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When you’re considering therapy, especially if you’ve never tried therapy before or you’ve had negative experiences in the past, it can be hard to know whether you’d have the best experience with in-person or telehealth therapy. What are the advantages of in-person care? Is online therapy just as effective?
We’ve put together this guide to answer your questions and help you decide what will work best for you. If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our intake specialists can help you decide what care format will work best for you, and can get you started on pursuing therapy at THIRA Health.
What are the advantages of in-person mental healthcare?
In-person therapy can help you focus and improve connections
For many people, in-person connection with their therapist and group therapy members is easier to establish quickly, versus establishing connections via telehealth. You’ll see more non-verbal communication from people in person, and you’ll know that your therapist and group therapy members are all focused on engaging with the process, not just focusing on a screen. The quality of the connection is often the same at the end of the program for both in-person and telehealth, but for building trust and engaging with care actively, in-person care can more rapidly set up the crucial relationships for healing.
In-person therapy also creates a separate context for therapy that can make it easier to focus. When you enter the therapy space, you’re there just for therapy. Your phone is silent or in another room, you’re not hearing your kids, pet, or spouse in other rooms, and you’re not trying to cram the session in between work meetings. You can settle into this therapy-only space, helping you focus on the process.
In-person mental healthcare offers more options for intensity of care
Some people need more time and care than telehealth can provide, depending on their personality, severity of symptoms, and the complexity of their care plan.
In-person mental healthcare options often provide more choice in terms of the intensity of the care you receive. Residential mental health treatment provides 24/7 care, and requires in-person therapy, since you live where you receive care. Partial hospitalization programs (PHP) typically take place in-person for a large portion of your day, multiple days of the week, giving you intensive mental healthcare support while also ensuring you can fulfill some real-world commitments between sessions. Intensive outpatient programs (IOPs) and regular weekly or biweekly outpatient sessions are all possible with in-person care, but may also have telehealth options.
In-person residential and PHP options allow you to coordinate care more quickly and effectively
For many people, nutritional, medical, and therapeutic providers are all part of their mental healthcare plan. When you have immediate mental health support needs, and you don’t yet have a plan in place, it can be difficult to coordinate between multiple professionals when they’re all in different places. For in-person residential and PHP mental health treatment options, the professional coordination is part of the program, making it easier for you to focus on your mental health without having to add a large administrative burden to your care process.
When is in-person mental healthcare less advantageous?
For in-person therapy, you have to be in the same geographic area as your therapist, and you have to commute to and from their office to have sessions. You may not have the time to put aside to travel, you may not have access to any therapists in your area, and you may not be able to find a good therapist fit.
Alongside access issues, for many people, the thought of walking into a therapist’s office can feel extremely stressful, shameful, or can lead to worries you’ll be seen or judged by people you know. While therapy has become much more normalized, it is not considered acceptable in many cultures, and there are strong stigmas for some.
What are the advantages of telehealth online therapy?
Online therapy has exponentially expanded access to mental healthcare, and research shows that telehealth therapy options usually provide therapy with the same quality and efficacy as in-person therapy.
Online therapy opens up your options
Online therapy empowers you to choose any therapist who can legally provide therapy in your state, and allows you to schedule and have your therapy sessions in more convenient locations, like your home, office, or from your car, and at times that work best for you, like your lunch break or while your children are at school. You can choose a therapist who is a good cultural match for you, and can choose from more therapy modality options, like dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) or EMDR, making it easier to find a good therapy fit for your personal needs.
Online therapy can help you overcome therapy stigma or shame
Instead of having to overcome all of that stigma to access mental healthcare, online therapy can feel more private and personal. You can choose where you have your sessions, so you can choose a private location, or a comforting space like your own room, making it feel emotionally easier to start the therapy process. You can also look for a therapist who is a culture match, who might understand cultural stigmas and help you work through them while still respecting you and your culture.
When is online therapy less advantageous?
Treatment-resistant, dangerous, and disruptive symptoms need more support than telehealth can offer.
When your mental health symptoms are not responding to outpatient or online treatment options, or your symptoms are dangerous, like suicidal ideation, severe self-harm, an inability to care for yourself, a desire to harm others, paranoia, or psychosis, telehealth is not enough support to ensure your safety. You need and deserve a level of care that can only be provided in-person, in residential mental health treatment, or a PHP program.
For people whose symptoms mean they need more support, an in-person residential or PHP program is ideal, but as you and your provider develop a care plan and your symptoms start to resolve, you’ll be able to step down to a less intensive mental health treatment program. This could include online therapy as an option, depending on your personality and needs.
For some, telehealth doesn’t translate as well.
Whatever therapy you engage with, having a strong, trusting relationship with your therapist is crucial for healing. Feeling safe being fully honest with your therapist, feeling heard and understood, and knowing you can open up to them and receive real, meaningful solutions for your challenges, is key to success in therapy.
For some people, their personality makes it easier to connect with people in person. For someone who connects better in person, even if an IOP program is the right level of therapy for them, a telehealth IOP isn’t going to be the right option. Connecting with their therapist or group therapy members through a computer screen isn’t as effective, so a program like the in-person IOP programs at THIRA Health would be the best choice.
THIRA Health offers both in-person and online intensive mental health treatment in Washington
It is THIRA Health’s mission to ensure access to intensive mental health treatment in Washington that provides high-quality, holistic, DBT-based therapy with both in-person and telehealth options. Our intake specialists can help you decide what care format will help you the most, and because THIRA offers care ranging from in-person residential mental health treatment and partial hospitalization programs to in-person and online intensive outpatient programs, you can access a continuum of care, ensuring you have support throughout your mental health journey. Get in touch with us today, so we can answer any questions you might have and get you started on accessing mental healthcare that helps you feel safe and supported, so you can make a life worth living for yourself!
