Differences Between Online Counseling and Traditional Psychotherapy

·      Working with clients online has only been done for a few years; traditional psychotherapy has been practiced for decades. Online counseling is truly pioneering work, and both you and I need to remain aware that, in working together, we are doing something that is a bit experimental in nature.

·      In online counseling, I have no access to visual and auditory cues such as facial expression, body language, voice tone and volume. These cues serve as “CLUES” to tell me more about how you are feeling than just the words you use.  For example, you could tell me you were feeling fine when you were actually feeling quite depressed, and I would have no way of knowing this, whereas in face-to-face counseling, I could perhaps tell that you looked depressed even if you said you felt fine. Therefore, when you’re in online counseling, you need to disclose as much as possible about how you feel, and you must take more responsibility for yourself as a client.

·      Online counseling is less structured that face-to-face counseling.   While office sessions are usually set at once a week for 50 minutes, online counseling can take place at YOUR OWN PACE.   Most clients find they can make progress quite rapidly if we exchange emails a few times a week for several weeks or more.  However, some problems can be dealt with in only one or two email exchanges.