**للعربية مرر للأسفل** These days, mental health professionals' work is way more crucial than ever. With people being physically distanced from their friends, many resources, and their usual routines, With clients being more exposed to stressors than before, With the Covid-19 virus being unseen, unknown, and unpredictable, With the whole global population exposed to a collective, possibly traumatic for many, experience, this job becomes critical more than ever. And technology has been our savior, we are lucky we are in 2020. It is easy now to connect electronically, but does this really mean we connect emotionally, psychologically, socially? In this lecture, we will learn about the GAP techniques and how to implement them before, during, and after the session. Also, in this session, you will learn: 1- Tools and technical side of the online sessions. 2- Reservation, payment, and cancellation policies. 3- Modifications on your own system, compliant to the physical distancing. 4- How to manage an online session, so that it doesn't affect the quality of the session. 5- Debunking myths about online therapy. 6- How to manage your group therapy online? 7- Zoom fatigue and how to avoid it. 8- Q&A This session is totally for free, as a tribute to the therapy community to make therapy accessible. If you would like to pay it forward, offer a free session for someone in need, perhaps a medical professional or someone who is in medical quarantine. هذه الأيام، يعتبر عمل العاملين بالصحة النفسية أكثر ضرورية وأهمية مما مضى. فمع التباعد الجسدي للأفراد عن أصدقائهم، مصادرهم، وحتى عاداتهم اليومية، مع تعرض عملائنا للضغوطات ومسببات القلق أكثر مما مضى، ومع طبيعة فيروس كورونا المستجد، كونه غير مرئي، لا معروف، وغير متوقع، ومع الخبرة الجمعية (الصدمية للبعض)، وما قد يخلفه ذلك من أثر بعد الأزمة، تصبح هذه الوظيفة أهم وأكثر حيوية. والتكنولوجيا هي ملاذنا، فمن حظنا أننا الآن في عام 2020، من السهل علينا أن نتواصل إليكترونيًا، لكن هل هذا يعني تواصلنا عاطفيًا، نفسيًا، واجتماعيًا؟ سنتعلم سويًا خلال المحاضرة الثلاث تاءات المفتاحية لجلسات رقمية ناجحة كما في هذه المحاضرة، ستتعلم: 1- الأدوات التقنية الخاصة بالجلسات ذاتها 2- الحجز والدفع وسياسات الإلغاء 3- تعديلات على النظام الخاص بك بعد ظروف الحجر الصحي وكورونا 4- كيف تدير جلسة فردية بما لا يجعل التواصل الرقمي يؤثر على الجلسة؟ 5- خرافات عن تقديم العلاج النفسي أونلاين 6- كيفية إدارة المجموعات العلاجية أونلاين 7- كيفية تجنب الإجهاد الرقمي للمعالجين 8- أي أسئلة أو استفسارات

1. MARCH 20, 2020
Beyond
Screens
How to engage in online therapy sessions?

2. Today’s Lecture
MAIN TOPICS
Why online therapy?
Challenges & Opportunities of Online
therapy
Online therapy service setup (1,2,3)
A holding online space
Myths about Online Therapy
Take care of these, PLEASE!
Online Group therapy tips
Zoom fatigue & cure
Q&A

3. Hi,
I’m Yasmine Madkour.
Counselor
Intermediate Student of Somatic Experiencing
A little bit about my past
UX writing, Copywriting, marketing, business, and training.
A little bit about my present, my future, and my Holding Space
Psychotherapy, Mental Health Professional, Trauma Professional, Psychosocial Support,
Art as therapy (The Writing Effect paths), Somatic Experiencing, Expressive Arts therapy,
Martial Arts blend, and couple somatic therapy.

