Online & Telephone Counselling

Working Online And by Telephone

As I Am Counselling is a remote counselling service.

Online counselling follows the same fundamental principles as face-to-face counselling providing a secure alternative. Instead of a weekly session in my counselling room, we hold a video session from our own separate locations using a webcam and audio link. 

Telephone counselling happens via a landline or mobile handset. An advantage of this is that it can feel more anonymous than video counselling. However, it offers all the same benefits as face-to-face or video counselling.

How does it work

 I work with the live video platform doxy.me and make every effort to provide a safe and secure environment for online therapy, with encryption software to protect your confidentiality and security.

Doxy.me simply works in all major desktop and mobile browsers. No download or install required. You do not need to create a doxy.me account to use the platform.

If you choose to have video sessions, I will email you a link to the online virtual room a few minutes before our session starts. You should click on this link.

 As long as you can see the link has come from my email account at the expected time, this link will be safe. When you've done this, you'll find yourself in the online counselling room, where I'll be waiting for you. 

This is a confidential and secure online meeting space. 

Doxy.me is Fully HIPAA compliant, GDPR compliant, SOC2 certifiedand end-end encrypted.

Click HERE to view doxy.me’s privacy policy.

Benefits Of Online And Telephone Counselling

Remote counselling can often be  more effective than face to face therapy. It also enables you to receive counselling wherever you might be and from the comfort of your own home, using video chat or telephone. 

Research has shown that online counselling is equally as effective as face-to-face work, and it has other benefits -

• You can remain in your own home 

•  Being able to see your counsellor offers exactly the same benefits as face-to-face counselling

• You can use whatever space feels safe, comfortable and confidential for you at the time

• It takes place at a time to suit you (no travel time involved)

• The secure software involved offers peace of mind around confidentiality 

• Some clients find it easier to talk about some things when they're not the in the same room as their counsellor (although this may not be the case for you).

• Telephone counselling can feel more annonymous

Please consider the following:

• Are you comfortable with internet technology or talking on the phone?

• It may feel strange to work without the same ‘cues’ that arise when we're in the same room together and you may find it harder to communicate exactly what you're feeling. In direct face-to-face communication we pick up information from facial expressions, voice tone, body language, and even the clothes people are wearing, which may be less obvious when working online

• When having remote sessions, there can sometimes be time lags due to technology, this means sometimes there will be long pauses or instances where we may talk over one another. Sometimes we may lose connection, how will you feel if this happens and we need to re-connect? 

• You may find yourself exploring things that you wouldn't feel able to say when we're together in person. This might lead to unexpectedly heightened emotional responses both during the session and afterwards. It's important to be aware of this and I'll explore this with you regularly

• Do you feel that you can talk freely and express your feelings over a video or phone call?

• Do you have a suitable room that you can use for your sessions, where you will be comfortable and secure for the duration of the session and won’t be overheard or interrupted?

• Do you have a computer terminal or phone that you can use privately without interruption?

• Are you able to take a short “decompression”, self-care or processing time-out after your session to, e.g., go for a walk, meditate, etc., before re-entering the “real world”?

• Breaches of online security are extremely rare but do happen

• Occasionally technological problems can arise which affect connection. We will discuss what to do in this instance