Online Therapy

[deleted]

I'm getting a degree in psychology in hopes of becoming a trauma focused therapist. But lately I've been reading a lot of article about how much therpay will change in the next ten years or so. People are saying all of it will be online, done by robots and there will be very few in person therapists able to find work. This kind of scares me a little as I love seeing my T in person and that was the path that I was hoping to follow. I would love to interact with my clients in person but what if that's not an option?

What do you guys think?

 

[GardenGirl0214]

I, personally, would not do online therapy, as I would be worried about confidentiality issues. I hope what you read will not eventually become the norm.

 

[ladee]

I personally would not do online therapy, much less with a robot... I don't see that happening really... I want a human to talk with.... just sayin'

 

[Justmehere]

Equine therapy is one example that of a form of therapy that is not for everyone, but that doesn't mean equine therapy went away.

There will most likely be a solid place for online therapy and a solid place for in person therapy. There are some types of therapy that can be done online, but other types of therapy that can be.

 

[Ocean5]

Robot? Sure many great advances in AI (artificial intelligence.) But trauma therapy from machine? With everything happening in world, so many new veterans, and refugees. It's not like things will get better.

I once asked old therapist about Skype video. Told me she tried, didn't like, would do it when I moved. She wanted person in her office for complicated situations.

I wouldn't worry. Congrats on focusing on trauma.

 

[watundah]

Poppycock
Go for it. We are not machines and we cannot gain compassion, love and nurturing from machines. People need people (heart) and that will never change.

 

[Chosen]

I doubt that will happen in our time.

 

[Chava]

People are saying all of it will be online, done by robots and there will be very few in person therapists able to find work.

No. Unf*cking helpful. So much of therapy is the relational aspect and also the human connection and ability to respond to human nuance, like body language. Probably people could do some sort of cognitive therapy online. But we are just starting to understand trauma better (like how it affects the nervous system, etc). That's not an online process. f*ck no. I teach violin. I remember hearing electronic synthesizers would outplay human violinists and kids would do online learning. Does some of that happen? Yes (though humans still play violin better). Has it really robbed anyone of jobs? Doubtful. The market, especially for high quality education or therapy, still requires a lot of humans!

That being said, I believe Skype options would be a little different. And some biofeedback options we could keep and use on our own might provide us with some helpful feedback and resources down the road. But not robots or non-human online therapies. That would really just be like self-help or completing some kind of online cognitive training. Not real process-oriented therapy, which is crucial to the complexities of trauma recovery.

 

[Anarchy]

Weren't we all supposed to have had flying cars by about 1975?

 

[ladee]

@Anarchy,:roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao::roflmao:

 

[Ocean5]

I teach violin. I remember hearing electronic synthesizers would outplay human violinists

Good analogy. Both therapy and violin have so much human emotions involved.

 

[LF1]

I couldn't see this happening anytime soon. I don't have it on me but most the research I've seen suggests 50% (may have even been higher) of the gains in therapy are attributed to the therapeutic relationship. I am currently doing a form of "online therapy" it's basically just CBT with the lessons accessed online etc. The work we do isn't submitted as such but we do have access to a psychologist once a week for a phone call or private messaging (like an email but a little more secure) for any questions etc. I don't see such courses taking over from face-to-face therapy, at this stage they seem more of an addition for people who find it hard to access therapy for whatever reason. Who knows where it will go in the future though...