Telephone and Online Therapy: easy and convenient?

by Jon Creffield

Telephone and online therapy

Telephone and online therapy offers all the benefits of in-person hypnotherapy but with added convenience. Without the need to travel to a therapy centre, clients find it easy to schedule a time for their meetings. Comfortable and relaxed in their own homes, they can enjoy the therapy in a focussed frame of mind.

Advances in communication technology have made telephone and online therapy a practical and straightforward choice. It is just as easy to build a therapeutic relationship by telephone or video link as it is face to face.

Telephone and online therapy: a young woman with a laptop looks at her phone

Telephone and online therapy: what are the benefits to the client?

One of the main advantages of telephone and online therapy is accessibility. Clients who might face challenges attending hypnotherapy sessions in person can quickly participate via webcam or phone.

It frees clients to choose from any therapist in the world, not just geographically close ones. It saves clients time and money, too, as there is no travel involved in attending.

This convenience is particularly valuable for clients that have busy work or family schedules, and also for those who have mobility challenges.

a busy mother who would benefit from telephone or online therapy lies in bed with her children

What should a client look for in a telephone or online therapist?

It is essential to make sure the therapist is qualified. Check that they are members of a recognised professional body. For online hypnotherapy, the therapist should be a member of organisations like the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council, the National Council for Hypnotherapy and the Association for Solution Focussed Hypnotherapy.

Logo of the Association for Solution Focused Hypnotherapy

Are there any disadvantages to therapy on the phone?

A potential challenge for a therapist is that telephone work offers no visual insights into a client’s situation. Body language and facial expressions are valuable communication resources. However, this is not an impossible challenge, and an experienced telephone therapist learns to read peoples voices keenly. Online therapy via video-link and webcam allows for such non-verbal communication, of course.

For some clients, holding a phone for an hour-long session can be tiring or uncomfortable. This challenge is easily remedied with headphones or by using a speakerphone.

A grumpy looking young woman who would benefit from telephone or online therapy sits cross-legged in a garden

For telephone and online therapy, where should the client sit?

Clients should choose a quiet, private and above all, comfortable room in their house—a place where they will not be disturbed. For telephone and online hypnotherapy, the room should have a comfortable bed or chair where the client can lie back and relax. A chair must offer support to the neck and shoulders.

A woman sits comfortably on the floor reading a book ready for her hypnotherapy session

Are there clients for whom telephone and online therapy works particularly well?

In addition to the scheduling and travel advantages that all clients enjoy, some suffers of anxiety, agoraphobia and depression might find leaving the house challenging. They can engage more readily with telephone and online therapy sessions. Many clients prefer the privacy of phone and online therapy too.

A woman experiences telephone and online therapy via a smart device in her home

Can telephone and online therapy work alongside in-person sessions?

Absolutely. Where travel is not a factor, some clients prefer a combination of face to face and telephone or online therapy appointments.

The flexibility of telephone and online therapy gives clients a choice to alternate in-person sessions with phone and webcam appointments. But most clients find the opportunity to have their hypnotherapy at home relaxing and liberating.

Telephone and online therapy: a hand reaches for a telephone

Jon Creffield (HPD, DSFH, DHP, MNCH (Reg.) AfSFH) is a member of the National Council for Hypnotherapy, the Association For Solution Focused Hypnotherapy and the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. He is also an Anxiety UK Approved Therapist

To support clients at this difficult time, he is currently offering a package of four 1-hour online therapy sessions for £200, saving £80 from the usual fee. These are available via video call or conventional telephone call.