How to Get the Most from Your Online Therapy Sessions

The Growing Embrace of Online Therapy in Ireland

Online therapy has transformed from an emergency alternative during the pandemic into a mainstream mental health solution that thousands of Irish people now prefer for its convenience, accessibility, and effectiveness. According to the Health Service Executive (HSE), digital mental health services have seen a sustained increase in uptake, with many clients reporting equal or superior outcomes compared to traditional face-to-face therapy.

The beauty of online therapy lies not just in its accessibility—though for those in rural Donegal or Kerry, the ability to connect with specialized therapists without a three-hour round trip cannot be overstated—but in how the format itself can enhance therapeutic engagement. Research published by the American Psychological Association (APA) confirms that online therapy demonstrates comparable effectiveness to in-person treatment for conditions including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and relationship difficulties.

Yet effectiveness isn't automatic. Like traditional therapy, your outcomes depend significantly on how actively you engage in the process. As renowned psychologist Carl Rogers observed: "The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change." Online therapy creates unique opportunities for self-acceptance and growth, but maximizing these benefits requires intentional preparation and participation.

Understanding What Makes Online Therapy Work

Before exploring specific strategies, it's valuable to understand the mechanisms that make online therapy effective. This knowledge helps you approach sessions with realistic expectations and appreciation for the process.

The therapeutic alliance—the relationship between you and your therapist—remains the single most significant predictor of therapy outcomes, regardless of whether sessions occur in person or online. Research from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) consistently demonstrates that the quality of this relationship accounts for approximately 30% of therapeutic success, surpassing the impact of specific therapeutic techniques.

Online platforms actually offer certain advantages for building therapeutic alliance. The comfort of your own environment can facilitate emotional openness. Many clients report feeling less intimidated and more willing to discuss difficult topics when they're sitting in their favourite chair at home rather than in an unfamiliar office. This reduced anxiety about the physical setting allows you to focus energy on the actual therapeutic work.

Therapeutic consistency proves easier to maintain with online therapy. According to Mental Health Ireland, one of the primary reasons therapy fails to produce results is irregular attendance—cancelled appointments due to weather, childcare issues, or simply the logistical burden of travelling to appointments. Online therapy dramatically reduces these barriers, making consistent weekly attendance far more achievable.

The environmental control you maintain during online sessions can be therapeutic itself. You choose the lighting, temperature, comfort level, and even whether to have your pet nearby for emotional support. This agency creates a psychological foundation of safety that enhances your ability to engage with challenging emotional material.

However, online therapy also presents unique challenges. The absence of in-person presence means both you and your therapist must work slightly harder to establish connection. Technical difficulties can create frustration or interrupt emotional moments. The boundaries between therapy space and daily life blur when both occur in your home. Understanding these dynamics allows you to proactively address potential obstacles.

Preparing Your Physical Environment for Success

Your physical space significantly impacts the quality of your online therapy sessions. Creating an environment that supports focus, privacy, and comfort isn't just about logistics—it's an act of self-care that communicates to yourself that this time matters.

Privacy and confidentiality require careful consideration in Irish homes where space may be limited. Choose a room where you can close the door and be confident that household members won't overhear your conversation. If you live with others, communicate clearly about your therapy schedule and your need for uninterrupted privacy during sessions. Consider using a "session in progress" sign on your door if necessary.

For those in shared accommodations or with limited private space, creativity helps. Some clients successfully use their parked car in a quiet location, conduct sessions during times when housemates are out, or invest in quality noise-cancelling headphones. The Irish Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (IACP) emphasizes that therapists understand these challenges and can work collaboratively to find solutions that maintain therapeutic confidentiality.

Technical setup deserves attention before your first session. Test your internet connection, camera, and microphone in advance. Position your camera at eye level—this creates more natural eye contact and prevents awkward viewing angles. Ensure adequate lighting, preferably natural light from a window facing you, so your therapist can clearly see your facial expressions, which provide important nonverbal communication.

Have backup plans ready for technical failures. Know how to quickly switch from video to phone if internet connectivity fails. Exchange phone numbers with your therapist beforehand. Technical difficulties will occasionally occur—accepting this reality reduces the anxiety when they do happen.

Comfort and minimizing distractions enhance your ability to engage deeply. Silence your phone and close unnecessary applications on your computer. Let household members know you're not to be disturbed. Have water or tea available. Consider the temperature—you want to be comfortable, not distracted by being too hot or cold.

Some clients find that creating a small ritual around their therapy space helps establish a psychological boundary. This might involve lighting a candle before sessions, having a particular blanket or cushion you use only during therapy, or playing specific music in the minutes before your session begins. These small acts signal to your mind that you're entering therapeutic space, even though you're physically at home.

