#teletherapy

#teletherapy

For the first time in his little life, my roommate's Chihuahua, Dewey, went out to stretch his tiny legs during lunchtime. And speaking of lunchtime, eating a freshly cooked meal during it suddenly became not only possible, but normal. Dinners, too, got better, healthier, with the ability to take chicken out of the freezer day-of, wash and prep veggies while listening in on a meeting, or quickly run to the store for an ingredient.

When I ask why, I often find the real reason they are saying this is fear: fear that the therapist will manipulate them, fear that the therapist's questions will embarrass them or trigger anxiety, fear that they will be criticized or expected to become a different person, fear that they will be blamed for their own problems, fear that the therapist can read their private emotions and inner thoughts, or fear that they will not "get" therapy and fail as a patient.

Kristen Johansson's therapy ended with a single phone call. For five years, she'd trusted the same counselor through her mother's death, a divorce and years of childhood trauma work. But when her therapist stopped taking insurance, Johansson's $30 copay ballooned to $275 a session overnight. Even when her therapist offered a reduced rate, Johansson couldn't afford it. The referrals she was given went nowhere.