Online Therapy Services

• Like EMDR, brainspotting, another trauma and PTSD counseling technique, can be effectively conducted online.

• We also offer online couples counseling in addition to our individual online sessions.
• Couples can also participate in online relationship counseling for relationship issues, or parenting concerns.
• With couples counseling, it’s important initially to meet on a regular basis to heal negative patterns of communication and build new skills, rather than use counseling as an emergency resource.
• Couple or marriage counseling often gets stalled due to the challenge of matching up schedules for in person visits. When this happens, it is difficult to make the changes suggested by marriage and family therapists needed to get unstuck from negative cycles and learn new coping skills.
• The benefits of online couples therapy include having greater flexibility to attend sessions without having to worry about driving in Houston traffic or finding childcare to attend therapy sessions. This allows you and your partner to make effective and necessary changes to break negative cycles.
• Web therapy for couples is very similar to face to face or traditional counseling. It’s conducted via video, even if one partner is out of town. This makes it much more convenient to participate in regular live sessions.
• Ideally, you and your partner can be together online, but it’s also OK if you are both at different locations. However, we do prefer that you both have access to a video camera, whether through your phone or webcam so you can see your partner and your family therapist on screen.
• Members of the LGBTQ+ community are more than welcome to participate in online marriage or couples counseling as we are an affirming practice.

• Yes - We have several effective types of therapy for working with children, pre-teens and teens with behavioral health or mental health issues, even young children under the age of 10 through web therapy.
• Pre-teens and teens will be in their comfort zone. This built-in comfort factor helps the counselor, too. They get to see their client in a more natural setting and help your child find tools at home that help with emotional issues. 
• For young children, we typically meet with the parent first in a live video chat session. In subsequent online child therapy sessions the therapist may guide the parent through effective interactions with their child through parent-child play therapy.
• This helps parents learn how to effectively guide and interact with their child at home. Prior to the session, the therapist may discuss specific toys to have available at home during the video session.

5 Tips for Making the Most of Your Child's Teletherapy Sessions

1. Smooth Out Tech Issues

Both you and your child should get very familiar with the specific tech requirements. Obviously, you want very much to avoid glitches or interruptions during a session.

2. Talk to Your Child About the Process

Be available to answer questions, soothe concerns, and reduce any possible stigma.

3. Location, Distractions, etc.

Work with your child to choose the best possible location for the sessions. Factors to consider:

• Likelihood of distraction
• Noise levels
• Lighting
• Physical comfort
• Ergonomic positioning

Along those lines, make sure both you and your child have turned off all notifications — at least during the sessions.

4. Create Flexibility With Frequency and Duration

Depending on their age and/or condition, some children may be well-suited for a weekly one-hour session. 

5. Do You Join In or Not?

This is very much a case-by-case situation. For children under the age of 10, in general, it makes sense for a parent to participate in the sessions. It can turn what feels like a “doctor’s appointment” into a bonding time for parent and child. Of course, there will be circumstances when the client and counselor may need to talk alone, one-on-one. The key is that the parent stays very much involved yet very much flexible.

When dealing with pre-teens and teens, they will need their space and privacy. Invest in a white noise machine (or app). Even better, accommodate your teen by getting other family members to leave the house for the duration of their session. That said, the situation is not black-and-white. Either your child or the teletherapist (or both) may ask for another family member to participate or schedule a separate parent session with the therapist. 

• Web therapy can be very effective for teens like traditional therapy. And with the typical busy schedule, live chat sessions can ensure your teen gets the consistent help from a professional counselor that they need to make progress towards their treatment goals.
• Adolescents and young adults may feel freer to express themselves to a licensed therapist in the comfort of their homes. They tend to enjoy working online with their counselor in this therapy platform with video chatting sessions because it’s such a familiar communication method for them.
• Their family therapist will get to see them in their everyday environment, providing a layer of perspective they would not otherwise have. The therapists are licensed to help teens identify specific items in their environment that can be incorporated into coping strategies.
• For teens and older children, having access to art supplies at home can be helpful. Additionally, teens might find support through virtual teen skills groups.
• Teens might also benefit from talking therapy because it allows them to get “unstuck”.

• Research has found the online group therapy platforms “fosters well-being, a sense of control, self-confidence, feelings of more independence, social interactions, and personal empowerment.” All of which is much needed in developing coping skills and handling specific conditions of stress anxiety.
• Further, an analysis of multiple different studies found that online therapy groups consistently produced positive results with a diverse range of mental health concerns. We find online group therapy works best when everyone is connected through video live chat sessions.