)
- Virtual Therapy vs. In-Person Therapy | Psychology.org
- The Pros and Cons of Online Therapy (verywellmind.com)
- Frontiers | Therapists Make the Switch to Telepsychology to Safely Continue Treating Their Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Virtual Reality Telepsychology May Be Next | Virtual Reality (frontiersin.org)