Can I do therapy for depression online?

Yes. Therapy for depression can be done online, and for many people it is a genuine option rather than a lesser one. The more useful question is not whether online therapy is good enough in the abstract, but whether it suits you, this presentation, and this stage of the work. For a great many people it suits well. For some, starting in person makes more sense. Both are available here, in person at our Kew and Croydon rooms or online, and the choice is not fixed. People move between the two as their circumstances change.

Written and reviewed by Matthew Hallam, Registered Psychologist (AHPRA PSY0002471369). 4 min read. Published 28 May 2026. Last reviewed 28 May 2026. Next review 28 May 2027.

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What the research has and has not shown

Start with what the studies actually compared. Trials that delivered the same therapy by video and in person, and then measured depression symptoms, have generally found similar results between the two formats (Giovanetti et al., 2022). That is encouraging, but it is not the whole story. A more recent review that looked specifically at depression found a small advantage for in-person delivery, on evidence the authors themselves rated as low quality (Kelber et al., 2025).

So the fair summary is this. Online therapy for depression performs broadly comparably to in-person therapy across most of what has been measured; the evidence is not unanimous; and a result that holds on average across studies does not tell you what will happen for you. What it does tell you is that online is a reasonable option to consider, not a compromise you have to justify.

Whether the relationship can form over a screen

A frequent worry is that the connection between client and clinician cannot form properly through a screen. This has been studied directly. When researchers compared the strength of the working relationship in video therapy with the same relationship in person, they found no meaningful difference, whether the relationship was rated by clients or by clinicians (Seuling et al., 2024).

This does not mean a screen feels the same as a room. It means that the thing that does the work in therapy, the sense of being understood and of working on something together, can develop in either setting. Some people find video puts a little distance in the way. Others find it easier to speak openly from their own home. Which of those is true for you is worth noticing in the first session or two, rather than deciding in advance.

Who online tends to suit, and who might start in person

This is where the real decision sits. Online tends to suit people for whom getting to a room is itself the barrier, and with depression that barrier is not trivial. When energy and motivation are low, the trip across town can quietly be the thing that ends an attempt to get help before it starts. Online also suits people who live a long way from a clinic, who are working around a job or caring responsibilities, or who simply feel steadier speaking from their own space.

In person tends to be the better place to begin in a few situations. If the depression is severe, or if safety is a concern, being in the room can matter, and we would talk that through with you rather than default to whatever is most convenient. Online also asks for a few practical things: a private space where you will not be overheard, a connection you can rely on, and some tolerance for sustained time on a screen, which a number of people find more tiring than they expect. None of these settles the question on its own. They are simply what is worth weighing.

What matters most in the choice

Online and in person are not two tiers of therapy, one real and one makeshift. They are two formats for the same work, each with its own texture, and the choice between them is practical and reversible rather than final. What matters most is not which format is best in theory, but which one lowers the barrier enough that you actually begin, and then keep going. If you are not sure which fits, that is a reasonable thing to work out in a first conversation, rather than alone and beforehand.

This content is general information only. It is not a substitute for individual psychological or medical advice. Reading this does not establish a therapeutic relationship with Equal Psychology or any of their clinicians.