The Critical Importance of Preparation Between Sessions

The transformation that occurs in therapy happens far more between sessions than during the fifty minutes you spend with your therapist. The most successful therapy clients view sessions as part of a continuous process rather than isolated weekly events.

Reflection and journaling between sessions consolidate therapeutic insights and track your progress. After each session, spend ten to fifteen minutes writing about what emerged—insights, feelings, patterns you noticed, or questions that arose. This practice, supported by research from the APA, strengthens neural pathways associated with new perspectives and behaviours, literally rewiring your brain more effectively than sessions alone can achieve.

Many therapists assign homework or exercises between sessions—thought records for anxiety, communication practice for relationship issues, behavioural experiments for social anxiety, or reading assignments. Completing these assignments isn't about being a "good student." These exercises extend therapeutic work into your daily life, creating real-world practice opportunities and providing material to discuss in your next session.

As psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb notes: "We can't have change without loss, which is why so often people say they want change but nonetheless stay exactly the same." The discomfort of change is where growth happens, and homework exercises deliberately create structured opportunities to tolerate that discomfort in manageable doses.

Tracking patterns and triggers throughout the week provides valuable data for therapeutic work. When you notice strong emotional reactions, anxiety spikes, or difficult interactions, briefly note the context: what happened, what you thought, how you felt, and how you responded. This information helps you and your therapist identify patterns and develop targeted interventions.

Setting session intentions beforehand makes your limited therapy time more productive. Before each appointment, take a few minutes to consider what you most need to address. What's been most challenging this week? What patterns did you notice? What questions arose from your last session? Having a sense of priorities ensures you don't spend the entire session on surface-level updates when deeper issues need attention.

However, remain flexible. Sometimes what you planned to discuss becomes irrelevant when a crisis emerges or when your therapist notices something more pressing. Trust the process while also advocating for your priorities when appropriate.

Building a Strong Therapeutic Relationship Online

The connection with your therapist forms the foundation of effective therapy. While online format presents some challenges to relationship-building, it also offers unique opportunities when approached intentionally.

Authenticity and vulnerability remain essential, yet many clients initially feel less vulnerable online because the screen creates a psychological buffer. While this can help you get started, genuine therapeutic progress requires moving beyond that buffer into real emotional honesty. Challenge yourself to share not just facts about your week, but your actual feelings—the fear, shame, confusion, anger, or grief you're experiencing.

Vulnerability doesn't mean oversharing or being performatively emotional. It means being truthfully yourself with your therapist, including admitting when you don't understand something, when you disagree with their perspective, or when you're feeling resistant to the therapeutic process. These moments of honesty deepen the therapeutic relationship and provide rich material for exploration.

Communication about the online format itself should happen openly. If you're finding video sessions draining or difficult, tell your therapist. If you feel more disconnected than you'd like, name that experience. If technical difficulties are causing frustration, discuss it. Your therapist can't read your mind, and the online format removes some of the subtle cues they might pick up in person.

According to research supported by Mental Health Ireland, clients who actively communicate about the process of therapy—not just the content—tend to have better outcomes. This might include discussing what's helpful, what isn't working, or what you need more or less of from your therapist.

Feedback and collaboration make therapy more effective. Many clients hesitate to provide feedback to their therapist, worried about being difficult or ungrateful. In reality, good therapists welcome feedback and see it as essential to tailoring treatment to your needs. If a homework assignment felt pointless, if an interpretation missed the mark, or if you'd like to try a different approach, speak up.

The therapeutic relationship should feel collaborative, not hierarchical. While your therapist brings expertise and professional knowledge, you're the expert on your own experience. The most effective therapy happens when these two forms of expertise work together.

Consistency and commitment build trust over time. Online therapy's convenience can paradoxically lead to more frequent cancellations—since there's no appointment to travel to, it feels easier to reschedule. However, consistent attendance creates momentum. Your brain begins recognizing therapy as a reliable commitment, and the relationship with your therapist deepens through regular contact.

Life inevitably interferes occasionally, and rescheduling happens. But treating your therapy appointments with the same importance you'd give medical appointments or work commitments signals to yourself—and your unconscious mind—that your mental health deserves priority.

Engaging Actively During Sessions

How you participate during your actual therapy sessions dramatically impacts what you gain from the experience. Active engagement doesn't mean you need to be cheerful or articulate—it means showing up as honestly as you can in that moment.

Being present and focused challenges our increasingly distracted modern minds. During your session, practice giving your full attention to the conversation. Notice when your mind wanders and gently bring it back. This isn't easy—therapy often involves discussing uncomfortable topics that our minds naturally want to escape—but presence is where therapeutic work happens.

