The answer to that question is the reason this site was
created. Frum communities are by nature
close-knit and highly intertwined. No doubt you have had the experience of
playing “Jewish geography” and finding a common link within minutes. If there are only six degrees of separation
in the world at large, in the frum community it’s probably no more than two.
So when someone needs counseling for mental health issues,
shalom bayis problems, parenting help, and more, it can feel impossible to turn
to someone in the community for help; it feels like airing one’s dirty
laundry. Although I don’t believe anyone
needs to be ashamed of having a mental illness or of seeking help in their
personal lives, I nonetheless want people to be able to get help if they won’t
seek it out in a way that others might become aware.
Enter FrumCounselor.com, your local/global Orthodox Jewish
therapist online. I started this website
years ago, when teletherapy was still in its infant stages, to serve frum Jews
around the globe. Initially I assumed
that this service would be most sought out by folks living in smaller out-of-town
communities where there may not be any frum therapists to begin with, or if
there was one, inevitably it would be someone they would see daily or weekly.
Worse, it might be someone they have regular interactions with elsewhere (what
we in the business call “dual relationships”), such as when the help seeker is
a rebbe or teacher in the one frum day school in town and the therapist is a
parent at that same school, perhaps even a parent of a student in that teacher’s
class.
It turns out that FrumCounselor.com has actually been quite
popular even for yidden searching for a frum therapist online who live in major
Jewish metropolises such as New York and New Jersey. Some of them have come from Chassidic
communities where, even in a place like New York, the borders of their own
community are relatively small. Others
are simply seeking the various benefits of using a frum therapist online – such
as the significant added convenience of not having to leave home, the flexible
scheduling, or the higher level of confidentiality. And then of course there is something to be
said for the reputation
of the counselor attracting clients!
Recently someone contacted me to try to set up a session in
person, but was unsure if the distance was too far. I offered to do therapy online, and was met
with a blunt, “Really? Does that work?” The answer to that is a categorical “yes.” Research
has found that online therapy is as effective, and 
in some cases more
effective, than in-person therapy. While
there is certainly a different “feel” to a session conducted online vs. in
person, it is just that – different – which does not necessarily mean better or
worse. As with any real choices in life,
there are advantages and disadvantages. Working
with a frum therapist online is therefore a perfectly valid and appropriate choice
for people in a wide variety of circumstances who may be seeking help for a
range of different problems.
in some cases more
effective, than in-person therapy. While
there is certainly a different “feel” to a session conducted online vs. in
person, it is just that – different – which does not necessarily mean better or
worse. As with any real choices in life,
there are advantages and disadvantages. Working
with a frum therapist online is therefore a perfectly valid and appropriate choice
for people in a wide variety of circumstances who may be seeking help for a
range of different problems.
If you’ve been thinking of seeing an Orthodox Jewish
therapist online or in person, I encourage you to reach out to me. I’d be happy to help you achieve the results
you are seeking in the context of an authentic Jewish approach, as I have with
many other clients both via the internet and face to face.
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