[humming the ‘80s Men at Work song quietly to myself as I write this] 

My research on post-secondary institutions that offer online counselling Ied me to the eTherapy Research Unit at Swinburne University. This group is responsible for developing, evaluating and delivering eTherapy programs and other types of online mental health interventions.  Their definition of  eTherapy is  “delivery of structured early intervention/treatment programs for clinical disorders/symptoms via the internet with or without human support.”[1]

Currently they offer Anxiety Online – “an internet-based treatment clinic for people with anxiety problems”. [2]  It is comprised of information, assessment and self-help or therapist-assisted treatment programs. 

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In my last post I mentioned that colleges and universities in a variety of countries have adopted Online Counselling for their students.  I surveyed fifteen post-secondary institutions that offer Online Counselling. I was curious about years of service, target group, student response, numbers served, issues that brought students to Online counselling versus in person counselling, challenges faced, counsellor training and best practices.  I received eight responses. [1] In this post I would like to share some of what they had to say.

Most of the institutions surveyed had been offering Online Counselling since 2006, which seems like an adequate length of time to be able to offer insightful comments. 

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In the past few years some Canadian colleges and universities have begun providing online counselling services for their students. I personally know of five post-secondary institutions that are now considering providing this type of counselling in the near future.  I also know post-secondary counsellors who have received training in Online Counselling who are not yet able to offer this service at their institution.

In the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Greece and Denmark colleges and universities have adopted Online Counselling as well.  The format for provision of online counselling services varies: live chat, email q &a, real-time Skype or Instant Messaging exchanges, online peer support groups, online life coaching and asynchronous email exchanges.

Why might this be an idea whose time has come?

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Go ahead and Google yourself. 

How many hits did you get?  What kind of information is out there in cyberspace about you?  Photographs?  Training programs?  Schooling?  Home address?  Political or religious affiliations? Anything else? 

Now – think about this.  Lots of people you know have likely done the same thing – googled you – including your clients.  

Which brings up an excellent question. Should we, as counsellors, be googling our clients? Is it ethically appropriate to search for information about clients using the Internet? What about a client’s right to privacy or informed consent? 

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There are times when I revel in working on my own in my online private practice.  I like being able to choose the work I do, set my own schedule, and work at my own pace [to name a few of the advantages]. 

Then there are the times when it feels lonely.  It’s just me and my computer and occasionally my cat for company. Sometimes I would like to debrief a session, find out about resources, ask for suggestions on ways to proceed with a client, or simply connect in person. Taking a moment to talk with a colleague can be a way to clear my head and refocus my attention and energy.

Don’t get me wrong.  I have colleagues in the online counselling world– amazing, experienced, gifted, supportive colleagues – with whom I feel deeply connected.  Sometimes I just wish I could walk down the hall to talk with them or have coffee/lunch together while sharing information, resources, and maybe even the story of our lives [which, considering they are scattered across Canada, would be a long road trip!].

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This September marks my sixth year in my Online Counselling practice [wondering where the time has gone]. It seemed like a good time to review the past six years and to give some thought to the cycles of client activity in my practice.

I will admit to being a number nerd. I started keeping track of the number of client sessions per month as I was curious to see if there was a regular pattern.  Were some months consistently busier each year?  And was it similar to my f2f counselling practice?

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[tongue firmly in cheek again – after all it’s still summer!] 

As an online counsellor I work from home.  Now, typically people think someone who works at home does so in robe and slippers while holding a cup of coffee.  I am here today to set the record straight.

As a matter of fact, I do……

[wait for it]

not sit around in a robe and slippers when doing online counselling. 

But I could if I wanted to [grinning]. It’s one of the advantages of working online.  No one sees me.

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[tongue firmly in cheek] 

Sustainable, energy efficient, green, eco/environmentally friendly.  It seems that everywhere I turn someone (or some product) is using these words [have you noticed it too?].  Businesses, municipalities, and schools all seem to have a green agenda and it made me wonder – just how environmentally friendly is online counselling?  Am I doing my bit to save the planet?

With that noble aim in mind I decided to conduct a green assessment of my online counselling practice [humming Kermit’s theme song “it’s not easy being green”].

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An important component of online counselling is learning how to read between the lines. Same as in face-to-face (f2f) counselling it’s about paying attention.  In f2f counselling we pay attention to the verbal and nonverbal cues (amongst other things).  In online counselling we pay attention to: what people say, what they don’t say, word choices, phrasing, name substitutions, pacing, inconsistent spelling errors, understatements, grammar, punctuation (or lack of same), capitalization, use of metaphors, misquotes.  I could go on but I assume you all know what I am talking about!

Let me give you a few examples of the kinds of statements clients might make and some of my “reading between the lines”. 

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