[Psychotherapeutic counselling via telecommunication networks]

The article discusses the effects that video conferencing in psychotherapy (distant therapy) may have upon the interaction between client and therapist. Experiences from distant therapy in North Norway, as well as earlier studies, are discussed in relation to factors such as client power and control, regulation of intimacy, and verbalization. The experiences indicate that physical presence--which is intuitively perceived as the ideal in relation to which the distant therapy settings are assessed--should be treated instead as a variable which can have positive and/or negative effects on a given therapeutic process.