Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology What is the Place of Innovative ICT Uses in School Counseling?

With our ever-changing society there seems to be more pressures on young people. Recent epidemiological studies in Australia have found that adolescent mental health is an important public health problem (Sawyer et al., 2001). As many as one in five Australian children aged from 4 to 17 have significant mental health concerns (Zubrick, Silburn, Burton, & Blair, 2000). However, only one in four young people receive professional help (Sawyer, et al., 2001). Schools in Australia provide school counselors to assist students, yet many young people do not avail themselves of this service. However, young people do seek help from telephone help-lines (in 2002 almost 1.1 million phone calls were made to Kids Help Line) and from the Internet (Kids Help Line, 2003a). Perhaps more anonymous forms of counseling, such as cybercounseling, could deliver a more effective service within a school setting. The difficulties and benefits of school based webcounseling are discussed in terms of therapeutic, ethical and legal issues, as well as technical problems and recent research outcomes.