Unexpected benefits from practicing video-therapy by Mary Ann Saltstone

Unexpected benefits from practicing video-therapy

by M.M. Saltstone, Ph.D., RP

I have to keep reminding myself that “social distancing” is just a physical measure. When I venture out shopping for necessary supplies, like food, it feels almost unrecognizable….lines tell me where to stand, arrows tell me what direction to go in, a plexiglass wall separates me and the store clerk, employees are busy spraying every counter, door handle, conveyer belt, shopping cart, counting the number of people going in and out, everyone wearing plastic gloves and protective masks, the smell of disinfectant lingering in the air. Not at all the “normal” I know.

I don’t have any lines in my office telling patients where to stand or any arrows. I don’t wear gloves or a mask. My office, like many of yours, has been closed since March 11, 2020. But I still see my patients over the “miracle” called the Internet. I call it a miracle because it did not exist when I first started my career in psychotherapy in the late 80s, at least not like it does now, and it benefits us more than I could have foreseen. During this pandemic and quarantine, the Internet has allowed humans to communicate with friends, relatives, physicians, and therapists to make those personal connections we all need as social beings. Personal distancing imperatives cannot deny us personal connection to one another. We simply innovate, by clapping our hands outside of our homes at 7:30 pm in Toronto/ 7:00 pm in Ottawa in support of health care workers, posting signs on our lawns, exercising or talking with neighbours in our yards and open spaces at appropriate distances, and so forth. That innovation includes the Internet.

As a psychotherapist, it has allowed me into clients’ homes, spaces I could never have tread previously, gaining small insights into their lives beyond what I see or hear in my office. Their homes have become backdrops to our sessions, including their reno projects, gardens, pets, decor, and occasional unexpected glimpses of family members. I am invited into the world that lies beyond their presenting issue, and in some cases that increases my effectiveness. Don’t get me wrong, my office is a great place. It is clean, bright, sanitary, complete with some tasteful décor, comfortable chairs, objects of interest (like our phrenology skull).But it is not my client’s home. Because it is the office of a professional, it can raise an invisible wall laden with doubt and insecurity. In their home, in contrast, they seem more comfortable to talk and to open up about things or events that they had not told me before. This suggests to me that allowing me into their home has made me seem more a visitor or ally than an investigator into their mental health issues. While I maintain a professional demeanor during these video sessions, it might make me seem more empathic, like a friend invited over for coffee. I am in their world and, perhaps, able to offer better solutions because I know a little bit more about how they live. In this sense it is quite insightful.

After re-opening my office, I may choose to offer one or two sessions during the course of treatment using video therapy, if the client is comfortable doing so, to see if this sense of empathy and reduction in anxiety follows. This might be particularly effective during initial rapport-building sessions.