For many who have grown up in the digital age, especially after the past few years of social distancing, the idea of texting your therapist rather than having to show up for a scheduled appointment sounds ideal. But are text therapy services actually effective? And are there any downsides to using text therapy?
How Does Text Therapy Work?
When you use text therapy, you set your own terms. You sign up for the app and answer a few questions about your mental health, including any current diagnoses. From there, you can connect with a therapist via mobile app or desktop and text them at any time you feel you need support. There may be regularly scheduled sessions, but your therapist is available outside of those sessions. If you’re feeling low, you text, and your therapist coaches you through the issue.
The goal of text therapy is to fit into people’s busy schedules, as well as make therapy more accessible. Often, text therapy is less expensive than traditional therapy, which can also appeal to younger generations. On the other hand, there is a lack of connection when compared to traditional therapy, and some therapists have concerns about the effectiveness.
Benefits of Text Therapy
The effectiveness is still hotly debated by professionals. Like most other things, however, there are some immediately obvious benefits, especially in the digital age in which we live.
Better Accessibility
There are many people who want to begin therapy, but health concerns, mobility issues, or location stops them. Those in remote areas would have to travel for half an hour or sometimes longer each week to reach their therapist’s office. This is especially difficult for those who don’t drive or have a car. Some people are unable to attend therapy in person due to health or accessibility. For these people, text therapy allows them to get the help they need from their own home.
Flexible Scheduling
It can be hard to schedule an hour-long session with your therapist if you work a full-time job or multiple jobs. Parents can also find it difficult to carve out time for therapy, especially single parents. If you have a demanding schedule, being able to text your therapist throughout your day can be a useful way to ensure you still have mental health support.
Affordability
Most text therapy platforms offer therapy for less than $100 per session. Some work on a subscription model in order to further lessen the cost of therapy from month to month. For those who don’t have insurance, this can be a boon.
Disadvantages of Text Therapy
Text therapy seems to offer a fast, affordable, and accessible approach to therapy for the modern world. So what’s the catch? It turns out, there are quite a few.
Insurance
While it’s true that for an uninsured person, traditional therapy can be more expensive than text therapy, this is not true of those with insurance. Most text therapy apps do not accept insurance, so you will have to pay for everything out of pocket. On the other hand, those with insurance pay a copay of only about 20-30% of the full therapy cost. That’s often less than half the cost of text therapy sessions.
Concerns About Privacy
Confidentiality is of the utmost importance when it comes to therapy. All therapists have a confidentiality agreement with their patients. This is true of therapists who offer text therapy, as well, but many users worry about how private their sessions really are. Even if the app has a decent privacy policy, there could still be hackers who manage to steal data from your private therapy sessions. This concern can lead to a lack of full comfort and confidence from the patient.
Limited Effectiveness
Text therapy is typically effective enough for patients who need coaching or coping skills to manage their anxiety or stress. However, there is a limit to the effectiveness of it. Patients battling severe addictions or complex mental illnesses are typically recommended to do text therapy only in addition to in-person therapy. It is also impossible to do certain therapies such as EMDR over text therapy.
No Sense of Body Language
Another issue when it comes to text therapy is the lack of body language. When you attend therapy, your therapist doesn’t just listen to the words you say. They watch for the way you say it. They look for senses of discomfort, hesitation, or shame in your self-expressions. This helps them more acutely know what you need and how to coach you through the situation.
Over text, your therapist misses this body language. We’ve all had conversations with friends or family where tone was misunderstood over text. This can happen in therapy, as well. This is part of what limits the effectiveness of text therapy.
The Bottom Line
While there are a number of benefits that make text therapy convenient, it cannot provide the full therapy experience for most people. Moreover, many of the benefits of can be found through traditional telehealth therapy sessions.
With telehealth, you and your therapist will meet over video chat, usually through a video conferencing software provided by the mental health provider network. You can still have therapy from the comfort of your own home, which solves the issue for those with health or mobility issues or who live in remote areas. However, your therapist will still be able to see you while you interact and gauge your body language. And many therapists are willing to accept a text or phone call outside of their office hours if you have a crisis.
When you need traditional or telehealth therapy sessions, Rivia Mind is here to help. We believe in a holistic approach to mental wellness that cannot be achieved through text alone. Contact us today to meet with a therapist or book a free 15-minute consultation.
