Looking for a Top Quality Grief Counselor?
Flashback to March 2020. I was conducting my grief counseling sessions in a business-as-usual format in my office in midtown Manhattan. Then, there were murmurs that the newly-arrived coronavirus would soon cause us all to stay home.
Then the workplaces closed.
Then my clients started heading for the suburbs, or to their second homes or visiting and staying with family elsewhere.
My clients still needed my grief counseling support, but they were nowhere in sight. Enter computers and video platforms to save the day.
Of course, this solution came with much anxiety in the initial weeks.
Will it work? Will my clients feel comfortable? Will they pay full attention for the whole session or will they be distracted? Will my computer crash in the middle of a critical moment?
And most of all, would I still be able to see their tears flow and witness their emotions. Would I still be able to detect that glimpse of a faint smile trying to break through when sharing a loving memory?
As it turns out, YES, I can.
Telecounseling works and my clients are healing beautifully, session by session
And, I’ve begun working with new clients here and abroad, whom I have not yet met in person. It’s working out well; we are working together effectively.
What’s the Best Part?
I can now help grievers EVERYWHERE, as long as they have access to a computer, tablet, or phone.
So, if you’re not in NYC, don’t worry. My help is as close as a click on the keyboard.
How and why can teletherapy be effective for grief counseling?
Let’s face it. Grief is exhausting and it can weigh a ton. Grievers don’t always have a surplus of energy following the death of a loved one. You feel more burdened and less focused as you grieve.
Grief can take the skip out of your step. It can make “getting out of bed” hard, let alone leaving your home. And you may also have child care challenges, work challenges, more time, and scheduling constrictions in your new life.
But at the same time, you know you need the help of a grief counselor.
These pandemic times have shown us … Online GRIEF COUNSELING WORKS!
While it’s true that the optimal counseling situations would most likely still be in-person, during these “pandemic times” video counseling has been put to the test. And it has, for the most part, passed with flying colors.
Research shows that distance therapy can be just as effective as in-person therapy.
One study in the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, for example, found that telepsychiatry patients reported improved mental health after a month.
Telepsychiatry patients also reported similar levels of overall satisfaction and comfort as in-person ones, though they reported “slightly lower levels of satisfaction regarding feeling supported and encouraged than did the in-person clients,” the study authors wrote.
And of course, there are the possibilities for technology glitches which will force both the counselor and client to have patience and a slight sense of humor.
There are even circumstances in which online therapy may even be the best option.
Here’s why I encourage you to really consider grief telecounseling.
It takes time to travel to a counselor’s office, and time can be a precious commodity after the death of a loved one.
When you research grief counselors or get recommendations from trusted friends and relatives, you find a professional whom you think would be a great fit, but he or she is not physically nearby. Now, you can prioritize your chemistry with the counselor, over the convenience of his or her office location.
Sometimes, clients open up more when they are in their own home or office because it’s a comfortable and more familiar setting.
In fact, often I can even see more or see more deeply because the computer screen is positioned more close-up than the positioning of office chairs.
I can’t wait to help make your grief journey as smooth and healing as possible.
