A brief thought about online work

What with Coronavirus and all, a lot of us EMDR therapists, I suspect, are going to be finding ourselves working online with clients in the coming weeks, so here’s copying in an email I sent just now (Sunday March 8) to a colleague contemplating doing this for the first time.

I don’t doubt that the ACTO training is very useful, but I have to admit to not having done it myself, and to be coping pretty well with the specific challenges of online work. Which aren’t really very different – technology and some of the basics permitting which are outlined in the discussions you’ve read – from working face to face.

So I’d just suggest giving it a go and seeing how you and your clients get on.

As to tech, what works best for my clients is big(ger) over-the-ear USB headphones (WITH mic, in other words Skype/etc-enabled) plugged into the PC/laptop for conversation with the therapist, and SEPARATE in-ear buds underneath those earphones connected to a completely separate smartphone, either Android or iPhone, on which the client has BSDR Player installed.

There are other apps, but this one works, and it’s the one I know and recommend. The use of separate earpieces means that the BLS are nice and clear and clean, and also that your incoming voice is directly and privately in their ear, not on their laptop speaker (which is often crappy quality anyway, and also not private.)

The client can then start and stop the BLS, after you’ve taken them through the basics of pitch, length, frequency, duration etc, which you can check at your end and coach.

They can also use butterfly hugs, which I find work very well too.

So, take a deep breath and experiment! Hope that’s helpful.