In these tough times when everybody is too busy with their personal and private lives there comes a time when everybody finds themselves in a situation where they need someone to talk to about their issues. At any point in time we all need someone who is all ears to our problems without passing judgement.
There are many benefits of online counselling. Having someone available who can listen to your problems and provide some guidance is truly valuable.
There are multiple benefits that go with counselling as it can help deal with issues that are the root cause of your worries. It definitely helps you understand yourself better and achieve your goals.Moreover, people find it helpful and easy to vent out to a person who has education and experience in dealing with the issues people often struggle with but counselling is always effective.
However, everyone do not have the access to a professional counselor as some people live in places where it is difficult to find mental health professionals. In addition to it there is lack of public mental health services. Sometimes people with any kind of disability find it difficult to get access to a mental health counselor. Therefore, online counseling comes out as a perfect alternative. Online counselling can be very effective for a variety of clinical issues.
Types of online counselling
Online counselling is a great solution to many common mental health issues. Counselling for anxiety problems, depression, stress management, career and relationship issues are some of the issues that are taken care of during the session. As online counselling can be done from anywhere, at any point in time thus, it is considered as very convenient.
Online counselling is of two types called the live counselling and asynchronous counselling. Live counselling is when the client meets the therapist through video conferencing. Another method allows a person or the therapist to text back and forth at the same time.
Asynchronous online counselling is when a client sends messages to the therapist and the therapist uses the same way to respond back. The preference of these methods is based on personal preference and convenience.
Writing an email to your therapist can work as a healing balm. Sometimes when individuals are going through a difficult situation in their lives like joining a new job, losing a job, retirement, divorce, or the demise in the family, then writing down about your state of mind can have a tremendous positive effect as it helps in alleviating one’s feelings.
Benefits of online Counselling
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Accessibility
People in rural or remote areas get easy access to mental health therapists online. Those who live in rural areas have limited or sometimes no mental health counsellor in their particular location. Online therapy gives access to treatment that these individuals might not avail.
Apart from that web counseling also turns out to be effective in case of teenagers and children. It is encouraging children and teenagers to receive therapy as they are more comfortable in using the internet than the elders.
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Helpful to People with physical limitations
Online therapy provides accessibility to individuals who are disabled or have physical limitations of any sorts. Mobility can be a big issue to these people thus, online accessibility is an easy path for them to seek advice for their problems.
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Convenience and Affordability
Online therapy is very affordable and convenient for its seekers. Since it is done from the comfort of your own home, you can easily schedule your therapy sessions at your most convenient time.
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Makes information more accessible
The online counseling makes mental health information easily accessible. People may feel uncomfortable talking to mental health concerns compared to his/her friends and family about health care issues.
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It Can Also Be an Educational Tool
Online therapy can help people learn more about psychological health and can help you become psychologically stronger. This helps you learn about health behaviors and strategies that help in coping up with psychological issues. Thus, online counselling for psychological issues is imperative.
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Convenience
It is a convenient way to get the therapy as both the therapist and the client have the convenience of corresponding with each other. This makes the sessions hassle free as there is no problem relating to the scheduling of appointments that is more prevalent and more common in traditional settings.
This also provides an opportunity to both the therapist and the client to reach a larger geographical region and the therapist has the opportunity to reach out to a large number of people.
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Affordability
Web counseling by any means does not fall heavily on the pocket of the client as well as the therapist. Sometimes the therapists cannot afford to rent commercial space. This definitely lowers the overhead expenses like the costs of capital, property, commuting and administration procedures and in the same way can be a money saver for the client as well.
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Social stigma
Online counseling is also a smart move to eliminate the social stigma attached to its therapy. It is good for those who feel uncomfortable visiting the counseling centre. It may also allow the client to feel less embarrassed. Thus, online counseling offers anonymity to the client and helps them to seek assistance without hesitation.
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Anonymity
As the client and the therapist are not in direct contact with each other and there is no face to face contact which gives the client the freedom to communicate more openly. They do not have to worry about concerns like bias of race, gender, age, size or physical appearance. This increases the level of honesty and therefore the therapist can expect higher validity in the case of self disclosure. Online counseling definitely offers anonymity that is not at all threatening in any way to the client.
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Variant ways to communicate
This is the most suitable way of expression as many clients find it difficult to express their concerns in words. Most communication in online counseling happens in written form via emails or a chat room. This allows both the client and the therapist to pay close attention to their communication and pay heed to their thoughts and feelings before expressing. It is a very good way to get healed emotionally as it encourages the clients to express themselves in a more thoughtful, self reflective and insightful manner.
