Does Online Therapy Actually Work?

The Question: Is online therapy just as good as meeting a therapist in person? The Answer: It truly depends on what you need. Certain therapy methods could work where patients receive treatment remotely through newer technologies. “There are a number of studies looking at telemedicine for different kinds of disorders and they tend to be amazingly effective,” Mary Ann Dutton, professor and vice chair for research in the department of psychology at Georgetown University Medical Center, told The Huffington Post.  Research shows that cognitive behavioral therapy, a type of talk therapy, is as good on the telephone or over Skype as it is face-to-face for some mental health conditions. The CBT method has you engage in a certain number of sessions with a counselor to spur the awareness of negative thinking patterns. Then you learn how to respond to challenging situations or negative thoughts in a more effective way so you feel less emotional distress. A small 2014 study also found that teens who were counseled over the phone for obsessive compulsive disorder found just as much success in treatment as their peers who met therapists face-to-face. And more recently, researchers in South Carolina found that veterans who experience post-traumatic stress disorder respond just as well to therapy over videoconference to treatment received in office.  It could potentially work on eating disorders, as well. A small study from 2008 assessed 128 adults ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news