K-Psychology

Finally this unique and effective type of mind-body treatment getting attention and recognition it deserves.
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/off-work-for-8-years-woman-says-she-got-her-life-back-with-unique-kind-of-talk-therapy-1.5978383?fbclid=IwAR1sTeBC0blipmytJrWcXBzVtgGM7FV9gVx_7BXNb-ViBjb9JGexDS73EX0

Off work for 8 years, woman says she got her life back with unique kind of talk therapy | CBC Radio Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy, a type of talk therapy that digs into the emotional roots behind a person's physical ailments, is gaining notoriety for helping some long-suffering patients with unexplained medical symptoms.

https://kpsychology.com/attachment-styles/

Why Attachment Styles Matter | Psychology Blog | 2021 Let's talk about attachment styles. When it comes to what shapes a person in their life, their personality, their way of thinking, and the way that they

https://kpsychology.com/the-mystery-of-fibromyalgia/

The Mystery Of Fibromyalgia | Psychology Blog | 2021 Fibromyalgia is a widespread debilitating condition that still remains largely a mystery. Fibromyalgia is also “a bitterly controversial condition” and

https://kpsychology.com/chronic-pelvic-pain/

The Challenge Of Chronic Pelvic Pain | Psychology Blog| 2021 Chronic pelvic pain is one of the underestimated and underattended problems in modern society. How often did you hear or read about chronic back pain or,

https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/01/25/paul-garner-on-his-recovery-from-long-covid/

Paul Garner: on his recovery from long covid - The BMJ We need to listen to communities of people who have recovered from illness, says Paul Garner I loved my job, had good friends, and felt as high as a [...]More...

Great video on the psychological mechanism of pain.

TEDxAdelaide - Lorimer Moseley - Why Things Hurt Why do we hurt? Do we actually experience pain, or is it merely illusion? In this video, Lorimer Moseley explores these questions, and position the pain that...

https://www.psypost.org/2020/08/people-judge-others-to-be-more-able-to-change-their-beliefs-than-they-themselves-are-57699

People judge others to be more able to change their beliefs than they themselves are Individuals tend to view themselves as less capable than other people of voluntarily changing their beliefs, according to new research published in the ...

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/psychiatry-the-people/202007/chronic-pain-self-compassion-and-psychological-flexibility

Chronic Pain, Self-Compassion, and Psychological Flexibility New research helps people with chronic pain, and close others, live better.

https://www.flare.com/health/online-therapy-canada/

I Didn't Think I "Needed" Therapy—Then COVID-19 Happened Mental health experts explain why you might be struggling, too. Plus, virtual therapy resources that can help

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/crisis-control/202006/in-praise-gallows-humor

In Praise of Gallows Humor Sick jokes can be healthy.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/experimentations/202005/brain-activity-bodily-symptoms-in-anxiety-disorders

Brain Activity of Bodily Symptoms in Anxiety Disorders Neuroscience research sheds light on somatic symptoms in anxiety disorders.

New! Online Video Counselling

We offer now safe, confidential and convenient online video appointments for clients all across Ontario. You can access psychological treatment from the comfort of your own home or office, via any computer or mobile devices. The video therapy is powered by a Canadian platform with full encryption and privacy between healthcare providers and clients.

Video therapy is not merely a substitute for conventional treatment. You can have now effective and accessible psychotherapy with a clinical psychologist for a range of issues including relationship difficulties, anxiety, depression, trauma, chronic pain, concussion among others.

Proud to participate in this important program:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-counselling-front-line-workers-covid-19-1.5554523

Canadian psychologists providing free sessions to front-line health-care workers during COVID-19 | CBC News Some Canadian psychologists are volunteering their time to provide free counselling sessions to front-line health-care workers.

Mental Health Care For Front-Line workers and General Public During and After the Pandemic

Since the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been significant concern about the mental health well-being of general public as well as frontline workers. Social media and news have been constantly publishing tips and guides for psychological self-care and multiple websites, hotlines, and resources have been opening and offered throughout Canada and Ontario.

The concern is there and we should not dismiss it. It is, in fact, a great social achievement that finally mental health well-being has moved to the top of our social and political priorities. However, in order to prevent this from becoming another social/political cliché that everybody heard of, but nobody knows what it actually means (like, for example, mindfulness), maybe we should carefully examine actual evidence and to guide provision of such service based of what we know.

