Asynchronous Therapy

What is Asynchronous Therapy?

Asynchronous means not at the same time. In asynchronous therapy, the client and therapist rely on store-and-forward technology. Asynchronous therapy is not passive. It is not an online course without any accountability. It is the opposite. You monitor progress and use clinical judgement to direct your clients in taking steps to successfully complete therapeutic goals.

Here’s How Asynchronous Therapy Works

As the therapist, you design and direct therapy using written communication, images and videos, software, apps, and so on, making these available in a secure portal.

Your clients log in and complete structured lessons. The sequential curriculum motivates your clients to generate progress data. This can be demonstrated through submitted videos, completed levels in a software program, or usage data generated by apps.

Because the curriculum is available 24/7 behind a login, your clients can work on their goals anytime. They establish a practice schedule that works for them. This is convenient and rewarding. Their time and effort lead to meaningful clinical outcomes.

Consultations are for expert guidance, problem-solving and encouragement. This doesn't need to happen in real-time. For example, your feedback can be recorded and made available in the portal. Written treatment plans can be based on a template that is used over and over.

What’s Wrong with Traditional Therapy?

I want to tell you how great asynchronous therapy is, but first I need to explain what's wrong with traditional therapy. I'm defining traditional therapy as individual or small group sessions with a therapist.

In public jobs, therapists complain about high caseloads, inadequate pay and administrative burdens. Perhaps you have experienced meetings that made the job harder and paperwork that had to be completed after hours, without pay. It is common for therapists in public jobs to leave the profession or change positions annually due to high burnout.

In private practice, therapists complain about stress and exhaustion.

These complaints don’t reveal the underlying problem. So, what is it really?

It’s a lack of efficacy - It is the awareness that no matter how hard you try, you are not effective as a therapist. You are not helping people change. They are not getting better. Despite your clinical training and professional credentials, your efforts are futile.

The lack of efficacy is real. It is sometimes called imposter syndrome.

Have you experienced this? I have! Traditional therapy gave me a schedule filled with way too many ineffective sessions.

Sometimes my therapy clients were resentful because they didn't want to attend therapy sessions.
My group therapy sessions were unpredictable.
Children hid under the table when they didn't want to cooperate.
Telepractice sessions had technical glitches.
It was massively embarrassing to have family members or school staff observe my sessions and then question the value of what I was doing.

Why Therapists should offer Asynchronous Therapy

Asynchronous therapy can be highly fulfilling for you, the therapist. Instead of a lack of efficacy – instead of imposter syndrome – you get objective data that proves your therapy is working.

Asynchronous therapy prevents the discouragement of imposter syndrome. It is easy for you to edit writing mistakes before they are published. Videos can be deleted and re-recorded. If the client is not engaging with the therapy curriculum, you can change it.
You have the privacy to learn from your mistakes and become better at delivering therapy without unfair criticism from observers or administrators.

Asynchronous therapy lets you avoid behavioural and logistical hassles.

There is no embarrassment or resentment.
If there is a technical glitch or some inattentiveness, clients can just start again.

It can be a huge time-saver for you.

There is no need to present the curriculum to clients in live sessions - not in person or via telepractice.
You design therapy programs using a mix of commercial therapy resources and internal ones.
A small set of resources can be used in creative ways with a large number of clients.

It can give you a flexible schedule.

You can design a sequential curriculum without the client present, at a time convenient for you.
When your client logs in, a new lesson or assignment will be there, waiting.
The therapy is still individualized, but using store-and-forward technology frees you from the time constraints of traditional therapy.

You gradually become an expert clinician.

You are working with niche clients who have similar problems.
You learn to recognize nuanced differences.
You develop unique clinical judgement, specific to your niche.

Asynchronous therapy offers you something important - freedom from hourly billing.

Asynchronous therapy packages can be based on a monthly fee or a program fee instead.
It’s therapy that scales without trading more hours for more income.

Asynchronous Therapy Gave Me the Life I Wanted

Asynchronous therapy gave me the freedom and flexibility that I had always wanted. My income was no longer based on selling my time by the hour. I offered live consultation sessions by webcam, but never delivered curriculum in these sessions. My clients worked on their goals consistently on their own time. I could log into the platform and see if they were completing their assignments and indeed, they were! Their time and effort produced life-changing transformations.

Asynchronous therapy gave me a high level of fulfillment as a therapist because I could serve a large caseload that had similar needs. This gradually built my confidence and gave me expertise. I was finally able to generate a professional income in my private practice, not just because asynchronous therapy is more lucrative than traditional therapy, but also because I was comfortable charging appropriate fees in my business.

You can use Asynchronous Therapy to Become the Therapist you were Meant to Be

I have noticed that private practice attracts therapists who have experienced burnout. Maybe you are visiting my website because you feel discouraged and desperate. You want control over your career, but you don’t have an entrepreneurial mindset yet.

Consider spending time planning a private practice that has some asynchronous therapy programs. This is a new way of doing therapy that will protect you, keeping you in the profession and allowing you to gain confidence.

Explore the free training I offer at Therapy Biztech. When you are ready, register for my paid course: Plan your Site with the Therapy Website Design Formula so you can Offer Asynchronous Therapy.

It’s how you can become the therapist you were meant to be.

Free 30-Minute Workshop for Private Practice Therapists!

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Discover the three biggest website mistakes made by private practice therapists
Walk away with an understanding of the changes you need to make to your website
Feel confident about being an entrepreneur, finally having a vision for a strategic website that will help you build your therapy practice

"After this workshop, I finally started thinking about the FUNCTION of my website, not just the look."