The online format creates additional distraction temptations. You might feel drawn to check email, glance at your phone, or multitask during sessions. Resist these urges. You're paying for this time—financially and emotionally—so honour that investment with your full attention.

Tracking your internal experience as you talk helps deepen self-awareness. Notice what emotions arise as you discuss different topics. Where do you feel them in your body? What thoughts accompany difficult feelings? When do you feel resistance or want to change the subject? These internal experiences provide valuable information.

Many therapists trained in approaches like focusing-oriented therapy or somatic experiencing specifically guide clients to pay attention to body sensations and emotions during sessions. Even if your therapist doesn't explicitly direct this attention, you can practice it yourself, sharing what you notice.

Tolerating discomfort is central to therapeutic growth. As psychologist Marsha Linehan, developer of Dialectical Behavior Therapy, reminds us: "If you feel miserable, that's data. That's important information about what's happening." Effective therapy necessarily involves discussing painful experiences, acknowledging difficult truths about yourself, and sitting with uncomfortable emotions.

The temptation online is to click away when discomfort peaks—to claim a technical difficulty or shift to safer topics. While you should never push yourself beyond what feels manageable, growth happens at the edge of your comfort zone. Trust your therapist to help you navigate difficult territory at an appropriate pace.

Asking questions and seeking clarity prevents misunderstandings and deepens your understanding. If your therapist uses a term you don't understand, ask for clarification. If an interpretation doesn't resonate, say so and explore why. If you're confused about where a line of questioning is going, voice that confusion.

Good therapy isn't passive receipt of expert advice. It's an active, collaborative process of exploration and discovery. Your questions and responses guide the direction of treatment.

Taking notes during or after sessions helps retain insights and track progress. Some clients keep a therapy journal where they jot down key points, homework assignments, or "aha moments" during sessions. Others prefer to reflect and write immediately afterwards. Research from the World Health Organization suggests that this active processing enhances the consolidation of therapeutic learning.

However, balance note-taking with presence. You don't want to become so focused on documenting everything that you lose connection with the actual experience of the session. Find what works for you—perhaps brief notes during sessions and more detailed reflection afterwards.

Addressing Common Challenges in Online Therapy

Every therapeutic modality presents challenges, and online therapy has its unique obstacles. Anticipating and addressing these proactively prevents them from derailing your progress.

Technical difficulties frustrate everyone. When video freezes, audio cuts out, or connections drop, it interrupts the flow of therapeutic work and can feel particularly disruptive during vulnerable moments. The HSE's digital health guidance recommends having a clear contingency plan—agreeing with your therapist beforehand whether you'll continue by phone, reschedule, or extend the session.

Approach technical problems with patience and humour when possible. They're part of the online therapy landscape. What matters is maintaining connection despite these interruptions, not achieving technical perfection.

Feeling disconnected or less engaged sometimes occurs in online therapy. The screen creates both literal and metaphorical distance. If you notice this happening, it's important information to bring to your therapist. Together you can explore whether adjustments to the format might help, or whether the disconnection reflects something psychological worth examining.

Some disconnection is normal in any therapy. Resistance, ambivalence about change, or fear of what might emerge all manifest as feeling less engaged. The online format may make these feelings more pronounced, but addressing them is part of the therapeutic work itself.

Maintaining boundaries between therapy and daily life proves challenging when both occur in your home. After an emotional session, you might immediately need to make dinner, help children with homework, or join a work meeting. This rapid transition can feel jarring or prevent adequate processing of what emerged in therapy.

Build in transition time before and after sessions. Even ten minutes to emotionally prepare beforehand and decompress afterwards makes a significant difference. Use this time for calming activities—gentle movement, breathing exercises, or simply sitting quietly. Treat therapy sessions as you would in-person appointments that require travel time, even though you're technically saving that time.

Privacy concerns in shared living situations require creative problem-solving. Beyond the physical arrangements discussed earlier, consider the psychological impact of conducting therapy in spaces you associate with other activities. Some clients find value in subtly transforming their therapy space—moving a chair, adding particular lighting, or facing a different direction than usual—to create psychological separation.

For those with limited privacy options, discussing this challenge with your therapist is essential. They may adjust their approach, be more cautious about certain topics when privacy is compromised, or help you identify alternative arrangements.

Measuring Progress and Adjusting Your Approach

Therapy isn't an exact science with predictable timelines, but tracking your progress helps ensure you're moving toward your goals and allows for course correction when needed.

