Telehealth therapy is regular therapy on a video call. That’s the short version. The longer version: it’s often as effective as in-person work, with a few caveats worth knowing.
Setting up the space
You need three things: a private room, a stable internet connection, and headphones if anyone else is home. A door that closes matters more than a fancy camera.
What works well over video
- Individual therapy for anxiety, depression, life transitions
- Ongoing work once trust is established
- Clients who can’t reliably leave the house (chronic illness, new parents, full caseloads at work)
What we recommend in person when possible
- First sessions, when we’re building rapport
- Couples work, where seeing both people in the same room matters
- Family sessions with kids under 10
- EMDR initial sessions (later sessions can be remote)
The legal stuff
New York requires your therapist to be licensed in New York and you to be physically in New York at session time. If you travel to another state, that session has to wait.