Advantages And Disadvantages Of Online Counselling

Online counselling has increasing gained popularity in the 21st century with technologically savvy children, youth, and adults. As traditional face to face counselling was sought in the past, online counselling provides a new option for clients who do not feel comfortable with the traditional counselling ways. Kate Dunn, a senior counsellor at the University of Portsmouth, states that “technological approaches have developed relatively slowly and are sometimes viewed with suspicions and fear, but there is increasing interest in discovering whether online interventions may, in fact, offer innovative opportunities for the development of unique client/counselling relationships” (2012) Even though as Dunn states, there are some disadvantages

Depression, school and anxiety issues, identity formation, and body image are some of the reasons why children and youth will not seek help with face to face interactions with counsellors. Most youth will seek help from alternative support people such as friends or parents. It is further noted that fear of possible gossip or social exclusion inhibits youth from seeking outside help in their communities. (Glasheen, Shochet, & Campbell, 2015). However, research has shown that “online interaction often leads to early disclosure of personal information and may, in fact, mean that the usual length of rapport building may be reduced” (Glasheen et al, p. 110, 2015) resulting in fewer sessions and greater satisfaction among children and youth. Moreover, sexuality was more likely discussed in online counselling over face to face counselling as the usual stigma associated with sexuality had decreased because of the anonymous factor (Glasheen et al, 2015). Anonymity influences and heightens trust among the counsellor/client relationship (Dunn, 2012) allowing for more realistic and pressuring issues to arise. For example, Roy and Gilbert (2008)