Online Counseling

Providers and consumers of mental health services are increasingly making use of the internet to gather information, consult, and participate in psychotherapy. This Handbook gives practical insight into how professionals can translate their practice to an online medium. Divided into four sections, section one provides an overview of how the internet has become an integral part of people's lives, and the research to date on the use and effectiveness of counseling online, as well as idiosyncrasies of online behavior and communication. Section two discusses the "practical" aspects of counseling online, including technological issues, ethical and legal issues, and business issues. Section three focuses on performing psychotherapy online, including online treatment strategies and skills, working with online groups, online testing and assessment, and international and multicultural issues in online counseling. The last section discusses the future of online counseling. The Handbook is intended for those professionals interested in the burgeoning telehealth movement and to those practicing therapists looking for ways to expand their practices online and/or to help round out treatment to specific patients who might benefit from online therapy in addition to traditional delivery.

"This book offers a collection of case studies and research from around the globe, comparing and contrasting instructional design and guidance methods from developed and developing countries alike"--Provided by publisher.

This text takes the area of counselling practice and systematically reviews relevant counselling theory, counselling ethics, and counselling skills in relation to web counselling. It will be of interest to professionals working in the field of career counselling.

"An enjoyable book that helps to bring counselling into the 21st century. Kate and DeeAnna have played a significant role in the development of online therapy and their enthusiasm for the subject matter, and experience as trainers and practitioners, comes through in this informative text." Terry Hanley, Director of MA in Counselling, University of Manchester The plethora of online services now available has led to a growing demand for practitioners to look beyond traditional face-to-face therapy and take advantage of the flexibility which email and the Internet can offer them and their clients. This guide gives up-to-the minute information and research, ethical and legal advice, on the practicalities of setting up or joining a service, and the essential therapeutic skills needed to be an effective online therapist. Writing for an international audience, the authors discuss the issues for practitioners using the Internet today, as well as in the future. Basing their study on published empirical research, they address: - text-based therapeutic interventions such as email, Internet Relay Chat and forums, from the perspective of different theoretical orientations, illustrated with a full length case study - new Ethical Framework for using Technology in Mental Health - online supervision, online research; group therapy online - the "business" of setting up in private practice or e-clinics - other therapeutic uses of technology including use of video therapy, mobile SMS, telephone therapy, Virtual Reality environments, gaming and computerised CBT. The authoritative guide to all aspects of being an online therapist, this practical text is a vital addition to any therapist's library. It will also be valuable reading for anyone training to be a counsellor or psychotherapist in our increasingly 'electronic' world.

"An enjoyable book that helps to bring counselling into the 21st century. Kate and DeeAnna have played a significant role in the development of online therapy and their enthusiasm for the subject matter, and experience as trainers and practitioners, comes through in this informative text." Terry Hanley, Director of MA in Counselling, University of Manchester The plethora of online services now available has led to a growing demand for practitioners to look beyond traditional face-to-face therapy and take advantage of the flexibility which email and the Internet can offer them and their clients. This guide gives up-to-the minute information and research, ethical and legal advice, on the practicalities of setting up or joining a service, and the essential therapeutic skills needed to be an effective online therapist. Writing for an international audience, the authors discuss the issues for practitioners using the Internet today, as well as in the future. Basing their study on published empirical research, they address: - text-based therapeutic interventions such as email, Internet Relay Chat and forums, from the perspective of different theoretical orientations, illustrated with a full length case study - new Ethical Framework for using Technology in Mental Health - online supervision, online research; group therapy online - the "business" of setting up in private practice or e-clinics - other therapeutic uses of technology including use of video therapy, mobile SMS, telephone therapy, Virtual Reality environments, gaming and computerised CBT. The authoritative guide to all aspects of being an online therapist, this practical text is a vital addition to any therapist's library. It will also be valuable reading for anyone training to be a counsellor or psychotherapist in our increasingly 'electronic' world.

This book gives an insight into virtual as well as multimedia possibilities for professional applications, scientifically based concepts, competence development and ethical guidelines. Case studies are used to illustrate the multimedia-based, virtual implementation of systemic solution-oriented support processes. The interweaving of virtual coaching with training modules takes into account the latest trends in continuing education. For this, provider platforms and tools must meet certain requirements to ensure safety and professionalism.

Online Counselor Education: A Guide for Students is an all-new guide for online students in counselor education programs. Students in online environments face a number of challenges that could put them at a disadvantage unless they have a resource to help guide them through some of the confusing aspects of an online environment. Such challenges include the lack of understanding surrounding graduate school performance expectations, balancing graduate school and life, the inability to connect with community members and local field agencies, and various other aspects unique to an online environment. This text from Carl J. Sheperis and R.J. Davis will help students through these challenges and act as an invaluable resource.

Using a novel approach to consider the available literature and research, this book focuses on the psychology of social media based on the assumption that the experience of being in a social media has an impact on both our identity and social relationships. In order to ‘be online’, an individual has to create an online presence – they have to share information about themselves online. This online self is presented in different ways, with diverse goals and aims in order to engage in different social media activities and to achieve desired outcomes. Whilst this may not be a real physical presence, that physicality is becoming increasingly replicated through photos, video, and ever-evolving ways of defining and describing the self online. Moreover, individuals are using both PC-based and mobile-based social media as well as increasingly making use of photo and video editing tools to carefully craft and manipulate their online self. This book therefore explores current debates in Cyberpsychology, drawing on the most up-to-date theories and research to explore four main aspects of the social media experience (communication, identity, presence and relationships). In doing so, it considers the interplay of different areas of psychological research with current technological and security insight into how individuals create, manipulate and maintain their online identity and relationships. The social media are therefore at the core of every chapter, with the common thread throughout being the very unique approach to considering diverse and varied online behaviours that may not have been thus far considered from this perspective. It covers a broad range of both positive and negative behaviours that have now become integrated into the daily lives of many westernised country’s Internet users, giving it an appeal to both scholarly and industry readers alike.