"Out beyond ideas of right-doing and wrong-doing, there is a field. Will you meet me there?Ó-- Rumi

What Is E-Counseling?

E-counseling is an exciting, new method of helping people work through life issues. It is very different from traditional in-person therapy yet it can help people address many different issues of concern under the guidance of a professional.
    Online counseling uses the colors and textures of language together with the strong developing relationship between the client and therapist to help bring about positive change in the client's life.
   It reaches out to many people who might never otherwise seek professional mental health services and offers a valuable new modality to people with concerns about mobility, self-consciousness, lack of local services, and a number of other issues. It can offer help to people that the complex and fragmented mental health service delivery system leaves out.
    Many different types of issues can be explored and resolved using this vehicle. From stress management to philosophical issues, from relationship challenges to mood disorder management, the Internet allows clients and professionals to use the richness of human language to communicate with considerable depth and effectiveness.
    Although using the Internet does create special security risks, online counseling may also provide types of confidentiality that are more difficult to achieve in traditional face-to-face work. As therapeutic change can occur in a relatively anonymous context a level of security that cannot be matched in the real world may be provided. There are no desktops, no insurance filings, no third party viewing.
    Online counseling may provide faster change than traditional therapy because clients may tend to get to the point more quickly and spend less time on in-session socializing. Further, the online modality may promote greater projection and psychodynamic characteristic which can enhance the potency of the process.
    When the delayed communication approach is chosen, the client and therapist can fully reflect on the issues presented in the previous correspondance. This allows the client to wrestle with the depth and breadth of the issues without listening to he clock ticking or wrestling with the awkwardness of having to respond quickly. The e-mail time lag called 'the zone of reflection' and it can provide just that.
    Further, just the act of writing down your thoughts and feelings can be cathartic. Journaling can provide an opportunity for less inhibited communication than speaking face to face. With this medium, you can share in whatever way works best for you and choose your own time. You can set your own pace.
    With e-counseling, clients can get right down to business very effectively. There are no distractions. Tme that in face to face therapy might be eaten up with social conversation, can be used to get down to the real issues.

What E-Counseling Is Not:

E-counseling is not psychotherapy nor is it counseling. It should not be compared to person- to- person psychotherapy or counseling and is not a substitute for either modality. As it is limited by the absence of face-to-face cueing, e-counseling cannot provide complete diagnostic services.
    As nonverbal cues are lacking, interpretation is not always accurate with text-based communication.
    To date, it is not a well-researched psychological modality, and therefore, it has relatively little data supporting its effectiveness. It is experimental and by working with me over the internet, you are participating in an experiment.
    Online counseling is not a cure-all or solution to everybodys' problems. It is not appropriate for people in the midst of serious crises.
    It cannot provide effective emergency services. Therefore, at the very beginning of e-counseling, clients must take responsibility for locating their local emergency services providers and committing to contacting them should they find themselves in a clinical emergency (thinking of hurting themselves or someone else or feeling out of control and unable to function).
    It is not appropriate for clients who are suicidal, or deeply disturbed.
    It is different from many visits to a medical doctor in that it requires you, the client, to work on this problem during and between sessions.
    Unless clients discuss this with their primary therapists first, it is not suitable for clients already in therapy with another practitioner.

"You are love itself - when you are not afraid.Ó
Sri Nisargadatta Maharai,      I Am That