Skip to main content
Forums Home
Illustration of people sitting and standing

New here?

Chat with other people who 'Get it'

with health professionals in the background to make sure everything is safe and supportive.

Register

Have an account?
Login

cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Looking after ourselves

greenpea
Senior Contributor

internet consultations vs face to face

I was wondering what people thought of the above .... personally I dont think I would be able to open up over a computer screen. I think I would feel unsafe doing so unable to see what is happening during the consultation etc.Stangely I feel happier with webchat than I do with phone .... I hate using the phone for anything lol and avoid it as much as possible.

 

My pdoc hasnt mentioned using the internet forums and I dont think she would be the type who would but I just wanted to put it out there and get some feedback from other formites.

19 REPLIES 19

Re: internet consultations vs face to face

Personally I'm much more relaxed over video with my psych compared to in-person. It's the main way I see him so nothing's changing for me there. But then I've spent half my life on computers so it's pretty natural for me to be in front of one.

Re: internet consultations vs face to face

Hi @greenpea 

I prefer face to face. But with this virus it's going to be difficult. I actually got a csll last week from my psych to say he will talk to me via phone call. 
I'm not keen because I can't find a quiet and private space to talk. But at the moment it's the way it is. 

Re: internet consultations vs face to face

@BlueBay  yes if that was to happen to me I think I would have to go somewhere quiet and close my eyes to hopefully block out everything to talk as even visual noise would get in the way of the consulation for me. 

Re: internet consultations vs face to face

@greenpea  Last week when I had a phone consultation with a psychologist I drove to a car park at the beach. 
it was weird but it was ok. 

Re: internet consultations vs face to face

Hi @greenpea and @TheVorticon. I too am a fan of video chat except that I struggle to find a quiet and private space in our house where I feel comfortable enough to open up. I've been using video with my counsellor for years and I volunteer on a phone line so I'm pretty OK with using non face to face services and can see lots of benefits of them. I hope I never need to step into my psych's office again now. Being at home in my pjs with my cats works very well for me 😉😆

I don't think text based web chat would work well for me as I'd spend more time thinking about how to say something rather than actually saying it. I'm really glad it's an option though as I know lots of people find it helpful.

Re: internet consultations vs face to face

@TheVorticon  That is interesting. I like computers but need to get some kind of feed back even if it is just a lil twitch or softness of expression in the eyes that I get from my pdoc which could be missed on a pc.... thanks for your feedback. I might have to brace myself for the eventuality of such a situation.

Re: internet consultations vs face to face

Didn't see you there @BlueBay. We both said we struggle with the lack of "quiet and private space". I think that's definitely a down side. Driving to somewhere quiet is a good idea.

Re: internet consultations vs face to face

@BlueBay  BlueBay could you get out what you wanted to say?

Re: internet consultations vs face to face

hi @greenpea @CheerBear @TheVorticon 

I managed to say things but it was weird because people were walking along the track and could see me. 

next time I will drive somewhere even more remote!!! 

this chat was more of a catch up and how I was feeling.   I think fir you @greenpea I would prefer a face to face chat. If this was when my secrets came out I wouldn't be able to do it on the phone. It's really hard. 

Illustration of people sitting and standing

New here?

Chat with other people who 'Get it'

with health professionals in the background to make sure everything is safe and supportive.

Register

Have an account?
Login

For urgent assistance