Why Online Counseling?
When I decided to choose the line of psychology and become a therapist, I never thought I’ll one day advocate Online Counseling. To be very honest, in our time there was no field called as online counseling. Technology was still finding its place at that time. I had the full intention of becoming a traditional counselor and I did so too. Gradually I started hearing the term ” online counseling” and I thought must be a way of fooling people. My personal belief was no proper certified psychologist will do this. I found it below my level!
And as they say a little knowledge is dangerous, it made me naïve and think like a fool.Today, after gaining some knowledge in this field, I am at a very different stage . I started online counseling as a way of helping someone, who was just not in a situation to come out and look for a therapist. It started because there was no other alternative but became one of my biggest tool today. So, here I am with the reasons why I find online counseling an emerging way of helping those, who really need it but can’t get it in the traditional face to face way. Lets start with what in the first place counseling is ? Here is a power point to shed some light on the definition of counseling:
This was about counseling and why do we need it.
Now there could be two situations pertaining to this : you need something and you go ahead and fulfill it but many times, due to various reasons there are issues which hinders you achieving your need. Same goes for counseling, lets talk about the different issues which can make the conventional face to face counseling difficult for a person :
Lack of resources : In our country finding a trained qualified therapist is a tough job. You recognise the need for counseling and try to find a therapist but it becomes difficult and gradually you leave hope. The extra stress of looking for a counselor,who really can help is something which only adds to your misery.
The taboo of visiting a shrink : ” Oh my God, is everything alright?”, ” Do you want to share with me about it”, “Are you crazy?” are some general reactions and apart from these questions there are also the judgmental looks to go through. You really need to be superhuman to not to be bothered by them.
Busy schedule: sometime you just are so occupied that finding time becomes an issue. You want to see a therapist but when?
No travelling time & stress: India has many great things to boast of but traffic is not one of them and if you’re in one of the big cities, God bless you!
Being in your comfort zone: If you’re troubled, going to an alien place feels traumatic. Just the security of being in your house give you the courage of starting the process. I have known so many people who have made the phone call but when the time came to visit the therapist, they just were not able to do so.
These are my general reasons of trying to prove that online counseling can be a good way for people who needs counseling but unable to reach out to a therapist’s center but now the million dollar question is ” What is online counseling and how is it carried out?”
It is actually very simple and straightforward.Online counseling is the provision of professional counseling services concerns via the Internet. Services are typically offered via email,real-time chat, and video conferencing.
So, the different medium of video conferencing could be:
A very good way which has emerged for group therapy & self-help groups is Google+ hangouts.
This was a glimpse of online therapy and what it has to offer. I am sure it must be a great feeling to know that YOU HAVE OPTIONS!
If this article has left you with questions brewing in your mind…Go ahead and ask, it is not going to hurt anyone 🙂
Unwrapping Minds 