Online therapy was introduced in the early to mid-1990s, with the first documented paid online session taking place in 1995, shortly after the internet was made widely accessible to the public. Since then, a wide body of research has confirmed its efficacy in treating mental and behavioral health issues, on-par with physical in-person visits to a clinician. Additionally, it innately comes with advantages that cannot be, or are challenged to be, found with most in-clinic sessions. The added benefits of online therapy include the following:
- Scheduling Flexibility: Online therapy offers significant scheduling flexibility by eliminating commute times and providing access to appointments during evenings, weekends, or lunch breaks, et cetera. This flexibility allows busy professionals, parents, and those with limited mobility to fit mental and behavioral health care into their lives, which enhances consistency and commitment to self-care.
- Enhanced Confidentiality: Online therapy offers enhanced confidentiality by allowing individuals to attend sessions from a private, comfortable home (or elsewhere) environment, eliminating the need to be seen entering a therapist’s office. This increased privacy reduces the stress over real or perceived stigma associated with seeking mental health care.
- Less Friction in Switching Therapists: Online therapy offers a significant advantage in reducing the discomfort and logistical friction involved in switching therapists. The process of changing to a therapist who may be a better personality and/or cultural fit is less daunting than in-person alternatives. It bypasses the social awkwardness of notifying a therapist and the anxiety of commuting to a new office. With online therapy, individuals overcome the hurdle of finding a good “match”.
- Lesser Feelings of Discomfort and Embarrassment: Online therapy enhances the ability to discuss topics that an individual feels are embarrassing, sensitive, or taboo. This is particularly true for issues such as addictive behavior relating to pornography and hypersexuality disorders. The physical distance, comfort of one’s own home (or other “safe” space) and enhanced anonymity create a buffer that reduces anxiety and lowers inhibitions, allowing individuals to open up.
- Location Flexibility: Lastly, online therapy offers unparalleled location flexibility, allowing clients to engage in sessions from home, where they work, or other spaces, which removes geographical barriers. This flexibility increases access to care for individuals in rural or remote areas, those with mobility issues, and busy individuals who can more easily fit sessions into their schedules.
You can read more about the above right here. The intent of today’s feature, however, as we navigate from the spring into the summer months (at press) is to explore the last listed benefit of location flexibility. More specifically, the focus is on something you may not have considered for your own upcoming experience with online therapy. As the heading of this article indicates, there are added advantages to taking your online sessions outdoors from time to time. Given that it generally occurs over a smartphone, tablet, or laptop, you have the unique opportunity to take your mobile device (and headphones) out on to your patio, backyard, or other serene outdoor space, as long as you have access to the internet. Below is a brief summary of how doing so can enhance your wellness.
Added Wellness Benefits of Taking Your Online Counseling Experience Outside
I. Enhances Cognitive Functioning
Research compiled by the National Institutes of Health confirms that spending time outdoors significantly enhances cognitive functioning by improving memory, attention span, and creativity, while promoting mood regulation and reducing mental fatigue and lowering feelings of stress and anxiety. While this alone is beneficial to an individual’s wellbeing, it can also set the table for success in counseling.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a cornerstone of online counseling, providing a highly effective, accessible, and structured alternative to in-person therapy for anxiety, depression, stress, and other issues. Science Direct reports that cognitive enhancement strategies – such as spending more time outdoors – can augment CBT for anxiety and related disorders.
II. Assists with CBT Grounding Exercises
Grounding exercises are highly effective CBT techniques used to bring focus back to the present moment when experiencing intense anxiety, trauma flashbacks, or dissociation. By engaging the senses or mind to anchor the body, they provide immediate emotional regulation.
Online counselors effectively teach grounding exercises during virtual sessions. There are many examples of grounding exercises, but some of the more common ones can be made more accessible when taken outdoors.
a) 5-4-3-2-1 Method.
This technique involves identifying: 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, and 1 thing you can taste. When you lock-in and focus on each, the process shifts your focus away from negative feelings and emotions about the past or future, and into your immediate environment. Taking this practice outdoors can enhance the experience by providing richer, more diverse sensory input. You can instantly identify a colorful flower, feel the touch of the wind, smell fresh grass, hear the chirps of birds, and taste a ripe berry from your very own garden. You will experience a deepened state of relaxation and improved emotional regulation.
b) Deep Breathing
Deep breathing exercises can stimulate a healthy release of dopamine and help reset your brain in a positive direction. Practicing CBT deep breathing outdoors enhances effectiveness by combining physiological relaxation techniques with nature’s calming sensory inputs. This combination helps reduce anxiety, lower blood pressure, and improve mood more effectively by engaging the senses – such as feeling the sun or hearing the breeze ruffle leaves – alongside conscious, controlled breathing. Your online counselor can walk you through optimal techniques, that you can practice outdoors. Below is a summary of what that might look like:
- Sit or lie-down in a comfortable, private, outdoor space such as on your deck or on a flat space in your yard, and close your eyes.
- Place one hand on your chest and the other hand on your abdomen.
- Inhale fresh outdoor air through your nose for approximately 4-seconds as you feel your abdomen expand.
- Hold your breath for 2-seconds, then exhale slowly and steadily through your mouth for about 6-seconds, giving the air back to Mother Nature.
- Repeat the process from anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes. Your mind and body will let you know when you have relaxed sufficiently to move on to the next step.
c) Mindful Meditation
Mindful meditation is a clinician-guided practice that involves focusing on the present moment without judgment, often through techniques such as sensation observation and deep-breathing exercises. Mindful meditation, including techniques from CBT and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), is significantly enhanced when practiced outdoors. Research suggests this combination boosts mental well-being more than indoor practice alone by reducing depressive rumination, lowering anxiety, and lessening mind-wandering.
III. Removes Negative Associations w/ Indoors
Poor environmental quality (poor air, dim lighting), clutter, or rigid, angular designs found indoors can trigger stress and cognitive overload that may challenge an online counseling session. However, people also often have negative associations with indoor spaces such as their home or place of business/work that may stem from past, current, and anticipated experiences. By stepping away from these indoor zones into an outdoor environment to engage in an online counseling session, one can leave behind these negative associations and immerse themselves in positive natural environments that may induce a sense of awe and wonder.
IV. Enhanced Privacy
There are also functional and pragmatic benefits of taking one or more of your monthly online counseling sessions outdoors. Privacy is a major one for those who may find it challenging to secure an undisclosed, quiet space at home, at their place of business/work, or other indoor environment. Once you’ve identified an appropriate outdoor area for your session/s, you won’t have to worry about being interrupted by family, coworkers, staff, roommates, or whomever else may inadvertently wander in and out of your domain.
Ready to try online therapy, outdoors? Schedule a FREE assessment and book your first virtual counseling session via your preferred form of contact below.