My personal experience and knowledge suggest that declaring constantly the mental health is important and offering free hotlines and endless tips and “resources” for coping with stress and anxiety might be not enough. Moreover, my concern is that is actually the least that is actually needed.
So, let us see what we actually know about mental health needs and how they might change over time during this pandemic.

Surprisingly, there have been already published couple of dozens of articles since January 2020 about psychological response and needs during after COVID-19. The majority of articles come form China, with several from South Korea and Singapore.

Here are few take away points:

• During the peak of pandemic frontline workers largely not interested in psychological support [1]. Although most of them reported and showed signs of irritability and psychological distress, they refused psychological help. What they reported actually needing is place and time for uninterrupted rest and enough protective supplies.

• Overall psychological impact on frontline workers 1-2 months after the peak is moderate [2, 3] – up to 16% reported severe or moderate anxiety or mood symptoms. However, the incidence of traumatization was higher – up to 27%. It suggests we should prepare to address it as soon as the pandemic starts to slow down. Chinese researches report that the incidence of anxiety and traumatization in female medical staff was higher than that in male and that the prevalence of anxiety in nurses was higher than that in doctors. Nurses, frontline medical staff and younger medical staff were more likely to have anxiety and depression than physicians, non-frontline medical staff and older medical staff [3]. Practical implication – special consideration should be given to the mental health of female nurses, especially with regard to PTSD symptomatology [2].

• Possibly the impact of vicarious traumatization is more pronounced in less trained and prepared medical practitioners [4]. It appears that non-front-line nurses that take care of COVID-19 patients might be more traumatized than front-line nurses. Interestingly, single non-front-line nurses were traumatized less compared to married, divorced, or even widowed nurses.

• We should be prepared that psychological impact on those who got infected and recovered from COVID-19 might be significant. Bo and colleagues [5] compared the prevalence of PTSD in COVID-19 recovered patients with SARS survivors (2003). The prevalence of significant PTSD in more than 700 COVID-19 recovered patients was 96.2%, while in the early recovery phase from SARS in 2003 it was 9.79%. and 25.6% at 30-months post-SARS assessment. Another important point from this research, most of the patients were older, did not feel comfortable with technology and half of them reported negative attitude toward online interventions. The researchers found that compared with on-site psychological interventions, online self-guided psycho-educational resources could be less effective, especially for those with reading difficulties and physical discomfort brought by COVID-19 and treatment side effects. Important point to take for after pandemic treatment of COVID-19 survivors – it will be important to have in-person psychological support available as oppose to current tendency moving everything to online counselling. At least for older clients.

Impact on general population:
• During the initial phase of COVID-19 outbreak in China, more than 50% of the respondents rated their psychological impact as moderate-to-severe, and about one-third reported moderate-to-severe anxiety [6]. Female gender, student status, and specific physical symptoms were associated with a greater psychological impact of the outbreak and higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. Specific up-to-date and accurate health information, especially on the number of recovered individuals, was associated with lower stress levels. Interestingly, wearing masks, regardless of the presence or absence of symptoms, was associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression.

• Research suggest the prevalence of post-traumatic symptomatology a month after the COVID-19 epidemic for hardest-hit areas in China was 7% [7]. Again, higher numbers compared to the post-SARS epidemic (3.7% of depression). Importantly, women reported significant higher post-traumatic symptomatology in the domains of re-experiencing, negative alterations in cognition or mood, and hyper-arousal. Participants with better sleep quality or less frequency of early awakenings reported lower post-traumatic symptomatology.

• Another study [8] investigated psychological impact in college students. This population has been always considered more vulnerable to anxiety in part because they are in the midst of a major life transition. Although the prevalence of moderate to severe anxiety was not very high (3.6% combined) post the COVID-19 pandemic, it is slightly higher than usual prevalence of anxiety in college population (1.8%-2.9%)[9]. Results also indicated indicated that economic effects, and effects on daily life, as well as delays in academic activities, were positively associated with anxiety symptoms, while social support was negatively correlated with the level of anxiety.

