Recently, our field has been dramatically altered by technology. It is now possible for individuals to attend therapy sessions, in the comfort of their own home or office, via video conferencing. Many clinicians are taking advantage of this service delivery method, and rightly so. We are now able to get services to individuals who wouldn’t come into the office, otherwise.
It is my position, after some training in the field of “cyberpsychology”, that Skype is no longer adequate for our services. While Skype purports to “scramble” video messages between its consumers, it makes no guarantee about your privacy or security. For obvious reasons, privacy and security are vital to the provision and effectiveness of therapy. Skype’s users complain that they have frequent dropped calls—a technical issue that could be problematic for a therapy session. Finally, Skype does not provide technical support, which I find to also be problematic, since users rely on them, to attain and maintain relationships.
There are other cheap or free alternatives to Skype, that seem to both provide security and more stable, supported connection. This is why I no longer use Skype for therapy. If you are interested in pursuing this kind of therapy with me, please go to http://vsee.com/ and download their app. It’s both free and easy to use, just like Skype.