{"id":11842,"date":"2021-02-11T14:23:02","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T14:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blendedcare.com\/?p=11842"},"modified":"2025-05-29T16:32:21","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T16:32:21","slug":"blended-counseling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quenza.com\/blog\/blended-counseling\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Blended Therapy & Counseling? 3 Treatment Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As society moves ever more readily towards online service, we are finding more novel and creative ways to deliver that service. It used to be a pipe dream that we could actually speak with another person around the world in real-time, let alone send a high-quality picture or video around the world in an instant. Now we can video chat with our friends and family with a clear feed and zero delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As our technology moves forward\u2014sometimes by leaps and bounds\u2014we are finding that more and more can be done online. Recently, that includes some aspects of our health care and even our mental health care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we explore the world of blended counseling and how practitioners are using blended therapy to support and treat those they help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Blended Therapy & Counseling?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, mental health care has been provided via in-person visits to a doctor or other provider, whether that\u2019s a psychiatrist, a Marriage and Family Therapist, a counselor, or any of dozens of other career paths and specialties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stereotypical example involves the patient lying on a couch and discussing their dreams while a serious-looking psychologist takes notes<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just as recent advances in the therapeutic process have moved away from the \u201cpatient on a couch talking about their dreams\u201d model, recent advances in communications technology have changed the landscape as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s now far easier for people to connect via digital methods, and mental health care providers are finding that a lot of the work they do can be done over video chat or telephone calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blended Counseling: A Definition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Blended therapy, also known as blended care<\/a><\/strong> or blended counseling, is a combination of in-person and online components to create a dynamic treatment plan that works for both patient and provider. It\u2019s not necessarily all online, it can be any treatment plan that incorporates some<\/em> remote activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basically, blended therapy is what happens when a patient or client spends at least some of their time working with the provider via a remote format, whether that\u2019s with their smartphone, tablet, or laptop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Blended therapy, also known as blended care or blended counseling, is a combination of in-person and online components to create a dynamic treatment plan that works for both patient and provider.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

According to researchers, blended therapy can facilitate \u201clonger exposure to therapy in a cost-effective and accessible format.\u201d It enables a lower time commitment for clinicians, less travel time for patients, increased access to content, and lower overall costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The evidence is still coming in, but so far it looks like blended therapy works just as well as traditional, face-to-face therapy. A recent study showed that video blended care was highly effective at reducing the symptoms of depression and anxiety<\/a><\/strong> from a distance. For some clients, the freedom of being able to choose when, where, and how to complete their \u201chomework\u201d may have contributed to even more positive outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it may be important in some cases to unite provider and patient in the same physical location, for many patients, the ease and convenience of blended counseling can more than make up for the loss of face-to-face interaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Does It Look?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of course, most blended care still involves face-to-face interaction\u2014it\u2019s just via video chat instead of in-person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blended care will generally include at least some in-person interaction, whether that\u2019s just to fill out some initial counseling forms<\/a><\/strong>, to meet for the initial intake, or for a portion of the regular sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After that, the format of the treatment will take shape based on the provider\u2019s and the client\u2019s unique needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tools for Blended Therapy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Providers may use any or all of the following counseling tools<\/strong><\/a> in their working relationship with their client:<\/p>\n\n\n\n