Online Counseling – a Timely Happenstance

Online Counseling – a Timely Happenstance
Online counseling may be the latest and
greatest improvement in therapy. It seems
to be perfect for this fast-paced world
with many workers who sit by their computer
screens all day long. Yet, it is not
limited to today”s information technology
workers or those whose work requires being
online frequently.
Imagine how convenient it will be to read a
quick email from your therapist that can
give you just the insight you were looking
for to move beyond your failed relationship
or that obsession with chocolate that was
left in the wake of a bad break-up. This
could be the very addiction that is causing
you to buy larger sized clothes all of the
sudden.
Think about the worried mother who doesn”t
quite know what to do about her child”s
out-of-character or unusual behavior. Or
even worse, the distraught parent trying to
cope with his teenager”s drug or alcohol
addiction. And of course there are other
intense problems, such as teen pregnancy,
death of a loved one or terminal illness in
the family.
These can be tough problems to tackle in an
already stressed environment that is the
world we live in. But when do you find the
time to go to your therapy session? This is
especially the case when your therapist is
not available during the day, over weekends
or at some other time when it is convenient
to you?
Think about the time it takes to travel
back and forth for a therapy session even
when you do manage to schedule one. There
is the ever increasing cost of gasoline to
contend with too, adding to the stress that
might lead you to seek counseling in the
first place!
Then there are some problems that you might
not want to talk to someone face-to-face
with, especially someone who lives in your
home town. Wouldn”t it be much easier to
sign up for email counselling sessions with
someone in a far away city? You could even
open an anonymous email account with yahoo
or some other email provider that doesn”t
necessarily need your real name, and use
that to offer near total anonymity.
This seems like a good idea, it can provide
you the kind of nurturing environment
needed to really pour your heart out to the
therapist and get a professional response
via email. The therapist doesn”t have to
know anything about your identity and can
still treat you professionally. And this
could mean no embarrassing record that
could be subpoenaed in a court of law.
A good online counseling plan might include
unlimited emails for a certain amount of
time. Giving you the kind of access to a
therapist that you might not get in a once-
a-week appointment. Not without paying
extra, that is.
Yes, there are a number of benefits to
seeking online therapy. Anonymity, access,
time and money savings. No one needs to
know you are in therapy and they won”t ever
see you “go” to an appointment. Yet, while
you are sitting at your computer, an email
may pop up with just the timely advice or
encouragement you were looking for, the
kind of support that can be hard to come by
in today”s crazy, mixed up world.
This article is for information purposes
only, it is not meant to diagnose, treat or
prevent any illness. If you have or think
you have a health issue, please contact
your primary care physician for proper
treatment and diagnoses.