1. Chen, Q., Liang, M., Li, Y., Guo, J., Fei, D., Wang, L., ... & Wang, J. (2020). Mental health care for medical staff in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Lancet Psychiatry, 7(4), e15-e16.
2. Huang, J. Z., Han, M. F., Luo, T. D., Ren, A. K., & Zhou, X. P. (2020). Mental health survey of 230 medical staff in a tertiary infectious disease hospital for COVID-19. Zhonghua lao d**g wei sheng zhi ye bing za zhi= Zhonghua laod**g weisheng zhiyebing zazhi= Chinese journal of industrial hygiene and occupational diseases, 38, E001-E001.
3. Guo, J., Liao, L., Wang, B., Li, X., Guo, L., Tong, Z., ... & Gu, Y. (2020). Psychological Effects of COVID-19 on Hospital Staff: A National Cross-Sectional Survey of China Mainland. Available at SSRN 3550050.
4. Li, Z., Ge, J., Yang, M., Feng, J., Qiao, M., Jiang, R., ... & Zhou, Q. (2020). Vicarious traumatization in the general public, members, and non-members of medical teams aiding in COVID-19 control. Brain, behavior, and immunity.
5. Bo, H. X., Li, W., Yang, Y., Wang, Y., Zhang, Q., Cheung, T., ... & Xiang, Y. T. (2020). Posttraumatic stress symptoms and attitude toward crisis mental health services among clinically stable patients with COVID-19 in China. Psychological Medicine, 1-7.
6. Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., Ho, C. S., & Ho, R. C. (2020). Immediate psychological responses and associated factors during the initial stage of the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic among the general population in China. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(5), 1729.
7. Liu, N., Zhang, F., Wei, C., Jia, Y., Shang, Z., Sun, L., ... & Liu, W. (2020). Prevalence and predictors of PTSS during COVID-19 Outbreak in China Hardest-hit Areas: Gender differences matter. Psychiatry research, 112921.
8. Cao, W., Fang, Z., Hou, G., Han, M., Xu, X., D**g, J., & Zheng, J. (2020). The psychological impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on college students in China. Psychiatry research, 112934.
9. Eisenberg, D., Gollust, S. E., Golberstein, E., & Hefner, J. L. (2007). Prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality among university students. American journal of orthopsychiatry, 77(4), 534-542.

Some interesting thoughts on the importance of emotional processing during these different and difficult times.

Why Your Post COVID-19 Pandemic Health and Wellness Must be Your Focus Today Poetry that translates the language and spirit of the unconscious as it transforms pain and suffering into hope.

PSYCHOLOGY OF ISOLATION AND CONFINEMENT – FROM SPACE TO COVID-19

Isn’t this surreal? First couple of weeks it looked like a weird dream, but now, 4 weeks after the lockdown it starts looking as a new albeit strange reality. Most probably, we are in this for a long haul and will need some good coping strategies. If anything, human beings are adaptive and resilient. So, let’s see what can we learn and take with us on this surreal journey.

Last week, I addressed the issue of social isolation, what research in psychology can teach us about it, and the importance of keeping meaningful social contacts while maintaining physical distancing.

This week, as I have been settling down into this new routine of voluntary confinement, my brain brought some interesting association from my life-long fascination with science fiction. Sitting in your home for couple of weeks, doesn’t it feel like we are in some space station? I know, I know… there is still gravity in my house and I can still go out to No Frills and for a walk every evening.

I don’t know about you, but I never spent so many days in a row within the same pretty limiting environment. Inside, day after day. It is unusual and strange experience and looks like we will have it for some time, so maybe it is time to see what do we know about the psychology of isolation and confinement. It is unnatural for people to be confined for long periods of time. What should we know about it and how we can prepare for it?

In the evolution of mankind, cooperation has been proven advantageous for survival. Sharing of specialized tasks and the division of labor into different professions have enabled the development of well-functioning modern societies. Isolation and exclusion from a social group as well as confinement have been forms of punishment since the early ages and continue to be the case in societies and prisons all over the world. However, even voluntary confinement has been shown to cause stress on individuals.

Interestingly, confinement studies have been performed in psychological research to simulate the psychological effects that may be experienced on a long-term space flight. Apparently, we have been preparing to travel to Mars!

Scientists have suggested few factors that could affect stress levels during prolonged space travels (1, 2). See for yourself whether you find any similarities with current COVID-19 self-isolation: microgravity; monotony and boredom resulting from low workload and hypostimulation; lack of comfort
confinement; and isolation involving limited social relationships such as the separation from family and friends.

Scientist have started studying human ability and possible dangers for long duration space flights more than 20 years ago. The Simulation of Flight of the International Crew on the Space Station (SFINCSS-99) isolation study was conducted at the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) in Moscow in 1999-2000. The first group consisted of four Russian males who were confined for 240 days in a 100-m3 combined working and sleeping room.

