You are at home, enjoying the comforts of your private space and accomplishing various tasks when a client emails you, requesting a session. Instead of trying to schedule some future date – which might not be advantageous for the client’s care – and instead of dropping everything to rush to the office, you begin a video conference with your client, right then and right there. In fact, you see all your clients over the internet, allowing both you and them to remain comfortable in your environments while participating in much-needed counseling services.
This is cyber-counseling, also called e-counseling, e-therapy, teletherapy and online therapy, and it is likely the future of therapy as most people know it. If you are eager to enter the mental health field, it is imperative that you understand how cyber-counseling works – and how it doesn’t work – so you can provide the best possible services for your future clients.
What Does Online Therapy Look Like?
Though “cyber-counseling” might sound frighteningly futuristic, it largely takes advantage of familiar technologies used to communicate online. That means you might interface with clients through email, instant messaging, VoIP or videoconference, or you and your clients might use more than one method at once to share ideas, feelings or treatment information.
The process for engaging in an online therapy session is simple. You and your clients will agree on a meeting time, which can easily occur outside typical business hours thanks to the availability and convenience of the internet. Your practice might offer its own counseling portal, which would be equipped with video, audio and text chat options, or you can use existing web conference tools, like Skype, Google Hangouts or Zoho Meeting. You will send your client an invitation to the session, and when you are both present, you can begin diving into issues.
Most e-counselors prefer video therapy to text-based sessions because the latter allows clients to edit their responses and continue suppressing how they truly feel. Most e-therapy first timers are dubious about the process, doubting that any treatment provided over the web can offer change or improvement to a client’s mental state. However, with honesty, perseverance, trust and a solid internet connection, cyber-counseling can give clients the help they need to establish mental health and stability.
How Do You Become an e-Counselor?
The only way online therapy is different from in-person therapy is that clients and counselors do not share the same physical space. Just as telemedicine still requires a fully licensed doctor or nurse, e-counseling requires an appropriately certified mental health professional.
You cannot create a website and advertise counseling services online without first obtaining counseling degrees and experience – or at least you cannot do so legally. Fortunately, you can use the web to obtain the proper credentials to open an online practice by enrolling in an online counseling degree program. In fact, you can even find specialized degree programs for the exact type of counseling you hope to provide: online Masters in School Counseling programs, online mental health counseling programs, online Masters in Grief Counseling programs and more.
After obtaining your degree, it is wise to gain more experience as a counselor before you jump into digital services. You should hone your skill in a physical counseling setting, so you are better equipped to provide aid to clients over the web. When you feel competent enough, you should apply for e-counselor positions at your current practice or an online mental health services provider — or you can start your own cyber-counseling firm.
Advantages and Disadvantages to Cyber-Counseling
As with all technological advancement – especially in the healthcare field – there are benefits and failings of e-therapy. Here are some you should be aware of before you begin to practice:
Advantage: accessibility. Clients and counselors can reach one another from anywhere, at any time. This means physical disability, remoteness and other prior barriers no longer preclude one from seeking therapy.
Disadvantage: communication limitations. Because they do not share a physical space, clients and counselors can miss nonverbal cues like body language that might reveal more about the problem at hand.
Advantage: affordability. Cyber-counseling has been shown to be less expensive for both therapists and clients because there is no need to rent commercial space or commute to sessions.
Disadvantage: security. The rash of data breaches in the recent past has shown that the web is rarely a fully secure space. Counselors must work hard to guarantee confidentiality of patient data at all times.