Is Virtual Therapy Right for you? Pros and Cons of Online Eating Disorder Therapy.
So you’ve made the decision to start therapy. That’s major! Now what?
In a post-2020 world, options for starting therapy have really evolved. We used to picture therapy taking place in an office, maybe lying down Freud-style on a chaise, with low lights, and a glasses-wearing therapist scribbling away on a notepad.
Times have changed. And as a therapist who practices both in-person in Orange County, CA and online throughout California state — I think they’ve changed for the better!
If you’re seeking therapy for any reason that requires specialized care (like eating disorder therapy or trauma therapy), finding the right therapy is ESSENTIAL. The fact is, that therapist may not be within driving distance from your home. Virtual therapy has given us the ability to connect with the very best providers in the state, regardless of their locality to your hometown.
Still, there are some drawbacks to seeing a therapist online (particularly for those of us who have struggled with disordered eating issues).
This article will tell you everything you need to know if you’re considering online or teletherapy for your eating disorder (written by a therapist who provides this care in California!).
Pros of Virtual Eating Disorder Therapy:
Accessibility: Work with the very best therapists, no matter where you live.
Your best fit therapist may not live in your backyard. Even more importantly, a therapist that specializes in your specific issues may not be practicing locally!
For example: Here at SoCal Wellness Group, we specialize in niche eating disorder therapy. This means we have expert therapist ready to work on your specific intersection of challenges. Do you have an eating disorder and ADHD? Or maybe a history of disordered eating that started after a traumatic event? Maybe you’re somehow with a long-standing relationship with perfectionism or anxiety, that’s now taken the form of an eating disorder.
We have a team of specialized therapists that understand not only eating disorders, but the challenges that often come up alongside them. THIS type of specialized therapy is not something you’ll find just anywhere. While we’re able to see clients for therapy at our offices in Orange County, we can also serve clients anywhere in the state of California through online teletherapy. Virtual therapy for eating disorders gives you access to the best therapist in your state — and that’s really a gamechanger for eating disorder recovery.
2. Convenience: Therapy where and when you need it.
You lead a very busy life, and you might not have time to get in your car and drive 20 minutes back and forth from a therapy office in the middle of your work day. The idea of going to therapy after you’ve had an exhausting week at school might be the thing keeping you from making the appointment. But what if you could wear your pajamas and login from the comfort of your cozy couch? What if all you had to do was roll out of bed and press a button to start your healing journey?
This is one of the best parts of online therapy. In our therapy practice, we see a lot of high achieving and VERY busy clients (kind of goes with the territory when you work with eating disorders). So many of our clients say they waited to start therapy because they “didn’t have time” for it — but virtual therapy made it easy to schedule 45 minutes once a week to simply login and begin finally addressing their eating disorder.
3. Consistency: It’s easier to attend weekly, even when you’re traveling or sick.
When you see an in-person therapist for eating disorder treatment, cancelling or no-showing may be more tempting because of the effort it takes to arrive in-person week after week. You’re already going through a lot and sometimes the shame of comforting these struggles make it an emotional chore to keep showing up. With virtual eating disorder therapy, the barrier to entry is much lower (you simply open your laptop and login from anywhere at the time of your appointment!). This makes it so much easier to stay consistent, even on the days when you’re feeling low energy, or emotionally avoidant.
Especially when you’re struggling with an eating disorder, keeping therapy consistent week after week is essential for staying in recovery. Eating disorder recovery is a daily battle! Virtual therapy gives you the ability to attend even when you’re sick (which can be a really triggering time for someone with an eating disorder) or traveling within your state. With traditional in-person therapy, you’d have to cancel or pause sessions even though sickness and travel present unique difficulties for someone with an eating disorder.
Virtual therapy means support no matter where you are (within your state of course), making therapy consistent, and recovery a priority!
Cons of Virtual Eating Disorder Therapy:
Technical Issues: Technology isn’t foolproof and could interrupt the flow of session.
We are all accustomed to wifi issues, glitchy or grainy videos, calls dropping for no apparent reason — virtual therapy is no exception. So if you’re signing on for virtual eating disorder therapy, just know there may be times that technology is on the fritz. This may not be a problem for everyone beyond being marginally annoying from time to time — but be aware that it can interrupt a session and sometimes even prevent you from completing a session.
Are you not particularly tech-savy? The idea of teletherapy might be a little overwhelming for you. At SoCal Wellness Group, we make the process of logging on for your session as simple as possible (simply clicking a link sent via email or text every week). Still if you and technology are not the best of friends, you may not love this method and prefer coming to see us in our Orange County offices.
2. Lack of Physical Presence: Building a relationship may be slightly harder.
Some people just respond better to therapy when sitting face to face in person with their therapist. While teletherapy is proven to be just as effective as in-person therapy, you might simply be someone who prefers that physical presence when connecting with another human (especially when talking about something as personal and challenging as an eating disorder).
Additionally, for our eating disorder clients at SoCal Wellness Group, in-person therapy may be more beneficial depending on how severe and persistent your symptoms are. Our therapists who practice in Orange County, CA are skilled at picking up on body language and physical cues that may indicate you’re struggling more than you’re saying. It can be hard to always authentically open up when the eating disorder is in control! An in-person therapist might be able to see this better than a virtual one. That isn’t to say our clients that login for therapy virtually throughout California state are flying under the radar — it just might be slightly more difficult to connect the dots and always highlight body language differences when therapy is practiced via a screen
3. Distractions and Lack of Privacy: Sometimes home isn’t the most peaceful setting for healing.
For those of you that don’t know me, you might not know that I’m a new mother! My 8 month old baby boy is my best buddy. However — doing therapy in my bedroom while I listen to him crying, or playing in the other room with my husband is a huge distraction. If you’re in a similar boat, online therapy for your eating disorder may not be the best environment for your recovery.
Ideally, therapy takes place in a setting free from distractions so you can really focus on feeling and processing. If you live with several other people or on a busy street with loud cars, your home might not be the best place for you to logon and confront your eating disorder. It may actually serve your healing better to hop in the car once a week and drive to our peaceful office in Tustin (if you’re local to Orange County) or wherever you can find a good-fit local therapist.
Sometimes online therapy presents a privacy issue! If you need to vent about your mom’s disordered eating behaviors, but your mom is literally in the next room…that might be a problem. Consider whether or not you may be overheard in your home during your virtual therapy session, and whether this might get in the way of you processing certain issues. Because eating disorders are such a vulnerable challenge, privacy is essential. For that reason, in-person therapy might be a better option.
Are you still unsure which option is the best for you? Don’t stress.
At SoCal Wellness Group we offer free 15-minute phone consultations before you schedule your first session. If you’re either local to Orange County, CA or somewhere in California state, we can discuss your specific needs and determine together whether virtual or in-person eating disorder therapy would suit you best! We take the guesswork out of it on this initial phone call and give you a chance to speak to one of our highly skilled therapists who will answer any questions you have about starting therapy.
What are you waiting for? Book your FREE call below to start therapy!
