In 2019, I was working in community mental health as a counselor. Up until that point, I had been providing trauma therapy and other forms of therapy to clients primarily in person.
A few of the therapists I worked with had successfully integrated providing telehealth to a handful of clients who found it difficult to make it to our center during the day. Overall, the clients interested in remote therapy were far and few between.
Fast forward to March 2020. It was becoming clear that agencies and private practices had to provide telehealth or risked not being able to provide services to clients. COVID-19 anxiety was in full swing as it became evident we were in a global pandemic. Clients looked to therapists to help manage symptoms of depression and PTSD. The agency I was with at the time adapted over night and before we knew it, all of our clients were being seen through online platforms. The rest is history.
Hind sight always seems to be 20/20. I scratch my head now and wonder, why wasn’t I offering online services to Florida and Virginia before the pandemic? Maybe technology wasn’t there yet? I resisted the idea that proper trauma therapy or EMDR or Brainspotting could be offered remotely.
The foundation of trauma therapy (therapy in general) is meeting our clients where they are at in a given moment. We never impose where we, the therapist, think they should be on their journey to healing and transformation. So, what better way to meet a client where they are at–literally–than telehealth!
Online therapy and online EMDR therapy has allowed me to meet clients where they live or work. My clients have busy, hectic lives. My clients are running businesses, raising families, juggling their lives or dealing with medical issues. Being able to cut out the time it previously took to drive to my office has been truly transformational for clients and a huge stress relief. In most cases, online therapy has been as effective or more effective for my clients in meeting their goals, reducing depression, and shifting negative limiting belief patterns through EMDR.
Since early 2020, I have upped my online therapy skillset. I am a huge advocate of continuing education. I jumped into online Brainspotting seminars, online EMDR seminars and other trainings to help me adapt the way I provide services in an online environment.
The other amazing thing about online therapy is that I am now able to reach rural parts of Florida and Virginia that I previously never would have been able to reach. Just recently, I was able to provide telehealth therapy services to a client looking for a Virginia therapist in rural Virginia. They told me they were looking for a therapist for over one year locally and kept on hitting dead ends.
Connection and online therapy:
The other thing that telehealth therapy has provided is connection. This pandemic has created loneliness, depression, anxiety and trauma. We are grieving the loss of what we knew, we are grieving the death of loved ones to COVID, and we are grieving the loss of community. Humans need connection and being able to provide telehealth to Florida and telehealth to Virginia clients has been truly remarkable. Some of my clients live alone and the weekly therapy appointments have been one more opportunity for connection for them. A time to review coping skills for anxiety or gain insight into a pressing mental health issue through Brainspotting online.
If you are interested in beginning therapy, Jordan Nodelman is here for you. Providing EMDR for PTSD and therapy in Florida, therapy in Virginia and EMDR in Washington DC. Reach out today.
