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Online counseling is where a professional psychologist or counselor provides mental health services using the internet. This modern counseling method is conducted via email, real time chat, video conferencing and voice-over-IP. The low rates and high speed bandwidth have increased the number of internet users in many parts of the world, allowing mental health providers a new forum to help populations to resolve life and relationship issues.

Benefits of Online Counseling

• —     Online counseling offers convenience because it allows instant communication between you and the mental health professional.

• —     Many different topics can be addressed from interpersonal relationships to stress management.

• —     It does not matter where you are geographically located. You can access online counselors from any of your internet connected devices.

• —     The internet medium by itself can be used in the privacy of one’s home, and this is a plus for online counseling. Considering the subject matter, you can comfortably get mental health counseling from your easy chair.

•      Online therapy sessions give you time to reflect and come up with questions to get the most out of your program.

• —Another advantage of the internet is that it provides anonymity to the user. This works for online counseling because it allows you to be more willing to disclose personal and private information which is important towards successful therapy.

• Online counseling is reasonably less expensive than traditional methods like face to face office meetings

• —When you use words to note down and phrase your problems, feelings, thoughts and issues, this increases the value you get out of counseling. Typing is just as good as writing with pen and paper.
• — Most face to face counseling sessions may be limited to special appointments but online counseling is not restricted in the same way.
• —Online counseling can be used together with traditional face to face sessions.

 Though there are many benefits to online counseling, there are those in the mental health industry who believe that it cannot work independently as a replacement for face to face therapy. It is believed that online counselors cannot effectively deal with serious mental issues like suicidal thoughts or psychotic episodes. It is also argued that online counseling cannot provide effective assistance for someone who is at risk of being abused physically like in the case of a marriage in crisis due to domestic violence.