It’s one of the most common questions people have before booking their first online counselling session — and it’s a completely reasonable one to ask.
The short answer is yes, for most people and most concerns, online therapy is as effective as in-person therapy. But the longer answer is more interesting — and more useful if you’re trying to decide what’s right for you.
What the research actually says
The evidence base for online therapy has grown substantially over the past decade, and the findings are consistent. For the most common reasons people seek counselling — anxiety, depression, trauma, relationship difficulties, stress — online therapy produces outcomes comparable to in-person work.
A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal found that therapist-guided remote therapy was as effective as in-person counselling for a range of mental health concerns. Similar findings have emerged across multiple research reviews looking at video-based therapy specifically.
This isn’t surprising when you think about what actually makes therapy work. The research on therapeutic outcomes consistently shows that the most important factor isn’t the modality or the technique — it’s the quality of the relationship between therapist and client. That relationship can develop just as genuinely over video as it can in person.
What online therapy is particularly good for
For some people and some situations, online therapy isn’t just as good as in-person — it’s actually better.
When geography is a barrier. BC is large, and a significant proportion of the province lives in communities where qualified therapists are simply not available locally. If you’re in Whistler, Pemberton, the Kootenays, Prince George, or anywhere outside a major urban centre, online therapy gives you access to a much wider range of practitioners than you’d find within driving distance. You can choose based on fit and expertise rather than proximity.
When scheduling is a barrier. No commute means online therapy fits into gaps in your day that wouldn’t otherwise work. For people with demanding jobs, young children, or limited transportation, this isn’t a minor convenience — it’s often what makes therapy possible at all.
When privacy matters. In smaller communities, running into someone you know at a therapist’s office is a real concern. Online therapy removes that entirely.
When you work better from your own space. Some people find it genuinely easier to open up from a familiar, comfortable environment. There’s something about being in your own space — with your own tea, your own blanket, your own dog — that can make it easier to settle into the kind of honest conversation therapy requires.
What to consider honestly
Online therapy works well for most people in most situations. But it’s worth being honest about a few things.
Your setup matters. A reliable internet connection, a private space where you won’t be interrupted, and decent audio and video quality make a real difference. Therapy that keeps cutting out, or that you’re trying to do from a shared space where you can’t speak freely, is harder to use well. If your current environment makes this difficult, it’s worth solving before you start rather than after.
Some people genuinely prefer in-person. For some people — particularly those who are more highly attuned to physical presence, or who are working with very early or pre-verbal trauma — the felt sense of being in the same room matters. That’s not a failure of online therapy; it’s just an honest recognition that different formats suit different people. If you’ve tried online therapy and found it consistently harder to connect, in-person may simply be a better fit for you.
Some approaches translate differently. Most therapeutic approaches work well online — including EMDR, somatic work, and Focusing-Oriented Therapy, which might seem like they’d require physical presence but actually translate well to video with a therapist who has adapted their practice thoughtfully. If you’re looking for a specific approach, it’s worth asking a potential therapist directly how they work with it online.
A note on what actually makes therapy work
Whatever the format, the thing that tends to predict whether therapy is useful is the same: whether you feel safe enough to bring what’s actually hard, rather than what presents well.
That safety develops through the quality of the relationship — how well you feel understood, how much you trust the person you’re working with, how genuine the connection feels. A skilled therapist working online can create that. An unskilled therapist in person can’t.
So the more useful question, probably, isn’t in-person versus online. It’s whether the person you’re working with is someone you can actually do real work with — and whether the format gives you the conditions to show up fully.
For most people, online therapy provides those conditions just as well as in-person. Often better.
Online therapy in BC — what’s available
In British Columbia, Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCCs) are able to offer online therapy to anyone living in the province. Sessions typically happen over a secure video platform — most therapists use something like Jane App or a similar tool that meets privacy standards.
If you’re in Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, or anywhere else in the Sea to Sky corridor — or anywhere across BC — online counselling gives you access to qualified therapists without the constraints of geography.
I offer online therapy across British Columbia for individuals working with anxiety, trauma, and relationship patterns. My approach is relational and body-based — drawing on Focusing-Oriented Therapy, EMDR, and somatic awareness — and it translates well to online work. If you’re curious whether it might be a good fit, a free 15-minute consultation is a good place to start. Reach out at jill@communicatingwell.com or book directly.
You might also find these useful: how Focusing-Oriented Therapy works for anxiety and trauma counselling — how I work.
