Online Counseling – New technology is not easily accepted by the public. Some big innovations like Google, Amazon, or Facebook used to be underestimated. This also applies to online counseling.
Indonesian society seems not to fully believe in the combination of technology and psychology. Doubts arise about the effectiveness of counseling via online applications in resolving client problems.
Online Counseling Begins from Counselor’s Good Intention in Reaching Their Needing Clients
The initiative of online counseling began with telephone counseling in 1994. Advances in communication technology made it easier for counselors to provide counseling services to people in need.
At that time, the telephone counseling service was aimed at people who were in remote locations and did not have professional counseling services. In addition, people who cannot leave their homes because of certain physical conditions are also helped through this service. They can get the help they need without having to leave home.
Professionally Managed, You Don’t Need to Be Afraid To Release Your Problems
The development of counseling practices through telephone and internet has made counselors aware of the need for professional institutions that facilitate this counseling practice. In the late 1990s, the International Society for Mental Health Online (ISMHO) formed an organization that promoted the use and development of online technology for mental health professionals.
In addition to the formation of this professional organization, professional organizations of psychologists and counselors in the United States, Britain, Canada, and Australia each has issued guidelines related to online counseling practices in a professional manner. The guide is intended to explain the authority, duties, and practice guidelines for counselors.
Behind the Success of Online Counseling, There are Best Practices of Narrative Therapy
In her review, Jeannie Wright, a counseling expert in the UK, explained that the success of online counseling in solving client problems was partly due to narrative therapy. Narrative therapy is a therapeutic method in which the client makes expressive and reflective writing about his life story.
In this counseling session, clients write their problems in the text. The process of writing the text makes the client arrange words and sentences to suit what he wants to express. This then makes the client reflect his life experience more closely. And again, the counselor in charge also guides the client to reflect on his life experience by reviewing the chat history between the client and counselor.
Online counseling can be a practical solution for those in need. Although there are some needs that must be met with face-to-face, online counseling can be used as a complement in solving the problems of human life quickly and efficiently. Let’s try online counseling with RILIV right now, because no one understands you like we do!
Reference
- Chester, A. and Glass, C. A. (2006) ‘Online counselling: A descriptive analysis of therapy services on the Internet’, British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, pp. 145–160. doi: 10.1080/03069880600583170.
- Oravec, J. A. (2000) ‘Online counselling and the Internet: Perspectives for mental health care supervision and education’, Journal of Mental Health, 9(2), pp. 121–135.
- Wright, J. (2002) ‘Online counselling: Learning from writing therapy’, British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, pp. 285–298. doi: 10.1080/030698802100002326.
Handy is a shamelessly rebellious researcher. He is currently working on adapting psychological scales into Indonesian. Reach him out via insta @handy.et.al
Translated by Sabrina Rizkahil. A green tea addict.
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