
The wonderful thing about counseling is that there are so many ways that it can help people. The different options available for counseling means that there are options for people to find mental wellness through a program that works best for them.
Online therapy is one such avenue. Most types of counseling can be done via telehealth, and it’s incredibly accessible for those who can’t go to their therapist’s office.
Because Sequoia generally deals with severe mental and behavioral issues, our clients do most of their therapy programming in-person. However, we do offer online therapy for family therapy, and certain instances in outpatient treatment. Our clients often go on to do online therapy with another provider once they leave our program.

How Does Online Therapy Work?
For the most part, online therapy works the same way that in-person therapy does. Since most counseling is a conversation, you can do things much the same way whether the counseling session is online or not.
Ideally with the camera of your computer on, you’ll join a call with a counselor. They’ll encourage you to start the conversation, often based on what you discussed during the last session. If it’s your first session, your counselor will just try to get to know you and try to learn about what you want to discuss.
The counselor will guide the conversation, but more often than not, you’ll take the reins on the subject. When the session is over, you can simply log off and decompress.

How to Create a Peaceful Space for Online Therapy
When you’re in a counseling office, the atmosphere is very purposefully quiet, cozy, and safe. Your home may not have a space like this as-is. However, you can create a relaxing environment.
- Remove distractions—put the phone away, close the door, and wrap up any tasks you were doing before
- Bring supplies—this can include a pillow to hug, a mug of hot tea, or tissues
- Find a comfortable corner—move to your office, a bedroom, or somewhere you feel you can relax
Therapy will come with mental and emotional challenges. Creating a space where you can focus on the task at hand means you can approach these challenges with a clear head and open mind.

What Therapy Can You Do Online?
Therapy comes in many shapes and forms, targeting different mental health struggles and respecting different peoples’ backgrounds. Most types of therapy can happen online.
Family Therapy
At Sequoia Behavioral Health, this is primarily the kind of online therapy that we facilitate. It’s an incredibly important part of mental health and addiction treatment.
Since many of our clients travel from out of state to attend our treatment programs, getting their families and loved ones here once a week just isn’t feasible.
Instead, family therapy is usually done online. When a client begins inpatient or outpatient treatment at Sequoia, we’ll coordinate with their chosen family about who will attend family therapy sessions and their schedules.
Like any other kind of online therapy, online family therapy will start with a “get to know you” session or two, where the therapist meets with the family all together and guides the conversation in order to learn about the family dynamics.
From there, the therapist will develop a treatment plan that benefits everyone, especially the client seeking mental health treatment. This treatment plan usually involves sessions once per week, though they could be two or three times per week.
Learn more about how we do family therapy here at Sequoia Behavioral Health. You can also discover what families can expect from family therapy at Sequoia.

CBT
Cognitive behavioral therapy, also known as CBT, is one of the most common kinds of therapy. It’s fairly universal, and is an effective treatment for a wide range of mental health disorders.
CBT is a fairly “standard” method of talk therapy. The counselor will help the client draw connections between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. While it certainly isn’t the only form of talk therapy, it’s one of the most effective kinds.
Talk therapy like CBT is one of the easiest kinds of therapy to do online. While at Sequoia, CBT will likely be done in person, we may offer it to certain outpatient clients.
Learn more about cognitive behavioral therapy at Sequoia Behavioral Health.
EMDR
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or just EMDR, is one of the most proven methods for treating trauma. It utilizes the brain’s natural processes to help people reframe and work through traumatic memories.
What sets EMDR apart from other therapies is that it’s not strictly talk therapy. There will be heavy conversation involved, but EMDR also requires a physical element. The memory reprocessing requires what’s called bilateral stimulation, or interacting with the left and right side of your body. In-person EMDR does bilateral stimulation through sounds, visuals, or tapping the client’s hands.
Online EMDR will mostly rely on the client tapping their own hands. The therapist will still guide the conversation about their client’s trauma, as well as what the client should be doing and focusing on.
Sequoia Behavioral Health clients will most likely do all of their EMDR sessions in-person during their inpatient or outpatient programming, but we may offer it to certain outpatient clients.
Learn more about EMDR at Sequoia Behavioral Health.
Is Online Therapy Effective?
Online therapy can be just as effective as in-person therapy. That being said, many people do better in one setting or the other. It could be a matter of scheduling, preference, or what mental health struggles you’re facing.
For instance, Sequoia Behavioral Health’s programming is primarily in person, since our specialty is in diagnosing and treating severe cases of mental health and addiction struggles. Our clients often need the structure of inpatient or intensive outpatient therapy to achieve their goals.
When Should Someone Look for Online Therapy?
For many, online therapy is an option when you need help, but need more accessibility options. It’s a sensible choice for those who find getting out of the house is hard, have limited options for in-person counseling in their area, or are just not comfortable with in-person counseling.
It’s never a bad time to seek counseling. Online options are just one way of getting the help that you need.

Treatment Options at Sequoia Behavioral Health
Because of the clients that we cater to, our options for online therapy are limited. However, we encourage families of our clients to utilize this option when you’re supporting a loved one in mental health treatment.
Learn more about supporting a family member or loved one during residential treatment.
If you want to learn more about what kind of therapy will work best for you and how the team at Sequoia can help, reach out today.