At McLoughlin Counseling Group we specialize in offering in person psychotherapy sessions. We believe in the healing power of providing support through consistent long term relationships and our therapists take pride in coming to our offices every day of the week to avail our community members of our specialized training and education.
At the beginning of the Covid years, our field moved quickly to a tele-health model. We found ourselves doing sessions over the phone and on zoom. We were happy to continue to provide support to our clients and were pleasantly surprised at the quality of work that continued to occur. We couldn’t wait to get back to the office and felt surprised when we noticed not only did many of our colleagues never return to in person session work but we noticed whole practices being built on a telehealth model.
Since remote session have now become an industry norm we feel like it is time to reassess why and question those reasons. When finances, transportation, and mobility are serious issues we understand that a telehealth option can be a client centered way of serving those in need. Outside of that we feel like this industry norm is based on reducing overhead costs for large practices and solo practitioners. This model also reduces the intimacy and efficacy of psychotherapy, appealing to the new social norms of surface level contact that comes along with being online, on screens, and the feeling of control the consumer has with this reduced intimacy.
By being able to be at home a client and a clinician do not go through the ritual of meeting in the office at their agreed upon weekly time, the crucible of change and transformation. This reduced intimacy and reduced challenge actually reduces the healing potential of psychotherapy. Neurobiologists understand that part of the efficacy of the healing relationship that comes from long term consistant session work is the low level stress that occurs as a result. The brain does not change when it stay in its comfort zone, it needs to be challenged and stimulated in a particular way to push it towards realizing and restarting delayed development.
When a mental health practitioner earn their license, higher education, and specialized training in order to treat their community members that need support, they are making a commitment to show up for people as people, and people heal by being together. Our practice is proud to not only offer but specialize in in-person sessions. The power of the relationship, guided by our agreed upon goals, results in a person moving from seeking healing, to engage in healing, and finally by reaching a level of being healed. The need for more healing may continue to unfold but we see and participate in people finding a new level of healing every day in our practice.
Let’s question the industry norms of online meetings for mental health support. We invite you to push yourself a bit, to come out of your comfort zone, put some skin in the game, make a statement with your presence, let your face be seen and voice be heard in person, be witnessed, be supported. Let’s challenge one another to show up for each other, like we used to, as people do. Let’s seek and find healing together.
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