Affiliation:
1. University of Wolverhampton, UK
Abstract
This chapter covers the broad range of online counselling work, using the COVID-19 era as a point of reference. It provides an overview of online applications of counselling and psychotherapy at pre-COVID-19 time and informs the reader of how online counselling provision has been accelerated during the pandemic. A theoretical overview of the key counselling and therapeutic processes as conceptualised in the cyberspace which considers six distinct modes of online communication are provided. An evaluation and the review of the latest efficacy and effectiveness research evidence of online counselling is also provided. The key benefits and challenges of digitalised therapeutic interventions from the clients' and therapists' perspectives covering pre and during COVID-19 are identified. Attention is drawn to existing studies on counselling engagement, adherence, outreach, non-stigmatising counselling practices, power imbalances in the counselling process, and therapy outcomes.
Reference120 articles.
1. Abbott, J.A.M., Klein, B., & Ciechomski, L. (2008). Best practices in online therapy. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 26, 360-375.
2. Agathokleous, G. (2020). Mental health clinicians’ motivation and awareness of key considerations as predictors of online therapy uses and applications (Doctoral Thesis). University of Wolverhampton. https://wlv.openrepository.com/handle/2436/623378
3. Motivation and Treatment Credibility Predicts Dropout, Treatment Adherence, and Clinical Outcomes in an Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Relaxation Program: A Randomized Controlled Trial
4. The future of online therapy
5. Using the Internet to provide cognitive behaviour therapy