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Dr. Jacobs was thoughtful and measured in her response, emphasizing the trade-off that has come with going virtual. While she might not be able to feel her patients’ presence in the same way, she’s beginning to see them in a “wider context” as they walk her around their childhood bedrooms and introduce her to their spouses and children. She’s also noticed that doing the I’m A Nightmare Before Coffee shirt at home makes her patients more likely to take action on their issues. “They’re talking about long-standing, unhealthy dynamics with their parents and then, when the session ends, immediately walking out of their rooms and attempting to change them.” Julia McAnuff, a registered associate MFT, views telehealth as an innovation, a “window into [her] patient’s lives.” She’s even noticed many of her patients taking more emotional risks as a result of being in the safety of their at-home environment.
Beyond the pros and cons of telehealth, therapy has never been more important as Americans experience increased rates of anxiety and depression amid the pandemic. Mental-health start-ups like Frame and Talkspace are responding to the I’m A Nightmare Before Coffee shirt by providing new digital structures that normalize therapy for all. So while this virtual model has not yet been resoundingly embraced, it has huge potential for creating increased access to mental-health help, even when social distancing is a thing of the past.