The second group comprised of four males and spent 110 days in a 200-m3 area with separated dorms for every subject. European Space Agency (ESA) in cooperation with the IBPM organized MARS500 program to perform further isolation studies. They designed a 550-m3 habitat with four interconnected modules under artificial light to mimic and investigate psycho-physiological impact of prolonged isolation on 520-day flight to Mars. To prepare for this longer duration study, a 105-day isolation study (MARS105) was performed in 2009 to gather information about the facilities and the candidates. They investigated the effects of long-term confinement in a group of six volunteers during a spaceflight simulation to Mars. Two years later, a full 520-day isolation study was also performed.

Here are the major points we can learn from these studies. As usual, those who are interested in the details can read it in the Science section below:

- Good news: we can endure pretty long periods of voluntary isolation and confinement (3-6 months) without significant health or psychological adverse effects.

- However, we should be aware that prolonged isolation and confinement can reduce positive emotions due to psychophysiological deconditioning.

- Exercise is a valuable method to counteract psychophysiological deconditioning during long-term confinement. Even short bouts of exercise of approximately 80% maximal intensity seem to have an effect on brain cortical activity and Improve mood.

- Keeping busy with meaningful tasks, problem-solving and dealing directly with challenges and stresses during prolonged isolation (task-oriented coping strategies) help improving mood during confinement and isolation.

- Avoidant coping during prolonged isolation (denying, minimizing, or otherwise avoiding dealing directly with stressful demands) may potentially lead to increased depression.

For those interested to read about the research behind these conclusions, please check the full article here: https://kpsychology.com/psychologist-vaughan-assessment-and-treatment-for-anxiety-trauma-depression/psychology-news/

Physical Distancing – Not Social Isolation: Lessons from Psychology for COVID-19

Social distancing has been a first call for action after the widespread of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been enforced all over the world as the most important and efficient way to “flatten the curve”. Indeed, it looks like it works and we all might need to continue with a lock-down for some time. However, many psychologists almost instantly reacted on different social media platforms urging not to mix up physical distancing and social distancing. Intuitively, it makes sense. However, let’s take a look what are the dangers of social distancing that so many psychologists intuitively oppose to. What science tells us about social distancing and social isolation, why it is so dangerous, and what can we do about it?

Here are the conclusions and those who are interested in science behind it can read below:

- All in all, both social isolation and perceived social isolation (loneliness) are not good for us. They are significant risk factors for our health and even mortality. Research suggest that social isolation has larger affect on physical health, while loneliness affects more our mental health.

- Efforts should be put now in increasing our social networks online, maintaining social contacts online, and participating in online social activities.

- However, over and beyond this, we need to put special attention and efforts to reduce and regulate our loneliness.

- Loneliness leads to increased anxiety, hostility, social withdrawal, increased sleep fragmentation and daytime fatigue, decreased impulse control, increased negativity and depressive symptomatology.

- To decrease loneliness, we need to maintain and create online activities and relationships that give us feeling of companionship and support.

- Make a call to a friend or a family member at least twice per week. Don’t wait for others to call or Skype you. Remember, they might be as lonely as you are.

- It might be a good time to adopt a pet, if you are lonely.

Science of Social Isolation:
First of all, the impact of social isolation has been studied for long time now and some studies suggest that the impact of isolation and loneliness on health and even mortality are of the same order of magnitude as such risk factors as high blood pressure, obesity, and smoking (e.g., Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010). It makes sense from evolutionary perspective. We are a social species and our social networks enabled us to survive, collaborate and thrive. Our survival was served by the evolutionary development of behaviors and physiologic mechanisms that support social interactions (Cacioppo et al., 2011). Although there is a great variability in our need, personality traits, beliefs, and behaviors, we all are psychologically and biologically “programmed” to need social networks. It is logical that social isolation may impose stress on our minds and bodies that has a significant impact on health.

But let us first to clarify different concepts used to describe this phenomenon of social isolation. Just in these two paragraphs I have already used few different terms: social isolation, loneliness, social distancing. They sound very similar, but there are some important differences:

- Social isolation – have been usually defined as small social networks, infrequent social contacts, absence of confidante connections, living alone, and lack of participation in social activities (Cornwall & Waite, 2009; Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010). Social isolation or disconnectedness is defined as lack of contact with others concerned and is more with environmental impoverishment or restriction than with the individual’s ability to create and maintain social relationships.

