Online Counseling & Telehealth FAQS

Great question and a quick answer. We mean video sessions, basically. The Counseling Hub can happily offer telehealth services in Columbia and Jefferson City, MO and, technically, to anybody in the state of Missouri (which is cool!). Our main areas of focus are folks in and around the mid-Missouri area.

YES. Egads, yes. This is of the utmost importance and will absolutely be maintained with telehealth counseling and therapy. Just to be clear, confidentiality is the notion that everything happening in counseling/therapy stays between you and your clinician. There are exceptions to this. You’ll have them listed in your informed consent and this is completely standard across the board, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t say that some of the exceptions include intent to harm oneself or others, abuse of vulnerable populations, being subpoenaed by the court of law, and when working with minors. There’s more nuance in all of that, but that’s the gist of it.

YES. In fact, research has shown that the quality of the therapeutic relationship in telehealth is often equivalent to traditional face-to-face counseling, with many clients reporting high satisfaction levels. Many have found that the flexibility and comfort of telehealth actually contribute to a deeper, more meaningful connection. For some, telehealth even eliminates anxieties related to in-person interactions, such as travel stress or waiting rooms. This ease can lead to more genuine interactions, allowing clients to feel more comfortable and open from the start.

Our therapists are trained to create a welcoming and supportive environment, regardless of the medium. Through attentive listening, empathic responses, and open communication, they ensure that you feel heard and valued during each session. 

The consistency and regularity of telehealth sessions actually enhance the therapist-client relationship, providing continuity and trust that can strengthen over time.

That’s a definite possibility, but we’d say it’s only “weird” in the beginning because it’s new. Ya know, that whole concept of familiarity being comfortable. Basically, once you’re accustomed to it and you and your clinician have a good therapeutic relationship established, it flows pretty naturally. It’s not uncommon that clients are surprised by the level of depth they can reach when they’re doing telehealth counseling and therapy. That’s what we’re striving for.

You’ll need a laptop, desktop computer, tablet, or smart phone–basically, anything that has the capability of connecting via video and audio. By default, most of these things will have an internal camera and an internal microphone, so you won’t need to go out and purchase anything. Other than that, you’ll need internet connection. Oh! And headphones are recommended, but not required. And that’s it!

Nope, there is nothing to download! Most of our counselors use the telehealth feature in the patient portal, TherapyPortal (this is where you complete your intake paperwork). You’ll just need to be logged in to your portal account at the time of your session. Some of our counselors choose to use a HIPAA compliant version of Zoom or Google Meets instead. If this is the case, your counselor will inform you of this and will send you an email prior to your session with a link to join the video call.

The bane of our existence, right? As unbelievable as technology is, it doesn’t work effectively every time we need it to. So yes, this is a real possibility that we can’t dismiss or say, “Don’t worry, it won’t happen that way!” Because it might.

Here’s what we can say.

We’ll adjust as needed when or if technology glitches occur. Seems lame, but it’s the truth. And adjusting as needed might mean changing platforms, using phones while the video is on and the audio is off on the computer, shifting to phones entirely with no video, or (worst case scenario) rescheduling the session. Truth be told, it doesn’t typically get so bad that we have to reschedule a session, but that’s always a possibility and we’d prefer to mention it here. Also, once we’re in the swing of things with this, glitches usually take place less frequently.

This is a fair question because, honestly, telehealth isn’t for everybody (even if it is effective!). If you don’t like it or it’s not working for your circumstances, then we trouble shoot from there, which likely entails shifting to in-person sessions. Easy as that!

*We almost always  recommend giving it about three sessions to see how you feel. We find that it typically takes about  three sessions for you and your clinician to find a groove, and that holds true for telehealth work, as well. If you’re unsure about it even after that, then let us know asap and we’ll try our best to help you get what you need!