We are living in digital times. We send a Whatsapp message when we want to let someone know how our day has gone, after a long day we flop and the sofa and play Candy Crush on an iPad, we stay in touch using video chat to talk to far away friends and family, we write our to-do list on our phone and we google “how to (fill in the blank)”.
Despite technology being a part of our everyday, when we think of online therapy it can seem a little strange or unusual. Having been a Clinical Psychologist for a number of years now and being accustomed to seeing patients in-person, I also had my own doubts initially: Is online therapy useful? Does it work? Is it as effective as in-person therapy? Science has this to say:
A study published in 2018 in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders stated that online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (iCBT) is “effective, acceptable and practical”. The study found that online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is as effective as in-person therapy for disorders related to depression and anxiety (panic disorder, social anxiety, general anxiety etc) Journal of Anxiety Disorders