- Loneliness or perceived isolation [as it was termed by Weiss (1973)] is a subjective experience of lack of companionship and support. It is a subjective feeling of being without the type of relationships one desires. It may also describe a deficit between the actual and desired quality and quantity of social engagement.

It is important to distinguish between social isolation and loneliness, although the former condition may, indeed, lead to the latter. The intuitive assumption is that social disconnectedness without perceived isolation (i.e. isolation without loneliness) would be more “ego syntonic” and less stressful than states of loneliness and depression, therefore having less impact on health. However, research hassocial isolation not always supported this assumption (Cornwell & Waite, 2009). Social isolation, with or without loneliness, can have as large effect on mortality risk as smoking, obesity, sedentary lifestyle and high blood pressure (Cacioppo et al. 2011).

Perceived social isolation (i.e., loneliness) has been found to predict increased morbidity and mortality (e.g., Holt-Lunstad et al. 2010) even after adjusting for objective social isolation and health behaviors (Luo & Waite 2014). Similarly, more recent research (Tanskanen & Anttila, 2016) suggests that social isolation, even from only a few spheres of social relationship, can have an adverse effect on mortality; however, they did not find connection between loneliness and mortality.

Social isolation has been connected to physical or general health whereas loneliness has more impact on mental health (Cornwell & Waite, 2009). Risk factors related positively to loneliness include male gender, physical health symptoms, chronic work or social stress, small social network, and lack of a spousal confidant (e.g., Hawkley et al. 2008).

It is clear that we need to be aware of the negative impact of both social isolation and loneliness during the coronavirus pandemic. However, naturally most of our efforts go to maintain social contacts. We are telling each other and trying to maintain online contacts, participate in online groups, webinars etc. This might help with the social isolation aspect (which is still very important), however, we need to put separate attention and effort to address our loneliness.

Why is the perception of social isolation (loneliness) important to consider?

Human and animal research on the effects of social isolation on the brain suggests the involvement of multiple, functionally distinct brain mechanisms including neural mechanisms involved in social threat surveillance and aversion (e.g., amygdala, anterior insula, anterior cingulate), social reward (e.g., ventral striatum), and attention to one’s self-preservation in a social context (e.g., orbitofrontal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, superior temporal sulcus, temporal parietal junction) (Bickart et al. 2012; Eisenberger & Cole 2012; Klumpp et al. 2012). The perception of isolation from others does not only makes us unhappy, but also signals danger.

Perceived social isolation activates neural, neuroendocrine, and behavioral responses that promote short-term self-preservation. Among the range of neural and behavioral effects of perceived isolation documented in human adults are an increased implicit vigilance for social threats along with increased anxiety, hostility, and social withdrawal; increased sleep fragmentation and daytime fatigue; increased vascular resistance and altered gene expression and immunity; decreased impulse control in favor of responses highest in the response hierarchy (i.e., prepotent responding); increased negativity and depressive symptomatology; and increased age-related cognitive decline and risk of dementia (Cacioppo & Hawkley 2009).

Indeed, growing evidence indicates that loneliness increases attention to negative social stimuli (e.g., social threats, rejection, exclusion). These changes observed in human and animal studies support short-term self-preservation by preparing the individual to detect and defend against any potential assault as well as to identify and solicit any socially mediated resources (e.g., food, shelter, reproductive opportunities) that may become available.

A large cohort study has recently revealed that different methods of contact are not equal in reducing feelings of loneliness and depression. These investigators found a higher risk of depression in those with less than once-a-month face to face contact with children, family, or friends. People with once or twice-a-week contact had the lowest rates of depression. However, older age, interpersonal conflict, and depression at baseline decreased the effect of physical contact. That is, if a person is prone to depression, is physically frail, or the relationship causes tension, a phone call may be as good (or better) than in-person contact (Teo et al., 2015). There is also an increasing amount of evidence that pets, especially dogs and cats, are associated with health benefits and reduced mortality.

