Service

Welcome to Online Counselling with the Privacy of Email

What is Online Counselling

Online counselling is the process of interacting with a therapist online in an ongoing series of conversations over time. Some individuals choose to have only a few email exchanges with a therapist and others develop a relationship with a therapist by writing emails back and forth. Developing a therapeutic relationship, whether online or in-person, leads to a deeper exploration on issues. Your online therapy experience will be about your needs and what you need to talk about.

Benefits of Online Counselling

Online counselling can help you cope with life problems that affect men and women of all ages. These can include adjustments to difficult situations such as life transitions, loneliness, chronic or life threatening illnesses, and relationship conflicts. On the other hand, you may be experiencing marital problems, family conflict, or loss and grief following death, pregnancy loss, separation, or divorce. You may also have experienced some kind of abuse, which may include child abuse, sex abuse, domestic abuse, and/or substance abuse.

When many changes happen together in clusters, the result may be emotional overload. You may feel overwhelmed, and need some time to reflect and re-organise your life. Counselling through email can be one way of finding that feedback to help get you back on track with your life, work through issues and feel less helpless.

Patient Rights

• You have a right to expect privacy and confidentiality in therapy.
• You need to know that no outsider is listening in and that anything you say stays between you and your therapist.
• As you begin to feel safe with your counsellor, you may begin to talk about some painful things, therefore, you should be able to know that your therapist will not pass judgment on you, or repulsed by anything you say, no matter how awful.
• You should feel that your therapist would not react negatively, even if you become enraged.
• Your therapist should respond to you therapeutically, allowing all your feelings, good and bad, to be released.
• To have records protected by confidentiality and not be revealed to anyone without written authorization.
• To be treated in a manner that is ethical and free from abuse, discrimination, mistreatment, and/or exploitation.
• To be afforded privacy.
• Confidentiality may only be broken under the following conditions
  • If the therapist has knowledge of child or elder abuse
  • If the therapist has knowledge of the client’s intent to harm oneself or others
  • If the therapist receives a court order to the contrary
  • If the client enters into litigation against the therapist
  • During regular supervision cases are discussed, however names and personal details are not disclosed.

I will provide a safe environment and be a companion who will join you in the experience with understanding and patience, but without judging you. If you’d like to try email counselling now, just visit Getting Started.

What to say and where to begin

If you are unsure what to say or where to begin, you can use the following as a guide. Briefly describe:

• the present situation or problem; examples are helpful
• some background
• how you have dealt with it
• what you think and feel about it
• your questions for me

Are you in a Crisis

E-therapy is not suitable for everyone’s needs. It is not suitable for diagnosing or treating psychiatric illness. It is not an effective means of responding to crises such as: suicidal or homicidal feelings.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, you may need help immediately. Online therapists usually cannot respond to an urgent e-mail in less than 24 hours. That may be too long for you to wait.

Take yourself seriously

If you are experiencing intense emotional distress and need immediate response you must seek help immediately.

There are people out there who can be with you in this horrible time, and will not judge you, or argue with you, or send you to a hospital, or try to talk you out of how badly you feel. They will simply care for you. Find one of them. Now. Tell someone what’s going on with you. It is okay to ask for help. Don’t give yourself the additional burden of trying to deal with this alone. Just talking about how you got to where you are, releases an awful lot of the pressure, and it might be just the additional coping resource you need to regain your balance.

GET OFF THE COMPUTER AND PICK UP THE PHONE.

Emergency Numbers

The following numbers may assist you if you are currently suicidal or experiencing an emergency.

• AUSTRALIA
  • Lifeline - Phone 13 11 14 for crisis support when feeling suicidal or if you need to talk to someone immediately.
  • Kids Help Line - Phone 1800 55 1800.
  • SANE Helpline - Phone 1800 18 7263 for help during business hours.
• NEW ZEALAND
  • Life Line 24 hour telephone counselling ph free on 0800 543 354
  • Youthline 24 hour crisis counselling ph free 0n 0800-376-633
  • Kidsline 24 hours Kidsline  (for 9-13 year olds) 0800 543754
• UNITED KINGDOM
  • SANEline, on 0845 767 8000. The helpline is open from 6.00pm until 11.00pm every day of the year.
  • Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 They can be contacted by phone 24 hours a day.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Therapy

The advantages include:

• You may feel more comfortable writing about your problems than talking about them. And since the counselors advice is in writing you are able to refer back to it
• You may write about what is bothering you sooner than if you were talking - this can bring faster resolutions to problems
• For most online clients, the relative anonymity of email counselling relaxes them and encourages them to go into far greater depth, exploring the really tough issues that need to be dealt with.

The disadvantages include:

• Some problems cannot be resolved online especially in an emergency
• Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed over the internet especially if your only access to a computer is at work, an internet café, or public library, or any other environment where other people have access to the same equipment.