 Many doctors doubt online counseling effectiveness
Added: 10/13/2005 |
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Today, there are many different myths about online counseling. And even though the advantages of online psychology therapy (like, private therapy, for example, for some people it is very important to have an option of confidential therapy) have been demonstrated by numerous experiments many people are still sure that such things as online therapy and online mental health counseling are just not possible.
A new method of therapy for psychological problems has been tested over the past two or three years. It is an online therapy. This technique is getting more popular every day. And although all the methods of online counseling are rather recent, there are already several myths about them. These myths hamper the further development of online counseling technique. The main myth is about consistency of online counseling as a method of psychological therapy.
Many people are sure that online counseling just won't work. But a great number of experiments that have taken place in recent years prove the opposite. All the methods of online counseling are fruitful and effective. There are many different advantages that internet gives to the psychological therapy but still some doctors do not want to recognize these advantages. The Internet offers a wonderful opportunity to perform private therapy which is one of the greatest advantages. There are shy patients who would love to have a confidential therapy through the internet instead of a face-to-face talk.
Another huge myth is about online counseling technical possibilities. There are a huge number of people who think that only e-mail is used for online counseling. But these days the internet technology is much more developed than it was at the time of the first online counseling experiments. New sorts of multimedia communication are available and with these technologies online counseling makes it possible direct contact of medical professional with a patient or even a group of patients. Advanced technologies of virtual reality that are in developing can bring online counseling to a new level and several clinics are already experimenting with such methods.
Another great misconception is that many doctors think that online counseling does not give an ability to observe the patient which is very important in many cases. But even though when the visual contact is limited, in emotional and mental health crisis people can be treated effectively with the text based communication.
There are a smaller number of clinics that offer online services for people in depression (usually the main goal of such services is a suicides prevention) but all of them show great results. Such methods are very effective. Such sites usually have a lot of information on self-help for individuals in a crisis condition and that prevention technique works better than others.
And another great advantage of the internet that is usually not taken into account when talking about online counseling is the ability to reach the patient anywhere in the world. With the internet, geography is not relevant any more in giving services of mental therapy. And many online clinics which are interactive also offer their services almost 24 hours a day so that the patient can ask for help, advice and psychological online counseling just when it is needed. There is no need to wait any more. And in some cases (like suicide condition) time is the main factor in therapy.
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