A Complete Overview of Therapy by Phone

Any type of psychological service that is performed over the phone is therapy by phone. This includes crisis hotlines, child help lines, quit lines and professional counseling. This type of therapy can range from individuals to couples or even groups with either professional therapists or para-professional counselors. Many patients who are in face-to-face therapy are often advised to use telephone crisis numbers when they cannot reach their therapist in an emergency.

Therapy by phone is a growing trend in which a number of psychologists and therapists are seeing at least some of the patients over the phone instead of in person. Current studies show that more than 50 percent of the patients that have had both phone therapy and in person therapy prefer to do it over the phone. In fact, during a 2002 study it was proven that the patients who prefer phone counseling tend to rate their doctors as highly as those who see their doctor face-to-face.

There are, of course, disadvantages and advantages to choosing therapy by phone. Let us start by reviewing the disadvantages first. For some, using phone therapy makes them feel like there is too much distance between themselves and their therapist. For these people, they may safer to be in the presence of another person.

Another large disadvantage is that, since the client can call from any location, they can easily be distracted from their phone call. On one hand, it can allow the therapist to have some insight to their patient's situation but at the same time, the disruptions may make it difficult for the patient to stay focused on the session.

In the event that the phone therapy takes place with an organization staffed by several employees or volunteers, such as a hotline, a repeat caller will not be able to develop the same relationship that they can with an individual. This may impede their progress especially since these type of organizations usually have limits on the number of calls that can be made in a specified period of time and the amount of time a call can last.

Typically patients that are going to require more than one weekly session, which are suicidal or who self-harm are not good candidates for therapy by phone. With the exception of the suicide hotline, many of these phone counselors are not trained to handle local emergencies.

Perhaps the largest advantage of therapy by phone versus in-person therapy is that it is free from the traditional constraining factors that can have an effect on therapy. For example, there are no restrictions on the location you can call from. If you have a busy schedule and need to call during a lunch break, you can arrange that with the therapist.

While therapy by phone is not for everyone, there are cases where it is the optimal type of therapy. Many studies have shown that this type of therapy can be especially effective for patients who are suffering with depression and are not motivated to leave their homes.