I had concerns about SKYPE counselling – the difference between in-person and on-screen. Would the clients on-screen feel safe to disclose? Would the therapeutic relationship/connection take place as quickly as it would in the room? I was very glad to discover that these concerns were unjustified. It is particularly useful for issues such as anxiety, depression, addiction, relationship issues and bereavement, where solution focused therapy can be used alongside conventional psychotherapy. It offers clients who live a long way from a therapist, who have time or family restraints and those from other countries an opportunity to avail of therapy. I feel very privileged to live in an era where it is possible to work as a therapist using the medium of SKYPE.
I found Gillian Isaacs Russell book Screen Relations: The Limits of Computer-Mediated Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy very interesting. I would agree with her for the need for more research in this area.