Setting clear, concrete goals at the beginning of therapy provides direction. Rather than vague aims like "feel better," specific goals might include "reduce panic attacks from daily to weekly," "improve communication with my partner," or "develop healthier ways to manage work stress." The IACP recommends collaborative goal-setting between client and therapist, with regular reviews of progress.

Goals may evolve as therapy progresses. Issues you initially thought were primary might prove secondary to deeper patterns. Flexibility while maintaining general direction allows therapy to respond to what emerges organically.

Noticing changes in daily life provides the best evidence of therapeutic effectiveness. Are you handling difficult situations differently? Do you notice shifts in your thoughts or emotional responses? Are relationships improving? Do you feel more capacity to cope with stress? These real-world changes matter more than feeling good during sessions.

Keep in mind that progress isn't linear. You may have periods of rapid improvement followed by plateaus or even temporary setbacks. This pattern is normal and doesn't indicate therapy failure. According to research from NICE, therapeutic progress often follows a pattern of two steps forward, one step back.

Regular check-ins with your therapist about progress ensure alignment. Every few months, explicitly discuss whether therapy is helping, whether the approach feels right, and whether adjustments might be beneficial. These conversations might feel awkward, but they're crucial for effective treatment.

If you're not seeing progress after several months of consistent attendance and engagement, speak up. Your therapist might suggest trying different techniques, adjusting session frequency, or consulting about whether different support might be more appropriate. Good therapists welcome these conversations and don't take them as criticism.

Recognizing when to conclude therapy is as important as beginning it. Therapy isn't meant to be permanent for most issues. When you've achieved your goals, developed sustainable coping strategies, and feel equipped to handle challenges independently, it may be time to consider ending regular sessions.

Some clients transition to monthly maintenance sessions. Others take breaks and return when facing new challenges. There's no single right way to conclude therapy, but ending should be a conscious, collaborative decision rather than gradually fading away.

Integrating Therapy into Your Broader Wellbeing Practice

Online therapy works best as part of a comprehensive approach to mental health rather than as an isolated intervention. Supporting your therapeutic work with other wellbeing practices enhances outcomes.

Self-care fundamentals like adequate sleep, regular movement, nutritious eating, and social connection create the physical and emotional foundation that makes therapeutic work more effective. According to Mental Health Ireland, many mental health symptoms improve significantly when basic wellness practices are prioritized alongside therapy.

Mindfulness and meditation practices complement therapy beautifully. The self-awareness developed through mindfulness supports the insight-oriented work of therapy, while therapeutic understanding helps you approach mindfulness with greater clarity about what you're noticing.

Support systems beyond therapy matter tremendously. While therapists provide professional support, friends, family, community groups, or support groups offer different types of connection and help. Therapy isn't meant to replace these relationships but to help you engage with them more effectively.

Patience with the process proves essential. Unlike physical health treatments where improvement follows a more predictable timeline, psychological change happens at varying rates for different people and different issues. Some clients experience rapid improvement while others progress more gradually.

Trust that if you're showing up consistently, engaging honestly, and implementing what you're learning, you're moving toward greater wellbeing—even when progress feels invisible. As the saying goes, growth happens slowly, then all at once.

Moving Forward with Confidence

Online therapy offers a powerful, accessible path to improved mental health for people across Ireland, from Dublin city centre to the most remote coastal villages. The convenience and flexibility of virtual sessions eliminate many traditional barriers to care, making consistent, quality therapy available to far more people than ever before.

Yet convenience alone doesn't create transformation. Maximizing your online therapy experience requires intention, preparation, active engagement, and patience with both the process and yourself. When you treat your therapy sessions as precious, protected time for self-discovery and growth—when you prepare thoughtfully, participate honestly, and integrate insights into daily life—the impact extends far beyond the screen.

Remember that seeking therapy itself demonstrates courage and self-awareness. Many Irish people still struggle against cultural messages about "handling things yourself" or "not wanting to burden anyone." Choosing to prioritize your mental health, to invest time and energy in understanding yourself more deeply, and to work actively toward greater wellbeing is an act of profound self-respect.

Whether you're addressing specific symptoms like anxiety or depression, working through relationship challenges, processing trauma, or simply seeking greater life satisfaction, online therapy with qualified Irish therapists provides a structured, supportive environment for that journey. The strategies outlined here—from creating optimal physical space to building strong therapeutic relationships to tracking meaningful progress—provide a roadmap for success.

Your mental health deserves the same care, attention, and investment as your physical health. With online therapy, that support is literally at your fingertips, ready whenever you are to begin or continue your journey toward feeling better.

Note: This article provides educational information about maximizing online therapy effectiveness and is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If you're experiencing mental health crisis, please contact your GP, HSE mental health services, or emergency services immediately.