SKYPE COUNSELLING
Flexible online counselling, for those who can’t make regular face-to-face sessions
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Why Skype?
For those who can’t make regular sessions at our clinics in London or Reading, a Skype video link offers a valuable and highly effective alternative to face-to-face counselling. Studies have shown that online video-based therapy can be as helpful as face-to-face therapy, and that satisfaction among clients is high. Skype offers:
- Location of your choice: For people with mobility problems, or those living further afield in the UK
- International access: For people living or working abroad
- Flexible timings: For shift-workers or those with busy schedules
- Cost-effectiveness: Eliminates travel time and travel costs
How does it work?
Setting up your Skype session is easy:
- BOOK: Contact us to set up a suitable time for your sessions.
- PAY: Pay for your session in advance, by PayPal (your therapist will send a PayPal invoice to your email address).
- CALL: Call your therapist’s Skype-name at the agreed time.
Skype Counselling FAQ's
Skype is an extremely secure application that uses Advanced Encryption Standards (AES). This means it is very difficult for a third party to hack a call – and ensures your Skype counselling sessions are secure and confidential.
Online video counselling by Skype provides real-time communication and genuine eye contact between you and your therapist. Verbal cues are easily picked up by both parties, and body-language and other non-verbal cues are (to a large extent) visible on camera. This enables you to build a strong therapeutic alliance with your therapist, just as you would do in person – and produces results in most cases that are as good as with face-to-face therapy.
We understand that using Skype to talk about very personal issues can feel a little strange to begin with. However, most people find themselves adapting surprisingly quickly and comfortably to online sessions. We recommend trying out an initial session and seeing how you feel – your therapist will discuss this with you towards the end of the session, so you can decide if you want to continue.
When someone has suffered a serious trauma, there may be a need for face-to-face support. This is partly to make sure the therapist doesn’t miss any of the tiny non-verbal cues that are often key to working with trauma; and also partly because where trauma is involved, sometimes just being in a safe space with another person can be a really important part of therapy. If you are not sure whether Skype sessions would be suitable for you, contact us to discuss in confidence.
Payment for Skype sessions is easy – your therapist will send a PayPal invoice to your email in advance of your session, and you just make payment through PayPal prior to your scheduled Skype call.
Once you have made contact with your therapist, they will email you their Skype name in advance of your first session.
On the technical side, you will need a web-cam and a fast, reliable broadband connection; and you will also need a PayPal account, to arrange payment for your sessions. On the practical side, you should ensure that the space from which you are calling is comfortable, private, and will not be disturbed by phones, people or pets for the duration of your session.
Skype Counselling with Anchor
The following Anchor therapists are able to offer video counselling by Skype: