Greetings readers! I am very excited to write the first installment of a new column on eCounseling practice. We have only 500 words together each issue, so it will be a challenge for me to scribble something with both interest and take-home value. I am already wasting precious space; what I really want to do is introduce you to eCounseling.
What is eCounseling? If you ask five counselors this question, you might get five answers (and one would be, “e-What are you talking about?”). In my doctoral dissertation, I defined eCounseling by saying:
eCounseling is an abbreviation for “electronic counseling” and refers to a variety of counseling-related services provided via telephone or internet that range from (1) mental health information, to (2) spiritual guidance and life coaching services, to (3) professional mental health therapy.
Today there are four basic mediums for eCounseling: telephone, email, text chat, and videoconference.
Telephone Counseling
Telephone counseling was first made popular by the Samaritans who started a suicide prevention hotline in London, in 1953. Since then, it has filled important roles in mental health services. In a recent survey of American Psychological Association (APA) member psychologists, 98% affirmed that they have provided telephone counseling. Similarly, a survey of psychiatrists found 45% use the telephone as an adjunct to in-person sessions, and 19% use it as their primary medium for providing treatment. In my own survey of 1863 Christian counselors, 73% reported they are likely or somewhat likely to provide telephone counseling, if they do not already.
email Counseling
With email counseling, counselor and client communicate exclusively by written email exchanges. Since counseling sessions need not occur at a specified place or time, a client is not limited as to when he will write to his/her counselor. A client can seek help while in milieu of a problem, even if the counselor is busy (or fast asleep). This way, the counselor is always perceived as available, and help seems only ‘an email away.’
Text Chat Counseling
Also known as “internet relay chat” or “instant messaging”, since text chat communication takes place in ‘real time’ the give and take, pace, and tone of a conversation closely emulates in-person dialogue that we know to be effective in counseling. At the same time, clients benefit from a sense of increased safety, anonymity, and reduced social-stigma—when compared to in-person counseling.
Videoconference Counseling
In some ways, videoconference counseling is the crème de la crème of eCounseling methods. Videoconference closely resembles an in-person encounter; counselor and client are able to view each other and communicate audibly in real time. Though videoconference has obvious strengths, some advantages of eCounseling are forfeited. For instance, research suggests a client’s sense of safety, comfort, and anonymity might decrease with videoconference counseling—when compared to eCounseling without video.
Recognition by Professional Organizations
In response to recent trends in eCounseling practice, statements or ethical codes have been written by the APA, American Counseling Association (ACA), National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC), American Mental Health Counselors Association, International Society for Mental Health Online, and others.
Specifically, NBCC states:
…telephone counseling has been available and widely used for some time. The rapid development and use of the Internet to deliver information and foster communication has resulted in the creation of new forms of counseling.
APA writes, “The Ethics Code…has no rules prohibiting such services.” And ACA writes:
Professional counselors ensure that clients are intellectually, emotionally, and physically capable of using the on-line counseling services, and of understanding the potential risks and/or limitations of such services.
The sentiment of nearly every organization who has addressed the issue is the same—one can practice eCounseling if it can be provided with competence, and if counselors can fulfill their ethical duties.
I am already over my allowed word count! Next issue’s column will review the clinical advantages of eCounseling. Until then, be well. -AJC
Anthony J. Centore, Ph.D. serves as the Special Assistant to the President for the 50,000-member American Association of Christian Counselors, and is an Adjunct Graduate Professor for the Center for Counseling and Family Studies at Liberty University. He has authored numerous book chapters, articles, and is a columnist for Christian Counseling Today magazine. Anthony is author of The Clinical Training Guide for Online Counseling and Telephone Counseling. Anthony practices counseling in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts. See ThriveBoston
References
Rosenfield, M. (2003). Telephone counselling and psychotherapy in practice. In S. Goss, K. Anthony (Eds.), Technology in counseling and psychotherapy: A practitioner’s guide (pp. 93-108), Great Britain: Palgrave Macmillan; Slavich, S. (2003). The status of online mental health services. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Wichita State University. Wichita.
Hornblow, A. R., & Sloane, H. R. (1980). Evaluating the effectiveness of a telephone counselling service. British Journal of Psychiatry, 137, 377-378; VandenBos, G.R., & Williams, S. (2000, October). The internet versus the telephone: what is telehealth, anyway?. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 31, 490-492.
Ibid.
Lester, D. (ed.) (2002). Crisis intervention and counseling by telephone, Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Manning, T., Goetz, E., & Street, R. (2000, November). Signal delay effects on rapport in telepsychiatry. Cyber Psychology and Behavior, 3, 119-127.
National Board for Certified Counselors. (2001). Standards for the ethical practice of web counseling. Retrieved February 20, 2000, from http://www.nbcc.org/ethics/wcstandards.htm
American Psychological Association. (1997, November). APA statement on services by telephone, teleconference, and Internet: A statement by the ethics committee of the American Psychological Association. Retrieved February 20, 2005 from http://www.apa.org/ethics/stmnt01.html
American Counseling Association Governing Council. (1999, October). American
Counseling Association code of ethics. Author, A.3.a., A.3.b.
