Online therapy in Ireland: video appointments let you speak with a therapist without travelling to the consulting room. This guide explains the format, privacy, practical preparation and situations where local support may be needed. Whether online work fits depends on your needs and circumstances. For fees and first-contact questions, see the online counselling guide.
Online therapy in Ireland can offer a steady way to meet for psychotherapy or counselling by secure video when this is clinically suitable. It can help when travel, location, work, caregiving, health, disability, or privacy needs make in-person sessions harder to arrange.
Dr Jonathan Haverkampf offers online psychotherapy and counselling by Zoom where online work is appropriate. You meet another person for a scheduled therapeutic conversation, with suitability and practical arrangements discussed as part of beginning the work.
When online therapy may fit
Online therapy may fit when you have enough privacy to speak freely, a reliable internet connection, and a situation that can be worked with safely between scheduled sessions. It may be used for anxiety, OCD, depression, grief, trauma-related questions, relationship patterns, stress, self-understanding, and therapy that focuses on communication, meaning, behaviour, feelings, or relationships.
- You can attend from a private room where you will not be overheard.
- You can use a stable device and connection, ideally with headphones.
- You know what to do locally if risk increases between sessions.
- You want a regular therapeutic conversation rather than a crisis or emergency response.
When online therapy may not be enough
Online therapy is not a crisis service. It may not be suitable if you cannot stay safe, someone else is monitoring or intimidating you, you cannot speak privately, technology is unreliable, or urgent medical, safeguarding, addiction-detox, psychosis, severe eating-disorder, or local emergency support is needed. In those situations, local urgent services or face-to-face assessment may be safer.
Privacy, location and technology
Online therapy needs practical planning. Before a first appointment, it helps to check where you will sit, whether anyone can overhear you, what happens if the call drops, and what local support is available if something becomes urgent. If you are outside Ireland, online work has to be considered carefully because local law, professional rules, privacy, emergency services, and clinical suitability can vary.
Online therapy, online counselling and online CBT
Counselling and psychotherapy are forms of talk therapy; CBT is one possible approach. Ask the therapist how they work, why that approach may fit your needs, and how you would review progress. A live video appointment involves a conversation with a person. If you are considering a digital course or app, check what human support is included and how it is provided.
How to begin
If online therapy seems like a possible fit, you can make an appointment, check the fees, or send a brief practical enquiry. Keep first contact brief and avoid sending private clinical detail by email or contact form. The first appointment can then be used to understand what is happening, whether online work is suitable, and what kind of next step would be safest and most useful.
Questions people often ask
Is online therapy the same as in-person therapy?
It is the same kind of therapeutic conversation, but the setting is different. Online work needs more explicit attention to privacy, technology, emergency planning, and whether video sessions are clinically suitable.
Can online therapy help anxiety, OCD or depression?
It may help many people with anxiety, OCD, depression, stress, grief, relationship patterns, and self-understanding, but suitability depends on the person, the risk level, privacy, and the kind of support needed. This page cannot assess your individual situation.
Is online therapy an emergency service?
No. If there is immediate danger, inability to stay safe, severe confusion, urgent medical symptoms, or risk of serious harm, use local emergency services or crisis support rather than waiting for an online appointment.
Further reading about video therapy
These guides provide more detail about video appointments, research and language fit. If you would attend from outside Ireland, discuss location and professional suitability before making arrangements.
- What to expect from online therapy by video
- Online therapy research and evidence
- German-speaking online therapy in Ireland
- HSE free and low-cost talk therapy routes
- HSE urgent mental health help
Related guides and service options
Choose the question or topic that is useful to you. You can read these resources without booking an appointment.
Related online guides
- Online counselling in Ireland
- Online therapy and online counselling in Ireland
- Therapist near me, or online therapy?
- CBT therapy in Dublin and online
- Talk therapy in Dublin
Common therapy routes
Community support and online therapy boundaries
A public anxiety forum can help with general discussion and feeling less alone. Online therapy or counselling is the route for individual support; a public forum is not private therapy, diagnosis, crisis care, or medication advice.
Online Therapy and Other Support Routes
Online therapy can be useful when it fits the person's situation. These linked pages help readers compare online therapy with public, low-cost and urgent support routes.