Online Marriage Counseling

[AARPRachelA]

One effect of COVID-19 is the strain on partnerships. Couples are spending more time with each other, and there is a point where it can be too much. When the inevitable conflicts arrive, they can be difficult to navigate. Have you tried online couples counseling? What was your experience like?

[rcglaze]

It's harder than it sounds if you aren't both comfortable with the security of the platform.  We've tried with a counselor who uses Doxy.me (HIPAA compliant) and my husband still won't share everything he might otherwise.  At least he's upfront about it.

[AARPRachelA]

Thank you for sharing @rcglaze. I hadn't thought about hesitations due to security. I understand why your husband feels that way, and it is a good thing that he's upfront about it. Do you think you'll go to in-person couples counseling when it's safe to do so?

[2Papa]

What with all the social distancing, isolation, and mask wearing lately, I wonder if an on line wedding would work.  That way you could have more guests (hence more presents).  Hmmmm, it wouldn’t be much of a honeymoon though!

[UpperHandsPiano]

That seems like a brilliant idea- the couple would have a huge range of the best counselors to choose from, all over the country, or the world! Thankfully we are not in need at the moment, but counseling has saved our marriage more than once in our 32 years of marriage. I highly recommend it. I'm teaching piano online and find that there are many advantages to online learning! 

[DeahWA]

I'm not sure how sites like Talkspace operate in terms of licensing for online counseling, but it still is required that therapists have to be licensed in the state where the client resides for it to be legal to work by phone or online. This is because while there may be national certifications for some types of training, the states have jurisdiction over who is allowed to actually practice and especially who is allowed to be paid by insurance, which itself is mostly controlled state by state. I have a few colleague friends who are licensed in several states so that they can continue to serve clients after relocating, or because they have family in other states who like to refer to them. Being licensed in several states and working with distance clients makes the therapist liable for each state's business and personal income tax too, so few are willing to go to all the trouble.

Then there is problem of the professional bodies like the APA, ACA,  or NCSW that rule over the ethical behavior of therapists and social workers that tend to hold a very conservative view that it is unethical to start a client in phone or online sessions if they aren't already an established client. Thankfully the Covid issue has loosened some restrictions on telehealth insurance payments, but not all the various jurisdictional pieces line up as smoothly as they should.

Although I did phone sessions for 20 years with my clients, most therapists aren't willing to risk their licensure to do telehealth, or don't feel comfortable not meeting with clients in person.

Just FYI. 😏