Advanced Stress Management

Online therapy, email therapy, virtual therapy, cyber-counseling, e-therapy: they all refer to therapy or counseling using the internet, most often by email. Online counseling is a powerful tool for helping people to gain insight and resolve the problems that interfere with the quality of their lives. Therapists typically use email exchanges in online counseling work, and may supplement them with phone sessions (if necessary or requested) at appropriate points in the process.

Pros: People often open up faster during internet exchanges than in face to face counseling. Writing about their feeling and thoughts can have a freeing effect, encouraging faster insight that an office setting.

There is a natural time delay during e-mail exchanges, allowing space for reflection on all that has been written. Counter-intuitively, the time delay can speed up the therapeutic process by assisting clients in sorting out feelings, beliefs and thoughts.

E-counseling is convenient. People can set their own pace. They can write from the comfort of their own home, and can send messages at any time of the day or night. In addition, clients can write as often as they like, knowing that everything will be read, and that they will typically receive a reply within 24 hours.

E-therapy makes counseling accessible. Whether somebody has an emotional or physical handicap that interferes with travelling or someone can’t find day care for their baby, online counseling provides a therapeutic framework right from home.

Since online counseling consists of a series of email exchanges, the client and counselor both have permanent records of their “sessions.” These saved records give both counselor and client an opportunity to review and evaluate their work together.

Traditional face-to-face therapy is significantly more expensive than e-therapy. Working online means all travel costs are eliminated. Additionally, therapists only charge for the time they spend reading a client’s e-mails and writing back to them.

Cons: E-counselors can’t see their client’s body movements (facial expressions, twitches, etc.) that would normally prove useful in understanding what a client feels. This can lead to misunderstandings, and can make online counseling more difficult than face-to-face counseling for the therapist.

Online counseling clients must be willing and able to write out their thoughts and feelings with a considerable amount of clarity.

Online work is inappropriate for some clients, including people who are currently in crisis or feel suicidal, people with serious emotional problems; people under the age of 18.

E-counselors are unable to give formal diagnoses to their clients.

Cyber-counseling is relatively new, and naturally experimental.

Technology certainly supports this flexible therapeutic modality, allowing cyber-counseling to be a creative tool to provide convenient, affordable, competent therapy. E-therapy should not to be avoided simply because it veers from the traditional mold any more than it should be embraced because of its novelty. The quality of a therapist’s training and experience, as well as the goodness of fit between counselor and client are ultimately more important than the setting in which the therapy takes place. Perhaps you will find virtual therapy worth exploring to see if it is right for you.

Tags: choosing a counselor, counseling, cyber-counseling, e-therapy, emotional health, mental fitness, mental health, online counseling, online therapist, parenting resources, psychology, self-help, Stress Management, therapy, virtual therapy, wellness