4. Why work online?
Holding Space
Challenges
Limited
Resources
Accessibility Unbounded
Physical
Presence
It’s not as
physical
Opportunities Creativity Specialty Flexibility
Pure
Emotional
Presence
It’s not
physical

5. How to make up for Physical
Presence?

6. 6 P’s of setup
Place
Where you sit to give your sessions, treat it like a sacred therapy office, behaviorally and
ethically.
Pack
Equipment you need for your session (mic, Bluetooth headphones, tools to demo, a tripod
to share a movement, online games and apps).
Programs Booking, payment, video conference apps, ..etc.
Posture Your chair! Invest and don’t ever go for the cheaper options.
Power
Recharge your devices and have an outlet ready for more charge. How will you manage if
the power goes out?
Parameters Your door, your desk, your distractions, and your boundaries

7. A holding online space for clients
Can online be as the real thing?
No and Yes!
No, the physical connection is way different and unique, your nervous system acts
differently in the presence of someone else, as opposed to a screen tiring your eyes.
Yes, if it is online, it doesn’t mean it is not real. It might take more effort, it might even be
more convenient for some clients, and sometimes you get to know more by just having an
online session where the client is sitting in their own environment.

8. Emotional Presence Triad GAP*3
Ground
Adapt
Prepare

9. The GAP toolbox

10. Grounding
Before
• Mise-en-place.
• Meditate or pray or do some affirmations.
• Review your material and your notes.
• Close all tabs, mute all notifications.
• Act as home (safe, sound, engaging) but not at home (not available to household
physically or emotionally).
• Be ready early!

11. Grounding
During
• Don’t focus on your screen, (if on zoom), pin your client’s screen.
• Sit away from the screen so your eyes are not strained, and the angle of your eye
contact is closer to the real thing.
• If you are ready to connect, your client will be welcomed to connect!
• Social engagement and conversation.
• Somatic exercises, mindfulness exercises, games, and calming conversations about
resources.
• Track sensations during session.

12. Grounding
After
• Take a break
• Do some eye exercises (Demo)
• Stay away from screens.
• Limit screen time in total to 8 hours a day
• Remember your needs, resources, and rest.
• Rest is a need not a reward!

13. Adaptations
Before
• Allow for communication for reservation (whenever you can, esp. first-timers)
• Send your client the link early.
• Use google calendar, iCal, Calendly, appoint.ly for reservations. (Many of them are free).
• Automate but don’t over-automate. (A little UX here).
• Client payments: Bank transfer (CIB), Vodafone cash, Careem Pay, Halan Pay, or if you
are a business, open a business account and integrate on your website.
• Prepare for sessions ahead.
• Accommodate differently abled clients.

14. Adaptations
During
• No online recording
• Use whiteboards online.
• Use whatever tools that can help your client.
• Differently abled clients need some modifications.
• Conduct sessions on phone if necessary (trust is earned not given).

15. Adaptations
After
• Ask for feedback.
• Give links and mentioned media links
• Don’t accept regular unnecessary
calls or messages. Ask to defer them
to the next session.

16. Presence
Before
• Read their homework and take notes.
• Check your emails from your client.
• Take pointers and review therapy goals.
• Review your session notes from before.
• Inform them if you are going to be late.
• Dress for therapy (comfortable but not too comfortable).
• Wear Pants! (Yes, this should be said, unfortunately!)
• It shouldn’t be your first time video chatting.

17. Presence
During Session
• Use your and the client’s environment (witness their resources).
• Get creative with their resources and skills.
• Examples: cat, colors, background drawings.
• Embrace silence (just as the offline), just to don’t freeze physically.

18. Presence
After Session
• Send appropriate links or resources whenever possible.
• Take notes and save your notes.

19. What to avoid?

20. Avoid as much as possible
Presence
• Allow distractions online
• Mobile notifications.
• Distractions from outside.

21. Avoid as much as possible
Adaptations
• Do session or Call from Facebook.
• Downgrade the connection.
• After, long emails, declare brief emails only if necessary. Quick deferring reply.

22. Avoid as much as possible
Grounding
• Pushing through.
• Back to back sessions with no breaks
in between (5-10 minutes).

23. Break

24. Final notes from your questions!

25. Q&A

26. Yasmine Madkour
Counselor
Intermediate student of Somatic Experiencing
Contact me (directly)
Yasmine.madkour@gmail.com
Book a session
+20 102 772 0687
(whatsapp or calls).
team@yasminemadkour.com