What to Expect from Remote Counselling in the SWC

Updated September 25, 2020
By Christina Kardol, MSW, RSW

During this period of social distancing, we want you to know that the counselling staff in the Student Wellness Centres are here for you.  We are offering telephone and video counselling sessions that can be booked whether you are new to counselling or if you’ve already connected face to face with a counsellor in the past.
Meeting with a counsellor virtually instead of in person will likely be a new experience for you, much in the same way it has been a change for us!  Hopefully this article will help you feel more comfortable with this option by telling you a little more about what to expect and about how your telephone or video sessions will be similar and how they will be different from in-person appointments.

Your counsellor will call you

Once you set up the appointment through SWC reception staff (yes, they are still there to take your call), your first appointment will be booked as a phone appointment into one of the counsellors’ schedules in a time slot that suits you.  At the time of the appointment, the counsellor will call you from a blocked number from a location in their home that is private and confidential.  It’s recommended that you also find a private location where you can speak freely without being concerned about being overheard or interrupted.  Note that although every precaution will be taken to ensure your privacy, the potential that a call can be intercepted limits the degree of privacy compared with what we would expect in an office visit in the Student Wellness Centre.  The session will be scheduled for up to 50 minutes in length, and by the end of the first appointment your counsellor will have discussed with you whether you prefer your subsequent appointment to be by phone or video.  This decision can also be made on a session to session basis as various factors might influence your preference such as Wi-Fi access and privacy.  These follow-ups will be at the same intervals as we would do in face-to-face counselling.

How should you prepare?

You can make the most of your first appointment by coming prepared with your concerns and priorities for the appointment and/or for counselling more generally.  Ask the questions you have about counselling in general, questions about telephone vs video counselling, or about the counsellor’s style or approach. The short-term and goal-centered model of counselling that we usually offer is the same for your telephone counselling sessions.

What will a telephone session be like?

The quality and depth of phone counselling sessions can be affected by the nature of telephone contact compared to in-person interactions.  Your body language and non-verbal responses to the issues being discussed cannot be seen by your counsellor, so they might ask more often for input on how you are feeling or thinking with regard to something that you’ve shared.  Also, sometimes what you are saying might not be heard as clearly, and you may be asked more often to repeat things.  On the counsellor’s side, their ability to display empathy or compassion through facial expressions and body language is restricted, so your counsellor will do their best to voice this explicitly whenever possible.

The above factors can be alleviated for the most part if you decide to move to video counselling after your first appointment.

Expect a lot of questions at the start

The counsellor will gather information from you prior to getting into the content of the counselling session.  This information includes:

• verifying your personal information, so we can ensure it is really you with whom we are speaking;  
• verifying that you are in a confidential location so you can speak freely;
• confirming emergency contact information and explaining the circumstances in which we might reach out to that person (for example, if there are safety concerns and only ever according to our Privacy and Confidentiality Policy);
• discussing the plan for reconnecting if the call is disconnected unexpectedly. 

Other tips to help the flow of the conversation

• Use headphones or earbuds to reduce any echoing, and to increase privacy;
• limit distractions by turning off notifications on your phone;
• abstain from multitasking, such as eating or walking around.  

At the end of the appointment the counsellor will discuss the steps to take for follow-up appointments and provide additional resources if you need them.  We are optimistic that after the initial adjustment to telephone counselling, you will find it helpful and comfortable.  We have found that virtual counselling, whether by telephone or video, is a positive way for you to get support when you need it, or to continue the work you were doing with your counsellor before the pandemic interrupted our lives.

The Student Wellness Centre on both campuses are open.  We are still answering the phone and conducting remote counselling appointments as well as appointments with the mental health nurse and physicians.