Zoom & Skype Video Counselling

Referrals are only accepted from a Southampton based GP or the Solent NHS School Nursing team. Our counsellors have significant experience, are all professionally qualified and either accredited or working towards accreditation with a recognised professional body. We work within the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy guidelines and the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions. Therapy is provided by fully qualified, experienced and accredited therapists who work in partnership with clients. TalkTime Scotland offers free professional counselling if disability and/or long-term condition is impacting your life on a day-to-day basis.
Online counselling is not suitable if you are experiencing an enduring mental health illness or are experiencing acute distress. If you feel you are in crisis or are in danger of harming yourself then is it imperative that you contact the emergency services for help or go to your nearest A&E department. Please see the Zoom Counselling Emergency Contacts resource list for crisis support. However, there are particular circumstances in which as therapists we can break confidentiality, and this comes under the code of ethical guidelines for counsellors. A need for breaking confidentiality focuses on keeping you as the client and others safe from harm.

My own personal life experiences have made me want a career in counselling. Counselling sessions are with the same counsellor each week and can take place at our Head Office in Southampton, our Advice Centre or virtually via Zoom or telephone . We understand the struggles you may whilst in a relationship and on your own, which is why we offer both types of therapy. We've served thousands of clients across the world, helping those who are suffering alone to feeling support and understood.
There is no need to travel across town to get to the therapy room. You only need to set aside the time for the therapy session and don’t have to factor in travel time, potential delays due to public transport issues or traffic. Locations for therapy room sessions will depend on where your therapist is based, and are mostly within London. Whether working by phone, online therapy, or in-person, sessions are always on the same day and time each week. As I write today any counsellor wishing to continue to work with clients is having to use remote ways of communicating; both telephone and online.
Ensure you have the client’s contact details for if this happens, and for arranging appointments. With no rush to swap with another counsellor, online counselling allows more time to process and make notes. This can be explained by phone, or however is best for them to communicate, but again it helps to have a platform they are confident using. When researching which platform to use, you can come away with your head spinning and feeling very aware of the various negatives.

You will have an agreed appointment day and time to stick to, and the work is kept confidential in the same manner. It is not usual to have contact with your counsellor between sessions, unless arranged for a very specific reason. Cornerstone is an established Counselling Centre dedicated to counselling and therapy which aims to offer a range of services to clients. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that our system is securely encrypted, email is not a secure means of communication.
Your therapist will conduct your online appointments in a private, secure room maintaining the same standards of privacy and confidentiality as in personal face to face therapy. Online counselling provides an opportunity to explore a personal difficulty in a confidential and supportive environment. This may include expressing feelings that are painful, and which many of us experience during certain times in our lives.

As with face-to-face work, there are clients with whom guided imagery should not be used – such as in the absence of rapport or where a client is actively psychotic or has previously experienced psychosis. Check that the client is alone – the presence of a third person may be distracting and/or breach confidentiality. Where practicable, overseas residents can be referred to an HG practitioner based in their country of residence – see the HGI online register or enquire at the HG office.
It’s important that clients familiarise themselves with the programme you’re using so give plenty of notice on this so they can have a practise too. If needs be, once you’ve learnt how to use the software yourself you can always guide them via a traditional phone call. Use your practise time to understand the technology within a call but also before this – adding a contact or sending an invite to a scheduled meeting, to ensure this is coming from the correct email address. This article looks at studies comparing face-to-face with phone therapy, finding little variation in empathy and actually increased levels of engagement from clients. Online/virtual counselling has been found to be just as effective as face-to-face sessions.