Online Counseling
What is online counseling? 
Online counseling is the process by which a counselor and a patient enter into a session via the internet. The methods of online counseling are growing in the methods of communicating. Initially, e-mailing between a counselor and a patient were the pioneering method, but it has evolved. It has shifted to include not only e-mailing, but also instant message sessions. Instant message counseling has become enhanced with the option of adding a web cam. Although, web cams can make individuals feel uncomfortable, because many patients like the privacy.
What are the advantages of online counseling?
Online counseling is very appealing for many reasons. The pros include convenience, anonymity, faster scheduling, reduced psychological barriers, and the ease of changing counselors. The convenience factor is that a patient can enter into a session from the convenience of their preferred location. As long as there is an internet connection, the patient is able to seek therapy. Sometimes you just don’t feel like making the effort to make an office visit. For others, you may be busy traveling on a business trip. Nearly all areas provide internet access so that you can enter into an online counseling session.
Is online counseling better?
Online counseling is said to allow patients to open up more comfortably. Anonymity is a major advantage for the most sensitive topics. Sometimes patients don ’t feel comfortable presenting shocking topics. Patients get to know their counselors and fear shocking their counselor so that they might be looked at differently. Disrupting that relationship creates a blockage and inhibits the counseling from its therapeutic capability. In online counseling sessions, patients are less inclined to care how the counselor perceives them as a person. The lack of concern is developed from the security that the patient has in feeling that they will never in real life be faced to meet the counselor.
Is online counseling more convenient?
Faster scheduling is something everyone wants. Anytime a patient of any kind needs  to see a professional, the sooner the better. In most cases, the average wait time to see a counselor at a physical office is 2 weeks from the time the appointment is scheduled. Of course, there is always the doctor on call for the emergency hot-line or emergency facility. However, it doesn’t have to be an emergency to need quick service. Online counseling offers service on demand. Reliably you can get service within 15 minutes, but sometimes can take up to an hour. Anytime of the day or night, there are counselors serving patients, online.
Does online counseling reduce conventional barriers?
Reducing psychological barriers adds to the effectiveness of counseling. Especially with a younger generation, the comfort zone of opening up online is much more appealing than in person. In person, individuals attempt to control how others perceive them. This can mislead others to read the true person, and can even mislead counselors as well. However, studies show that online sessions diminish the need to control perceptions. This enables patients not only to open up more, but much more easily also. Therefore, the therapeutic effect of counseling is more effective and progresses at a much greater rate.
Are online counselors qualified to treat patients?
Are you wondering, "How do I choose an online counselor? Most online counseling Websites provide a vast array of counselors to choose from. A profile and education background write-up is provided for each online counselor. A patient may choose one counselor based o n demographics such as age, gender, and even gauging the facial features of a profile picture. Other patients may be persuaded to choose a counselor based on education and experience. Either way, a patient usually can try out the online service for about 15 minutes before they are charged. Patients can easily change counselors or perhaps use a variety of counselors for a variety of issues. Although it isn’t recommended to use a combination of counselors, some situations render it.
What do the counselor's say about it?
In a recent discussions with my counselor, I prodded her about her candid thoughts regarding online counseling. Her response was that it's a big interest in the field and hot topic at  the conferences that she has attended, in the past two years. The issues of uncertainty are the ethical aspect, which are concerns about privacy. She mentioned that a therapist's computer could get hacked by an outside third party or even the therapist's child who could log on and counsel a patient. Scary thought, but it's a possibility. Another comment that she made was that in a counseling session, 80% of a patients communication is nonverbal. Hence, there would be a huge portion of communication eliminated in the counseling process. Who's to say that you can trust nonverbal communication anyway, or can you trust it better than verbal?
Weighing the pros and cons between conventional counseling and online counseling.
Overall, online counseling has many pros and few cons. Depending on the situation, many cases can be counseled via the internet. Some sever cases are probably better off handled in the conventional setting. Whether you prefer not to leave the house, or you’re on the fly, online counseling is a convenient method available all the time.
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