Tips for Your First Online Therapy Session

Hooray!  You’ve got your first online therapy session scheduled and you want to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible.  Here are some tips for getting ready for a good video therapy experience:

• Make sure you have the Chrome or Firefox web browser installed and running on your computer.  The video chat service I use doesn’t work on Internet Explorer or Safari so you’ll want to be able to log on with Chrome or Firefox.
• Check in the the waiting room several days before your appointment. If you’re able to check in without any problems then everything should work fine at the time of your actual appointment.
• Test your computer’s camera and microphone.  You can use this tool to confirm that both your camera and microphone are working properly.
• Talk to the other people in your house and let them know that streaming videos or games online will interfere with your video therapy.  Ask them to pause those activities while you’re on your call.
• Decide which room in your home you will use for your online therapy appointment.  The best room is one in which you can lock the door to prevent interruptions.
• Setup the room where you’ll have your video therapy session:
  • Arrange lamp in front of you, not behind.
  • Find a comfortable place to sit, 2 to 4 feet from your computer.

When it’s time for your online therapy appointment, you can visit the waiting room again and I’ll be with you shortly!