Online Counselling
Counselling online via a video call
What is Online Counselling?
Online counselling sessions take place via a secure video call, offering flexibility over face to face counselling sessions.
Attending sessions online has a number of benefits, including :
- Flexibility to join your counselling session securely, from anywhere.
- Removes the cost and travel time to and from sessions.
- Allows you to schedule sessions around other commitments.
- Some people feel more comfortable having sessions in their own, familiar space.
How does online counselling work?
Book a session
Please contact me to book your first session.
Email invitiation
I will send you an email/calendar invitation with a link to join your session.
Join your session
Click the link on your chosen device at your session time to attend your counselling appointment.
How It Works
Online counselling in 3 steps.
Once you have a booked your first counselling session, I will email you a confirmation email, which will contain a calender invitation which you can save in your email calendar.
The inviation will have a link which you can click to join your appointment at the time and date you have booked. You can connect to the session from a PC without installing any software, or a tablet or smartphone by installing the Google Meet app from the Apple or Google App Store, depending on your device.
How to improve your online counselling experience
- If you have downloaded the Google Meet app make sure you keep it updated when new updates become available
- Use headphones as this will improve the quality of the call by making it louder and clearer for you. You’ll hear better and your microphone will pick up less background noise too
- Sit facing a window, so that the light illuminates your face. Avoiding overhead lighting as this is not good for a video call as it will cast shadows. Also no bright lights or sun-filled windows behind you or you’ll be a mere silhouette. Natural light is best or use several soft-light sources at around eye level
- If using your phone or a table, use a stand to hold it in place and horizontal, that way you can be even more comfortable without getting an arm ache from holding them up. Try to also have your device at a level where most of you can be seen but not to far away from you that you are not able to see me
- Video calls require your device to do a lot of work. Shut down other open apps or windows to reduce the multitasking demands on your device and the video quality for your call should improve
- Switch off WiFi on other devices when attending your appointment or if others are in the house ask that they reduce the amount of WiFi they are using during the appointment too
- Front-facing cameras on most phones and tablets are of lesser quality than the rear-facing one. If your front-facing camera is of particularly low resolution, your picture will be less clear at the other end of the call
- If the picture or sound quality isn’t satisfactory to you please let me know and we can look to try to resolve this. If we are unable to, we might need to think about attending our appointments together by telephone. If either of these options don’t fit your needs we will need to look at possibly bringing our work to an end and at an onward referral if you so wish to.
- I would also suggest that you use your own technology to access our video call appointment and not public access or a family/friends device. This is due to security reasons and being able to increase your confidentiality plus also making sure that the technology you are using has secure methods of communication including protected WiFi and adequate firewalls and virus protection.
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Key Points
If using a phone or tablet, ensure Google Meet app is up to date
Using headphones will improve the quality of the video call
Sit facing a window or in a well lit room