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.
