Can I do therapy for anxiety online?

By Natalia Cajide, Registered Psychologist (AHPRA PSY0002474316). 4 min read. Published 13 May 2026. Last reviewed 13 May 2026. Next review 13 May 2027.

Yes. You can do therapy for anxiety online, and the research base for it is substantial. Many of the assumptions people carry about online therapy, that it's less personal, less effective, only suited to mild presentations, don't survive contact with the evidence. For most anxiety presentations, video-delivered psychology produces outcomes comparable to in-person work. That doesn't mean it's the right choice for everyone in every situation. It does mean the choice between in-person and online is, for the most part, a question of preference and practicality rather than a choice between something that works and something that doesn't.

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What the research actually shows

The assumptions inside this question are worth surfacing before the answer. The version of online therapy that exists in most people's heads, before trying it, is something thinner than the in-person equivalent. Less personal. Less serious. Less likely to produce real work. The research, when you actually look at it, doesn't agree.

Across anxiety presentations, video-delivered psychology and in-person psychology produce comparable outcomes (Papola et al., 2024).

The therapeutic alliance, the relationship and the sense of being met that makes therapy work, also forms over video. A recent systematic review of teletherapy specifically found that the alliance in video sessions is associated with outcomes in much the same way as in-person work, with similar patterns of effect (Cooke et al., 2024). The alliance is not weaker because the room is different.

There is a related modality worth naming clearly here, because the term online therapy can mean different things. Internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy, sometimes called iCBT, is where the work is delivered through structured online modules, sometimes with email or messaging support from a clinician between modules. This is different from video sessions with a psychologist. iCBT also has a strong evidence base for anxiety, and it tends to suit people who want to work through structured material at their own pace. It tends to suit less well people whose anxiety needs personalised conversation. In Australia, the MindSpot Clinic at Macquarie University and the THIS WAY UP program at UNSW are the most established iCBT services. When this Answer refers to online therapy, it usually means video sessions with a psychologist.

What changes, and what doesn't

What changes when therapy moves online is the physical setup. You are in your own space, the clinician is in theirs, you meet through a screen. The first video session tends to feel slightly more clinical at first, then settles. People who try it generally describe the early awkwardness lifting after a session or two.

What doesn't change is the work. The conversations are the same conversations. The pauses, the noticings, the small adjustments to how you understand something, these happen in video sessions in the same way they happen in person. The body-in-the-room element does shift. There is something different about being physically in a space with someone, and some people find that difference matters more for them. Some people find the opposite, that being in their own space is what makes the work possible at all.

When each format tends to fit

A few practical considerations can tip the balance.

Online tends to work well when the journey to in-person therapy is itself the barrier. Distance. Work. Caregiving load. Social anxiety about leaving the house. Transport. When your home setup gives you genuine privacy. When consistency matters more than venue, and keeping a weekly session in a busy life is easier with a video link than a commute.

In-person might be more useful when your home setup doesn't give you privacy. Other people present. Thin walls. No quiet space. When something specific about the in-person frame matters to you, a different room, a different physical presence. When the work involves modalities that draw heavily on body-in-the-room presence, certain trauma work and certain grief work being examples.

The Medicare side doesn't change. Telehealth sessions are rebated in Australia in the same way as in-person sessions, with the same Mental Health Treatment Plan applying to both (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2024). The choice of format does not change the access pathway.

What I would say in closing is that the in-person versus online question is, more often than not, a question about your life and what would fit, rather than a question about which one works. Both work. Both can do real therapy. The choice that supports you actually starting, and actually continuing, is the better choice. If you're not sure which is right, the Meet and Greet can happen either way, and you can see how it feels before you commit to a format.

General information only. This page is general psychoeducation, not a clinical assessment, diagnosis, or treatment. Reading it does not establish a treating relationship. If you would like personalised support, please book a Meet and Greet or speak with your GP. If you are in immediate danger, call 000, or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

To talk this through with a psychologist, you can book a Meet and Greet: free · 15 minutes · online or in-person · no obligation. Book a Meet and Greet.