Many clients have asked whether video therapy or telehealth virtual therapy sessions are considered as effective as therapy that is done in person.
I have expressed that I would prefer to see their entire faces on a screen than to be in-person in an office and only be able to see their eyes since mask-wearing is required. Facial expressions, especially smiling, frowning, or looking sad, are key elements of understanding what a client is feeling. Being hidden behind a mask and sitting at least six feet apart make appreciating the client’s emotions very difficult. A recent study, a meta-analysis of 57 separate studies, was done by Batastini et al and published in the Clinical Psychology Review in February 2021. It found that video therapy consistently resulted in treatment results that were roughly equivalent to in-person treatment results across 4,336 clients.
This should provide some comfort to those who are questioning the virtual therapy being done during the COVID pandemic. Anyone who is concerned about how well their therapy is going should talk to his or her therapist about it or give me a call to discuss.