The Top Reasons To Choose Telephone Counselling (Caroline Bronte)

If you're looking for counselling services and considering your different options, you may be wondering why people would choose telephone counselling over face-to-face or online-only counselling. Counselling via telephone offers a combination of the benefits that each of these other two modes of counselling do, including convenience and security.

One advantage that telephone counselling has over traditional counselling is accessibility. People may often put off going to counselling because they feel that they don't have time for it, or they can't find a nearby place to go. With a telephone counsellor, you won't face any of these issues. Similarly, you'll be less likely to miss sessions or stop going entirely, whether for legitimate reasons or because it's just so easy to make up excuses, when your counselling sessions are held from your home. Another benefit is that counsellors with telephone services may offer a broader range of hours than in-person counsellors, which makes it more difficult for clients to make up reasons that they can't start counselling or can't keep doing it.

It can be easy to feel like there is a bit of a stigma associated with seeking counselling, even though many people do it at some point in their lives. People who perceive a stigma might be embarrassed to be seen going to a counsellor's office or even embarrassed to talk to the counsellor. Holding the sessions via telephone may feel like a more private and natural option - after all, you're just picking up the phone and talking to someone, rather than going out of your way to sit in a foreign environment with an unfamiliar person.

Online-only counselling offers many of the above benefits, as well, but many clients find that telephone counselling feels a little more real. Communicating via instant messaging or chat can be cumbersome at times, and it can also give rise to misunderstandings. People are often more likely to exaggerate, or say things that are outright untrue, when they are typing rather than speaking; this obviously isn't conducive to counselling. People are also more likely to forget the things that they say or feel detached from them when they aren't saying them out loud and getting feedback from a listener.

Although there is no method of counselling that is best for everyone, telephone counselling may feel like a more natural fit to many people. However, the important thing is to seek help early if you think that you need it, whether that's through face-to-face, telephone, or online counselling. Talking to someone via whatever medium is almost always better than keeping your concerns and feelings to yourself.

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