References:

Bickart KC, Hollenbeck MC, Feldman Barrett L, Dickerson BC. 2012. Intrinsic amygdala-cortical functional connectivity predicts social network size in humans. J. Neurosci. 32:14729–41
Cacioppo JT, Hawkley LC. 2009. Perceived social isolation and cognition. Trends Cogn. Sci. 13:447–54. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2009.06.005
Cacioppo JT, Hawkley LC, Norman GJ and Berntson GG, Social isolation. Ann NY Acad Sci 2011; 123:11:17-22. DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06028.x
Cornwell EY and Waite LJ. Social disconnectedness, perceived isolation, and health among older adults. J Health Soc Behav 2009 March 50:1:31-48
Distel MA, Rebollo-Mesa I, Abdellaoui A, Derom CA, Willemsen G, et al. 2010. Familial resemblance for loneliness. Behav. Genet. 40:480–94
Eisenberger NI, Cole SW. 2012. Social neuroscience and health: neurophysiological mechanisms linking social ties with physical health. Nat. Neurosci. 15:669–74
Hawkley LC, Hughes ME, Waite LJ, Masi CM, Thisted RA, Cacioppo JT. 2008. From social structure factors to perceptions of relationship quality and loneliness: the Chicago Health, Aging, and Social Relations Study. J. Gerontol. Soc. Sci. 63B:S375–84
Holt-Lunstad J, Smith TB, Layton JB. Social relationships and mortality risk: a meta-analytic review. PLoS Med. 2010;7(7)
Klumpp H, Angstadt M, Phan KL. 2012. Insula reactivity and connectivity to anterior cingulate cortex when processing threat in generalized social anxiety disorder. Biol. Psychol. 89:273–76
Luo Y, Waite LJ. 2014. Loneliness and mortality among older adults in China. J. Gerontol. B Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci. 69:633–45
Tanskanen, J., & Anttila, T. (2016). A Prospective Study of Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Mortality in Finland. American journal of public health, 106(11), 2042–2048.
Weiss RS. 1973. Loneliness: The Experience of Emotional and Social Isolation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

K-Psychology updated their website address.

Is Online Therapy Right For You?

What do we actually now about the efficacy of online treatment? Is it a good option for every condition and every person? We do almost everything online, why not psychotherapy?

As our world is moving online, and especially now, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when most of us are limited to our homes, those who seek and need psychological treatment are turning toward online therapy options. Although it might seem obvious that online counselling is a natural choice in our times, it is important to be aware of actual pros and cons for online therapy.

The advantages are pretty obvious. First of all, online therapy is usually fairly affordable and convenient. You can connect with a psychologist from the comfort of your home. It also offers access to mental health support and information to people in rural or remote areas, or those who are disabled or housebound.

Despite the potential benefits, psychologists caution that Web-therapy may not be the best option for everyone or every situation in need of professional support. The research hasn’t yet shown that stand-alone therapy online or via texting is effective for everyone in every situation.

Keeping your personal information private is a major concern in psychotherapy, but online treatment adds a layer of complexity. This is why it is important to verify whether your online therapy provider is using a secure platform. Interestingly, Skype, WhatsApp, or Zoom have major security vulnerabilities and are usually not recommended for online counselling.

Usually online therapists are physically remote from the client and it might be difficult or even impossible to respond quickly and effectively when a crisis happens. If a client is experiencing suicidal thoughts, it can be impossible for the therapist to provide direct and prompt assistance. Online therapy can be useful for a variety of situations, but not when it comes to more serious psychiatric illnesses that require close and direct treatment.

Also, in many cases, online therapists cannot see facial expressions or body language. These signals can often be quite telling and give the psychologist important information about your feelings, thoughts, moods, and behaviors. Video therapy can provide a clearer picture of the situation, but they often lack the intimacy and intricacy that real-world interactions possess.

All in all, online therapy might be effective alternative to regular in-person psychotherapy. However, we all should be educated consumers with regard to possible benefits and limitations.

If you think that online therapy might be a good option for you right now, feel free to connect with us directly: https://kpsychology.com/online-counselling-managing-stress-and-anxiety/

Research Articles:

Andersson, G., & Cuijpers, P. (2009). Internet-based and other computerized psychological treatments for adult depression: A meta-analysis. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 38(4), 196-205. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20183695

Barak, Azy, et al. (2008). A comprehensive review and a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of internet-based psychotherapeutic interventions. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 26.2-4: 109-160. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15228830802094429 #.VI8vaCvF_hs

Nagel, D. (2011). The future of online therapy. Psychotherapy Networker Symposium, Washington, D.C. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/e561872012-001

Neimark, G. Patients and text messaging: A boundary issue. (2009). The American Journal of Psychiatry. 166(11), 1298-1299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09071012

Wantland, D. J., Portillo, C. J., Holzemer, W. L., Slaughter, R., & McGhee, E. M. (2004). The effectiveness of Web-based vs. non-Web-based interventions: a meta-analysis of behavioral change outcomes. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 6(4). http://www.jmir.org/2004/4/e40/