Phone Therapy: Work with a Therapist Over the Phone
What Is Telephone Counseling?
Telephone counseling is simply working with your therapist, counselor, psychologist, or life coach over the telephone.
If you’re seeking individual counseling, couples therapy, psychotherapy, or another form of therapy, you can choose to meet with your Thriveworks counselor over the phone instead of by traditional therapy means, which is often referred to as in-person therapy.
This form of counseling is one of several online therapy options. Another common and effective online counseling option is video counseling. In video counseling, you meet with your counselor in video sessions. Counseling by phone and video conferencing are both effective means for working with a mental health professional.
Phone counseling offers the utmost convenience and comfort in counseling. It eliminates the commute to and from the therapy office, and it allows you to attend your appointment comfortably from home.
For these reasons, online phone counseling might prove especially beneficial for clients who…
- Can’t find a qualified counselor or therapist nearby
- Don’t feel comfortable meeting with a counselor or therapist in person
- Need or prefer to attend their appointment from home
If you’re looking for online counseling services, we hope that our telephone counseling opportunities meet your needs and help you secure the right mental health services. On the same note, if you’re looking for in-person counseling, we have that too! Just click here to find a Thriveworks office near you.
How Does Telephone Counseling Work?
If you decide to pursue telephone counseling, your counselor, therapist, psychologist, or life coach will simply call you at the time of your session. Just make sure you’ve given your provider the accurate phone number, you have service, and you’re ready to answer their call at the scheduled appointment time!
Videoconference sessions are similar, only instead of answering your provider’s call at the time of your appointment, you’ll click a simple web link where you can connect with your provider over video chat. If you value that face-to-face interaction characteristic of in-person counseling, videoconference counseling might be the right online counseling option for you.
The Thriveworks team has been providing online counseling therapy services, including telephone counseling, for many years now. Why? Because we know that telephone counseling serves as the solution to many problems people encounter in pursuing or receiving mental health services.
For example, they might not be able to find a therapist or counselor in their area who offers services for their specific mental health issues. Or, their commute to counseling each week has caused them to be late more than a few times for their session. Others might simply feel uncomfortable talking to a counselor, therapist, psychologist, or coach in person.
Fortunately, online therapy enables clients to find a provider who meets their specific needs. It also allows clients to attend their sessions each week without the hassle of a commute and it empowers them to speak with their counselor about difficult subjects.
Is Telephone Counseling Effective?
As telephone counseling grows in popularity, more research is being conducted to explore and understand the efficacy of telephone counseling. Based on all of this research that has been done on telephone counseling, it is an effective option for treating:
- Mental illnesses, like depression, anxiety, substance abuse disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Other life challenges such as stress, low self-esteem, relationship issues, trauma, lack of career fulfillment, and more
Therefore, if you’re looking for depression therapy, couples therapy, marriage counseling, trauma therapy, stress management counseling, or another form of therapy, telephone counseling is a great option.
You can find a therapist or counselor with the right skills to meet your specific needs and receive counseling by telephone.
Will My Insurance Cover Telephone Counseling?
Most major insurance companies cover online counseling by video, and many are beginning to cover online counseling by phone, too. This means that in addition to the comfort, convenience, flexibility, and reliability that telephone counseling offers, it also offers affordability.
When telephone counseling is covered by insurance, the out-of-pocket rate to clients can be as low as a normal co-pay for a trip to the doctor’s office or in-person counseling session. To find out if your specific insurance plan covers telephone counseling, simply call the number listed on the back of your insurance card or reach out to your local Thriveworks office. If your insurance does indeed cover online counseling, we’ll be happy to accept your benefits and get you scheduled for your first phone counseling appointment right away.
If your insurance does not cover counseling by phone or video, don’t worry. Thriveworks has affordable self-pay prices too, as we understand that insurance doesn’t always cover the services you need or are looking for.
5 Reasons to Try Telephone Counseling, Coaching
1. Comfort and convenience
Telephone counseling allows you to attend your counseling or therapy appointment(s) with comfort and ease. Instead of traveling to the counseling office, you get to attend from the convenience of your home, your office, or anywhere else for that matter. All you need is telephone access.
2. Reliability
In addition to comfort and convenience, telephone counseling offers reliability. You don’t have to worry about traffic, a physical injury, poor weather conditions, or other external factors preventing you from attending your session. Just make sure you have cell signal!
3. Flexibility
Telephone counseling also offers quick and flexible scheduling options. Instead of having to wait days or weeks for your appointment, you can often schedule a same-day or next-day telephone counseling appointment.
4. Affordability
Telephone counseling is highly affordable too, as many insurance companies now cover online counseling services including telephone counseling. If yours doesn’t, don’t worry—Thriveworks also offers low self-pay rates for telephone counseling.
5. Effectiveness
Despite popular belief, distance therapy services like telephone counseling are not new. In fact, they’ve been around as early as the 1950s, when the first mental health hotline was created. There are now decades of research that show telephone counseling and other online counseling services are beneficial.
Thriveworks is a trusted brand. We have 100+ counseling centers across the country. We partner with the best of the best providers, of whom will provide you with quality mental health care. Consider working with a Thriveworks counselor, therapist, or coach in telephone counseling today.
