Confronting the Challenges of Therapy Online:

The number of counselling services delivered via the Internet is growing rapidly. Several advantages of Internet-based counselling services as compared with traditional methods have been identified. However, the behavioural health community has also raised many concerns. These concerns focus on a lack of ethical standards, an absence of procedural protocols, and a dearth of evidence to support the effectiveness of online counselling. The authors therefore initiated a pilot project to devise a method of providing ethical counselling via email. In collaboration with the National Board for Certified Counselors, the NBCC Standards for the Ethical Practice of WebCounseling were established. One year after receiving counselling via e-mail, a single client was interviewed to obtain a consumer’s perspective of the concerns raised within the counselling profession. Procedural protocols were refined to reduce or eliminate the concerns expressed. Favourable anecdotal evidence for the effectiveness of e-mail counselling was obtained.