Is Distance Counseling Effective?
Yes. Clients and counselors report that it is. Distance counseling tends to be solution-focused, collaborative and somewhat akin to coaching.
As the field evolves, more and more positive reports appear in print.
'Cybercounseling,' as it is commonly known, has been around for a number of years now and has helped tens of thousands of people deal with a variety of common problems. In fact, since 1999, the members of the American Counseling Association, the nation's largest organization of counseling professionals, have adhered to a set of ethical standards specifically created to guide counselors providing counseling via the Internet."
We are also beginning to see published research confirming the field reports. For example:
In January of 2006, the Journal of Mental Health Counseling reported:
"Clients reported experiencing strong alliances with their online therapists and also reported disinhibition effects. Therefore, despite the loss of nonverbal cues available in online counseling, the therapeutic alliances were nevertheless effectively established."
In April of 2007, the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology published a study of 393 depressed adults who had just started taking antidepressants. The results:
Participants who received 10-12 phone therapy sessions from trained counselors over a year, in addition to the drugs, showed a significantly greater improvement in depression symptoms than those who only received the drugs. Participants and counselors never met in person. "We were surprised at how well the positive effects were maintained over time," said researcher Everette Ludman PhD.
Next: What are the Benefits of Distance Counseling?