What is Telehealth Therapy?

Virtual therapy represents a significant advancement in the field of mental health care. By breaking down barriers to access and offering a flexible, convenient, and comprehensive approach to therapy, telehealth is revolutionizing how we approach mental wellness. Whether you are seeking help for the first time or continuing your therapeutic journey, telehealth therapy provides an effective and accessible option for mental health support.

Telehealth therapy is not limited to one-on-one sessions. It can include couple/partner counseling, family counseling, and soon groups, all accessible online. This variety ensures that individuals can find the type of support that best suits their needs.

Accessibility and Convenience

Telehealth therapy eliminates geographical barriers, allowing individuals in remote or underserved areas to access high-quality mental health services. This convenience extends to those with mobility issues, busy schedules, or transportation difficulties, ensuring that therapy is available to those who might otherwise find it challenging to attend in-person sessions.

Flexibility and Comfort

Sessions can be scheduled outside of traditional office hours, providing flexibility for individuals with busy or unconventional work schedules. Additionally, being able to attend therapy from the comfort of one’s own home can create a more relaxed environment, potentially leading to more effective sessions.

Privacy and Confidentiality

Telehealth platforms are designed with robust security measures to protect patient confidentiality. Many individuals feel a greater sense of privacy when attending therapy from their own space, which can encourage more open and honest communication.

Efficacy of Telehealth Therapy

Studies have shown that telehealth therapy is as effective as in-person therapy for many conditions, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance abuse. Research indicates that the therapeutic relationship, a critical component of effective therapy, can be successfully established and maintained online. Patients report high levels of satisfaction with telehealth therapy, citing the same level of emotional connection and support as traditional face-to-face sessions. Moreover, telehealth therapy allows therapists to incorporate a range of multimedia resources and interactive tools, which can enhance the therapeutic process and lead to better outcomes.

Foundations Counseling has an amazing team of fully remote clinicians who offer telehealth services to clients throughout the state of Texas. Check out their profiles here.
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What is walk and talk therapy?

Walk and talk therapy is a therapy session that takes place while walking or hiking with your therapist, instead of in a therapy room indoors. Instead of sitting down together, you and your therapist take a walk for the duration of your session, and you discuss what you want while you’re walking.

Walk and talk therapy can be helpful, but it’s not always the right fit for everyone. If you enjoy spending time outdoors, walk and talk therapy might be a natural fit for you. Other folks who find walk and talk therapy helpful are people who have a lot of excess energy during therapy sessions or who don’t feel comfortable sitting still.

People who prefer to talk while sitting side by side instead of face to face also find walk and talk therapy to be helpful, since you’ll be walking next to your therapist instead of facing each other and having to make eye contact. These adjustments can make it feel safer for you to open up and talk about vulnerable topics.

The Benefits of Walk and Talk Therapy

Walk and talk therapy has many benefits, which is why it’s helpful for so many people. We are all different, so what feels helpful to one person won’t feel helpful to another, and that’s okay. If you’re interested in exploring walk and talk therapy, it can help you with:

Getting Unstuck
Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what you want to say in therapy. Some of our clients have noted that they feel more comfortable in nature. When you feel more comfortable, you might feel more able to open up and find what you want to say. Walking while talking during therapy can help you to feel unstuck when confronting difficult issues or decisions.

Increased Mindfulness
Feeling connected to nature can make it easier to slow down and notice the present moment. Mindfulness is a crucial component of mental health, but it takes a lot of practice, especially in our distraction-filled lives. Walk and talk therapy offers you a chance to slow down and notice what’s going on right now around you and within you. The more you practice being mindful, the easier it will be to slip into that mindset when you’re feeling overwhelmed.

Feeling Connected to Your Mind and Body
Fostering the mind-body connection is an important part of mental health. Many of us spend a lot of time in our heads, and feel disconnected from our bodies as a result. Walk and talk therapy helps connect what’s going on in your brain with moving your body.

Tuning in to the mind-body connection can help you recognize and feel your feelings which is a crucial part of emotional regulation.

Moving Your Body is Good for You
Exercise is good for you, and not just for your body. It’s important to regularly move your body for your mental health. Regular movement helps to increase your strength and stamina, improves self-esteem, reduces feelings of anxiety and depression, helps you sleep better, increases resilience to stress, and more.

Many of us have an idea of exercise as a punishment or as a chore, but trying to shift your mindset and viewing movement as a mental health coping skill can help you reframe it into something more positive.

Improved Mood + Energy
It feels good to move around a lot of the time. If you deal with chronic pain or something else that makes movement difficult, movement isn’t the only way to improve your mood, thankfully. If it’s an option for you, though, walking is a great tool to keep in your toolbox to help improve your mood.

Movement, like walking, improves your mood because exercise releases hormones called endorphins, which are known as feel-good hormones because of the way they make you feel. If you’ve ever felt really great after moving your body, it’s likely that endorphins were part of the reason. Walking, and movement in general can also give you a boost in energy. The increased blood flow from moving your body and the release of endorphins can help you feel more energized.

Boost in Creativity
It’s hard to feel creative when you feel stuck or disconnected from yourself. The overall benefits of movement and nature, like mindfulness, mind-body connection, and improved mood can all contribute to an increase in creativity. It’s easier to feel creative when you are relaxed and mindful of the present moment, because it’s easier to focus on what you want to create.

There are some important things to consider before beginning walk and talk therapy.

Privacy is paramount in therapy, and when you’re walking and talking outside, there is naturally less privacy than in a therapy room. Our walk and talk therapists do everything in their power to keep your sessions private even while out walking, but it’s something to consider.

You might not always be in the mood to walk and talk, and that’s okay. You don’t have to walk and talk for every session, whether it’s due to your energy levels, the weather, or something else. Walk and talk therapy is an option that you can keep in your therapy toolbox to use when it feels right. Your therapist can help you decide if walk and talk therapy is the right fit for you.

You don’t have to walk and talk every time you see your therapist, but it’s an option you have if it feels like a good fit and your therapist offers it as an option. Foundations Counseling has several clinicians who offer walk and talk therapy at their McKinney office. Clients who participate in walk and talk therapy will sign a consent prior to their first walk and talk session.

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You can find directions to our office here . Once you arrive, there are signs posted in the waiting room with a phone number to text. This HIPAA compliant check-in process will alert your therapist that you are in the waiting room. Take a seat and relax! Your therapist will greet you shortly.

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