Online Counselling UK
Online Counselling UK, 101 – The Fundamentals You Need to Know
Hello and welcome to my site, I provide online counselling, please read this informative article weighing up the pros and cons of counselling online.
And if you re in need of holistic online counselling, please email me with your requirements and I will get back to you with guidance, tailored to your needs
Mental health problems can be quite discouraging and frustrating. Among the biggest challenges in addressing mental health concerns is that attitude that people don’t have any right to feel that way and always feeling like they are alone in this world. These attitudes can make people feel embarrassed, preventing them from getting the necessary help.
Good thing that this stigma that surrounds mental health is starting to fade little by little. Through education, people now realise how important it is to reach out.
They also started to see the benefits of sharing and talking about their problems. Even if you don’t feel comfortable sharing your problems with your loved ones, there are other resources available now, including online counselling.
What is Online Counselling?
Online counselling, in its simplest definition, is a form of professional assistance done over the internet given to people who need counselling for mental health distress. This is also known in other names such as online therapy, cyber counselling, counselling webinars, cyberlearning, email counselling, e-walk-in counselling, and online communication with academic counsellors.
When referring to the internet, online counselling services are also administered via the following channels:
- Chat room assistance
- Message boards
- Live Calls
- Telephone
- Online Chat
- Voice
- Video conferencing
- Text messaging
Purposes of Online Counselling
Online counselling can help with different purposes, including the following:
- Childhood trauma
- Codependency
- Self-hate
- Alcoholism
- Marriage problems
- Dysfunctional families
- Family issues
- Alternative medicine
- Massage therapy
- Family medicine
- Anxiety
- Natural medicine
- Grief help
- Career coaching
- Nutritional advice
- Healthy relationships
- Chemical dependence
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Relationship issues
- Life transition
- Chiropractic questions
- Spiritual guidance
- Love addiction
- Co-dependence
- Substance abuse
- Low self-esteem problems
- Depression
Benefits of Online Counselling
1. Better accessibility
Accessing counselling over the internet won’t leave you feeling bound by any physical location, this also saves the hassle of building a rapport with a local counsellor, then having to break it due to a house move or any other life-altering circumstances.
Since you will need your computer or smartphone to access online counselling, this is the perfect choice for people who have limited mobility.
Counselling online is excellent for those individuals who live in places far from clinics, like those in remote or rural settings or for those who are unsatisfied with the options available in their locality.
Lastly, thanks to the help of technology, people who have hearing and visual impairments can also take advantage of online counselling and its benefits.
2. Guaranteed anonymity paves the way for better outcomes
With the use of secure messaging and chat, online counselling provides a veil of anonymity that helps people share their feelings and thoughts more explicitly. Increased disclosure and honesty helps counsellors pinpoint the underlying problems faster and address them quicker as a result. Based on reports, online counselling in some less complicated cases can result in faster healing and better outcomes for people with specific problems.
Online counselling also allows people who are wary of the social stigma often linked to receiving therapy to get the help they need.
You can access online counselling in complete privacy with no need to be seen by other people. It eliminates the worries about the prying and curious eyes of people in waiting rooms, the administrative staff, or other passersby who might see them leaving or entering a session.
3. Improved convenience
You can access online counselling no matter what time of day or night it might be and anywhere you are. It can transcend time zones and professionals can make themselves more available for an extended period of hours in their own time zone.
The whole process is done in the comforts of one’s home with numerous options available, including secure video call, phone call, or secure chat.
Some people may also feel more comfortable if they just type out their thoughts instead of directly talking about them out loud in personal interaction. This more straightforward disclosure helps counsellors and therapists guide their clients to receive better outcomes.
Online counselling UK, can help you unlock your full potential
More affordable
Online counselling and therapy are often more economical and more budget-friendly. Since therapists and counsellors don’t require physical spaces or don’t incur additional overhead costs, it allows them to provide their valuable services to people at a relatively lower price.
In addition, because of the limited hours provided by in-person therapists, counsellors, or mental health clinics, most people are required to take their time off work.
It can add up the cost as well as the stress if a person already feels stressed out and anxious.
So online therapy UK is perfect for you if you find it hard to manage your time to visit a therapist face to face.
Downsides of Online Counselling
- Lack of visual information
The non-verbal cues are notably more essential compared to verbal communication during an interaction. These give therapists more details regarding the actual thoughts and feelings of someone who shares their story. There are instances when text-based online therapy can yield erroneous results since critical details such as body language, vocal cues, or facial expressions are undetectable, which makes the counselling and therapy less effective.
I overcome this by asking the right questions and as a natural intuitive, I have always been able to get to the heart of any matter using my interpersonal skills.
- Not an option for everyone
Since online counsellors are distant from their clients, it is tricky to respond effectively and quickly when a problem happens. If a client suffers from a personal tragedy or experiences suicidal thoughts, it can become difficult or impossible for counsellors to offer direct assistance.
I am always communicative with all my clients and make myself available if need be as and when, please contact me for more details.
- Potential confidentiality and privacy risks
Even though counsellors and therapists who offer online sessions sworn to secrecy with their clients’ best interest at heart, the text-based nature of online therapy can somewhat increase the risks of information leak.
While some risk’s are present if computers in physical clinics are hacked or records are stolen, the online nature of online counselling makes hacks and privacy leaks a potential problem.
I personally make sure I use secure email and keep all files in a password protected folders on my laptop to counteract this, I always use peseduo names, identifiable by myself.
- Technological limitation
Online therapy is limited by the availability of internet connection and functionality of devices used. Phone batteries can end up dead, computers can fail, and internet connections can get weak.
All these factors can interrupt a session, thereby adding to the anxiety and stress of the person who needs help.
I always make sure I am by a reliable internet connection and do prep work before each client session.
In addition, the level of comfort of users with technology can also serve as a barrier, particularly when the process needs installation or new hardware or software needs to be learned.
Online Counselling Summary
Online counselling is growing bigger by the day. The internet is no longer for chatting with relatives and friends alone.
Even though the internet paved the way for more accessible communication through instant messaging services, chat rooms, and emails, many people also find it helpful when it comes to getting more information on mental health, such as specifics on medication and treatment of certain disorders.
It was just a matter of time before mental health resources and the availability of secure and accessible communication combined together to create what is known as online counselling.
Online therapy and counselling is a significant step towards improved accessibility and eliminating the stigma of seeking help for issues on mental health.
But, it also has its own set of limitations and is best suited for more minor problems. This is also not an alternative to traditional therapy in all situations. People suffering from more serious mental issues and illnesses are better off by seeking in-person help.
Thus, mental health practitioners and those who wish to get such services should always make themselves familiar with the benefits and downsides of this form of therapeutic approach.
On my life long journey, no one therapy or activity helped me on its own merit, in fact, I only started to heal my life once I combined various therapy, philosophies, theories and approaches.
I use a holistic and client-led approach in my online counselling sessions.
I believe that online counselling can be used alongside traditional therapy. However, I strongly recommend that if you have a mental health condition that you take advice from your Doctors and any other Health Care Professionals into a count.
While deciding on what therapies or activities are best for you to engage while you are figuring out how to balance all your personalities needs.
Click here to contact me about my online counselling services now.
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click here to read an independent article about counselling online UK now, at the guardian.com
