Here’s How Email Therapy Works

If you’re having a difficult time and need to speak to a professional therapist, things that might prevent you from seeking help include the inconvenience of setting up a face-to-face session or the stress of expressing your thoughts to a complete stranger. Online therapy services can help you to navigate such issues. Elsewhere on Healthy Minded, we’ve discussed leading video counseling providers like TalkSpace. Here we answer all you need to know about how email therapy works.

Email therapy is when you and your therapist engage in a counseling session via email instead of face-to-face. During your sessions, you will exchange emails so you can work through your issues under professional guidance without having to leave your home.

There are many benefits to using email for therapy, but there are also some essential considerations. Here’s what you should know before you get in touch with a therapist and a breakdown of how the process works in practice so you’ll have a better idea of what to expect with e-counseling.

How Does Email Therapy Work: Benefits

Email counseling has many benefits and advantages over face-to-face mental health counseling services. Writing out your responses before sending them can be therapeutic when working through your issues. Emailing a therapist can give you faster access to the help you seek.

Advantages Over Face to Face Sessions

Traditional therapy involves setting up an appointment with a therapist at their office or place of work and sitting with them for approximately an hour while you explore and navigate your issues together. Although beneficial, this isn’t always convenient or practical.

Here are some advantages of making use of therapy via email instead.

It’s convenient

Online counseling makes getting help much easier. You don’t have to take time out of your busy life to drive to the office for your appointment because you can engage in writing responses to a therapist’s questions wherever you are. Even if you only have a bit of time between your daily chores, you can get a therapeutic response to your queries and concerns.

Another benefit is that if you have mobility issues, getting therapy via email instead of in person makes your life more convenient.

It’s affordable

Since therapists don’t have to consider overhead expenses when they work online instead of from a brick-and-mortar location, online therapy is more affordable for clients. In-person therapy can cost around $75-$150 per session, which is how much you can expect to pay to access an online therapy site per week or month. Email counseling can therefore be better for your budget.

Cost comparison between in-person therapy & online therapy

It allows you to work at your own pace.

Email counseling lets you take an in-between break email and consider your responses. Leaving your computer and taking time to think through what you want to write and express can be helpful by ensuring you find the right words to express yourself adequately. You can also re-read your messages before sending them.

It puts you at ease

Since you don’t have the intensity or anxiety of being in a face-to-face therapy session, you can feel more comfortable expressing difficult emotions during online counseling. This is especially useful for people who struggle with social anxiety or open up to strangers about their feelings.

Expanded Accessibility

Online counseling in the form of an email exchange makes getting help much more accessible to many more people. There’s no need to be limited to a brick-and-mortar location. You can work through your issues wherever you are, even if you’re traveling, and work from various devices.e

For some people, e-therapy support can be the first step to seeking support for their mental health issues, especially for those who find it difficult to see a therapist in real life. A study of college students requiring care for their eating disorders found that they were more likely to seek help after gaining support from a coach online via messaging services like Zoom, WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.

Email therapy can be a stepping stone to email counseling and gaining professional support through online counseling.

However, there are some limitations to its accessibility. If clients seek treatment or counseling for a serious issue, this could be outside the scope of email counseling or coaching session.

It’s also worth noting that some companies offering e-therapy don’t always have a clear set of guidelines for psychologists and counselors to follow when dealing with difficult or risky situations, such as suicide and substance abuse.

It can be difficult for health professionals to communicate effectively and assist people in serious situations. For example, suppose a counselor asks the person a question via email and the reply with a one-word answer. In that case, it will be highly challenging for the client and the health professional to be able to offer them more assistance.

Types of Online Therapy

Email sessions offer a variety of psychology frameworks, mostly the same as you find offline. Some common ones include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This analyzes the connection between one’s thoughts and feelings and the behavior that arises from them. By identifying negative behavioral patterns, therapists can help people better deal with their issues. CBT is beneficial in the treatment of a variety of conditions, such as depression and anxiety.
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy. This helps one to identify and manage their emotions. It’s a therapeutic process that’s particularly beneficial when assisting people in finding ways to deal with stress and is standard for treating conditions related to self-harm and substance abuse.
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EDMR). This psychotherapy involves the patient remembering traumatic situations and using specific eye movements to navigate around areas of the brain that are still focused on the trauma. Such services are beneficial for conditions such as anxiety and PTSD and can even be effectively offered via email (with clear instructions or videos, for example).

The Process of Email Therapy

E-therapy usually takes the form of sessions, typically an hour or less. You will send the therapist emails, and they’ll reply by providing you with feedback and questions for you to discuss and answer. During one e-counseling session, you might have multiple email exchanges, depending on the type of problem for which you’re seeking help.

Most therapists offering this type of therapy allow clients to engage in conversation through other types of treatment, such as video counseling, phone calls, or in-person sessions so email correspondence can become one part of a more important process.

Email conversations with your therapist can occur weekly or periodically, while there’s also the chance for a once-off phone session, depending on what you require.

Where To Find Email Therapy Providers

There are many email counseling providers that you can find online. Here’s a rundown of four of them and what services they offer.

• Theravive. This site enables people from the U.S. and Canada to access clinical therapy quickly and safely. Theravive provides professional counseling services via email, phone, webcam, or instant messaging. The therapists and e-counselors are licensed and credentialed professionals.
• First Psychology Online. This website lets you write out your problems in an email and send it, after which the therapist will book a 50-minute session to read it and reply. You’ll receive support, feedback, and questions. First Psychology Online is an example of a company that combines different e-counseling services, such as email, video chats, and face-to-face consulting.
• Online Counselling Service. This service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to anyone worldwide. The email sessions are encrypted to ensure your privacy, and you don’t have to book a meeting. Instead, you must pay for a single session or discount package before email submission. It’s recommended to book between six and 15 sessions for the best results.
• The Anxiety Clinic. The site offers tips for writing emails to ensure a meaningful and effective exchange with your therapist, such as taking about 50 minutes to write your thoughts and feelings.
• Emma Whelan Counselling. This therapist uses ProtonMail to ensure emails are secure and encrypted. Your email will receive a response within 72 hours. However, you can use any mailing platform you like and use passwords to keep your exchanges safe.

Drawbacks and Challenges of Email Therapy

Although gaining support from your therapist via text messaging or email has many benefits, it does present some potential drawbacks and challenges.

• It lacks non-verbal cues. Without non-verbal cues, such as your body language and tone of voice, therapists can struggle to understand and interpret your situation from your writing alone effectively. There could also be a lack of subtext.
• There are privacy concerns. Personal email correspondence on one’s device could be accessed by a third party, which is why emails must be encrypted. This forms part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards. If you’re interested in Zoom therapy instead, read our guide, “Is Zoom Secure For Therapy (and is it HIPAA-Compliant)?“

Conclusion

Seeking therapy to help you move beyond a problem holding you back isn’t always easy when it involves face-to-face appointments with a therapist. This is why therapy via email and other online therapy is growing in popularity. Email therapy offers many advantages, such as:

• Convenience.
• Increased comfortability.
• On-the-go treatment wherever you are.

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Giulia Thompson

Giulia Thompson studied psychology at university and loved it. She wishes it was her major subject alongside English! She's played “catch up,” with loads of experience since college as a journalist covering wellness, health, and mental health.

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