Bshs 352 - online Therapy

Online Therapy Paper

Taunya P Oversby

March 19, 2012

BSHS 352 - University of Phoenix

Kari M. Siemieniewski, MSW, LCSW

Online Therapy

Therapy has been a mainstay in helping people for many years. Traditionally, therapy has occurred in the privacy of the therapist's office. With the invention of technology, therapy has seen some interesting changes. Now, a person in need of therapy can simply hit a few keys on a computer keyboard and bring up any number of online therapy options. Therapy has evolved from just being available through a scheduled appointment that takes place in the office to emails and live chats that can be done from the privacy of the client's home or even his or her office.

This paper will review three online therapy sites, Serenity Online Therapy, eTherapistsOnline, and Online-Therapy. The content of each site will be discussed along with the professionals involved and how the online interaction occurs between the therapist and the client. This paper will also discuss security and ethical issues and my personal opinions about the advantages and disadvantages of online therapy.

Serenity Online Therapy

The first online therapy site is Serenity Online Therapy. The site offers Online Counseling in the form of Chat Therapy and Email Counseling. Mr. Carl Benedict is the therapist who offers his services to clients thru the Serenity Online Therapy website. Mr. Benedict's philosophy of counseling states that he believes in the inherent wisdom in each person. He feels that he can help the client "discover, or rediscover, the wisdom that already resides within you" (Benedict, 2012). Mr. Benedict states that he actively listens to the client in order to understand his or her life. He offers his clients insights and teaches skills that are designed to help the client understand and manage their feelings so they are able to make better decisions. (Benedict, 2012).

The services, chat therapy and email counseling, can be done individually or together. Appointments are set up for chat therapy and it is a one-on-one, private conversation that takes place in a secure chat room. Chat therapy is the therapist and the client "chatting" with each other in real-time via the internet. This allows for immediate feedback and interaction. Fees for chat therapy range in price from $50 for one 60 minute therapy session up to $225 for five 60 minute sessions.

Email counseling is done through sending email back and forth between Mr. Benedict and the client. Feedback and interaction for email counseling is delayed for email counseling but this allows the client to take all the time the need to type out what the client wants to express. It also gives the client time to review and process what Mr. Benedict has written back in response to his or her questions and concerns. The fees for email counseling range in price from $50 for one email counseling submission up to $225 for five email counseling submissions.

Mr. Benedict has his credentials listed on the website to include a copy of his current Clinical Professional Counselor license. He is licensed in Maryland to diagnose and treat mental disorders. He also lists he educations and his counseling experience. He also states that he is a member of the International Society for Mental Health Online (ISMHO) and that he adheres to the ISMHO's Suggested Principles for the Online Provision of Mental Health Services and the National Board of Certified Counselors' principles for online counseling. (Benedict, 2012)

Mr. Benedict provides information about the confidentiality of client information. He also provides information about the safety and security of the chat therapy and email counseling. He states that for his chat therapy he uses a messaging program that is password protected and uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. SSL encrypts the text that is exchanges between users. For the email counseling he uses an email service called Safe-mail that also uses SSL.

eTherapistsOnline.com

The next online therapy site is eTherapistsOnline. ETherapistsOnline is different from Serenity Online in the fact that it is a group of therapists from across the United States. The therapists are chosen based off of verified licenses in good standing, no blemishes in their records, and proof of liability insurance. The therapists also have to provide a sample email session and must have a minimum of 10 years post graduate counseling experience.

ETherapyOnline provides its clients with three types of therapy options; email, private chat, and phone sessions. A pre-session form is required in order to determine a therapist, provide information about the client, and the reason the client is seeking therapy. For email, after the session is purchased and the form is completed, the therapist will review it and respond within two business days. ETherapyOnline feels that much of the benefit of email sessions comes from the writing itself since many therapist encourage keeping a journal "to help clarify and express their thoughts" ("Online counseling," 2009). Email sessions range in price from $75 for two sessions up to $349 for 10 sessions. Clients are provided with a "free, safe, secure email account" for email session ("Online counseling," 2009).

Online chat therapy involves the initial pre-session form, purchase of a session, then meeting with the therapist in his or her virtual office at the appointed time. Phone sessions also require the initial pre-session form and the purchase of a session. Then the therapist will call the client at the appointed time and at the number the client has provided. Fees for online chat and phone sessions both range from $289 for three sessions up to $888 for 10 sessions.

Online-Theray.com

The final online therapy site is Online-Therapy.com. Online-Therapy provides a combination of email, live chat, worksheets, progress monitoring, and forums. To begin working with a therapist the client