Online Therapy

The Globe and Mail published an article called Online Therapy: The faceless cure?  written by Sharon Crawford. The article discusses the pros and cons of using email and chat as a counseling medium. She created a create list of wise things to do when considering online counselling.

List of things to consider when looking for e-help (by Sharon Crawford).

1. Research different therapists on-line. Make sure they have specific training doing on-line therapy.
2. Send an e-mail message to see if they are experienced with your problem or similar problems.
3. Make sure therapists belong to a professional organization requiring them to adhere to ethical guidelines.
4. Find out the cost. (Usually an hourly rate similar to conventional therapy.)
5. Make sure that the service (chat or e-mail) has a secure encrypted system.
6. Don't use public computers. Use your own computer, which other family members cannot access.
7. Try out the chat or e-mail to see if you and the therapist get along.
8. If the connection between you and the therapist doesn't feel right, switch therapy or therapist.
9. On e-mail, make sure the therapist will respond fairly quickly.
10. With e-mail, read over your message a couple of times before pressing "send."

Although counseling by phone is a different experience for both the therapist and the client, many of above considerations apply.

Comments

[Gibran Selman]

This is a very useful post. Not only for prospective online counselling clients, but also for online counselling practitioners such as myself.

After reading it I realised that some of these things I still do not offer on my site, and that by adding all these to my site prospective clients would be more willing and feel more confident to use my services.

Thanks for this!

Warm Regards,
Gibran