We had phone sessions for a while. Most of the time shorter than regular sessions though. Mainly because my T doesn't think he can do therapy over the phone that well.

Unlike most others here, I didn't really like it. If I am not in the same room as him, I don't feel that connected. I don't feel like sharing a whole lot. Of course he still gets me to talk, but usually a lot less in depth.

I feel the absence of visual information is a very limiting thing. I tend to misinterpret things, and seeing what the person looks like is very useful in such cases. For Ts it's probably also easier if they see the client.

However, it's still better than not talking at all! And it can certainly be useful, I just feel less comfortable with it.

About pauses: as long as your T doesn't think the line is down due to a 5 second pause like mine did, and then hangs up and calls again, I think it's fine -.-