Teletherapy had been hyped up for oh-so-long to be this beneficial source of therapy that would be more accessible to those along the poverty line or for those who wouldn’t be able to afford therapy. In “Do Therapist Still Need Couches?”, the author, Jamie Ducharme, elaborates on the fact that teletherapy had these years of working up to, yet was never put into place until the quarantine in 2020. She also elaborates on the fact that people of color, as well as those who can’t speak fluent english, there has been constant mistreatment and disregard in these communities throughout centuries, so it begs the question: How can/would teletherapy change this treatment?
Honestly, when I first found this I didn’t think it was going to help. Though, as I read through the piece, I realized that Ducharme was really stating clearly what I believed. Teletherapy is beneficial for those who have access, but what about those without internet access? What about those who cannot afford to step away from their work or classes to have a private meeting? Teletherapy increased the accessibility, yes, but it doesn’t offer benefits in regards to those who cannot access these private meetings. What’s someone to do? Go to the library for a therapy session? Therapy is a private affair, no one would want to have an important meeting somewhere that everyone could see.
Wow, I didn’t know what teletherapy was but I think it is an incredible idea that should be explored more in the shit in society after the covid pandemic. I liked how you brought up price when you questioned that “What about those who cannot afford to step away from their work or classes to have a private meeting?” I think that that is really good and important for those that are underprivileged or have to work more often to still be able to get therapy that is needed, and convenient for them.
I didn’t quite know that there was a term for online therapy, but this is a really interesting topic to dig deeper into. I appreciate the concern for the comfortability of others in not-so-fortunate situations. I’m curious as to how/why is tele-therapy more affordable towards families that aren’t able to afford the price of regular therapy? I would assume therapy that is online would still be around the same price of having therapy in an office, is it not? If not, that would actually be very beneficial towards people in struggling situations!