I really struggle with telehealth, too. My T, luckily, seems to get it without my having to explain it too much.

We have talked about it in these terms:

• being able to get a "felt sense" of each other
• mirror neurons working better in person (as designed)
• we can both read non-verbal cues MUCH better--we're missing a lot of information when not in person
• connection - when we're telehealth, if I look away or he looks away, the connection is broken--it's like he disappears. In person, if I look way, there is still a felt sense of him being in the room with me
• probably related to hypervigilance--I need to be able to scan the environment and am always reading the other person for "safety." I told him that teletherapy felt like driving with someone's hands covering my eyes.
• he becomes "not real" over time when we're doing telehealth