As demand for mental healthcare outpaces available providers, patients are often forced to navigate a web of private practices, community and school-based supports and online services.
While many private practices with larger price tags aren’t seeing overflow, lower-income patients seeking community mental health centers commonly face larger waitlists. Because of this, students may be forced to consider cheaper, virtual alternatives for counseling via text, phone calls and video chats. An anonymous student who had struggled to find a therapist for years tried virtual services before switching to a therapist in Kansas City.
“I hated [virtual therapy]. It was just a Zoom call, and it was really weird, because as someone who didn’t want to be there, I wasn’t really forced to interact as much,” the student said. “There wasn’t that element of human contact and movement and eye contact. I’m sitting on the ground in my room with a computer, and if I don’t want to answer the question, I’m not going to.”
WRAP specialist Adrianne Cooper, who provides in-school therapy services to students & families, said that the majority of her patients are unsatisfied with telehealth services for similar reasons.
Beyond the physical barrier, Cooper said the advertised ability to switch therapists instantly on digital services can hinder progress. Without a commitment, a patient is unable to build a relationship of trust with their therapist and tackle the deep issues that are causing harm.
“Usually there’s a conversation to help decide [if] you truly need to switch, or do we need to try to work through this? Now, there’s not that conversation which could keep people from actually growing and not realizing it,” Cooper said.
The problems also extend to on-duty providers. Local therapist and owner of Jordan Mayfield LLC, Jordan Mayfield, said online practices often strike a difficult work-life balance for the therapists.
“In private practice, you’re technically on call 24 hours a day, but it’s only in very few case scenarios that you would be engaging with clients like that,” Mayfield said. “In this particular type of platform, that’s the expectation, so you have to be accessible around the clock, and you’re not paid for any of that time.”
Despite issues with digital therapy platforms, the anonymous student said the effectiveness of any treatment hinges on the patient’s commitment, and the value of these services lies in providing a starting point for those who might otherwise not receive care.
“I think a lot of people praise it in the media when it’s not something that fits everyone, but I think it’s something that people don’t always realize that they could benefit from,” the student said. “I think a therapist will help you carve out a path, but you’re the one who has to walk it.”
