Online Therapy

Online Therapy

Online therapy, which is also called e-therapy, or e-counseling has become a new modernization in mental health therapy. When using online therapy a person receives his or her therapy from a counselor or a therapist whom offers psychological encouragement and guidance via the Internet. Therapy is given through Internet phone, chat, e-mail or video conferencing. Therapy is thriving on the Internet through websites offering it. This essay will assess and give details on the content of three online therapy sites. This writer will discuss the ethical and security issues involved with online therapy, what the professional associations and state regulatory board thinks of online therapy and the advantages and disadvantages of individuals using online therapy.

Online Therapy Sites Evaluated

The first online therapy site visited was Pass Online Therapy, Pass stands for Panic, Anxiety, and Stress Society. Pass is an online community dedicated to helping individuals overcome personal issues through peer connectedness and professional therapy (Pass, nd). Pass has 38 qualified and experienced therapists who share encouragement, experiences, and strategies via the newest online technologies, including live chat, blogs, webcams, and thoroughly developed personal profiles. The therapist qualifications range from Licensed Social Workers to Psychotherapists he or she helps clients with issues, such as anxiety, eating disorders, self esteem, grief, teen depression, addictions, sexuality issues, workplace abuse, etc. Each therapist's licenses and credentials are verified through background check, and pertain to the specialization of therapy give on this site. The technology Pass ensures private communication between the client and therapist, any information provided by the client is encrypted on secure servers. Pass does not share any information with third parties.

The second online therapy site visited was Ask the Internet Therapist. Ask the Internet Therapists provides an array of mental health counseling online through e-mail, telephone, audiovisual, telephone, and chat. The therapists and mental health counselors are qualified in the areas of e-therapy, psychiatry, professional coaching, family therapy, career development, substance abuse counseling, psychology, family medicine, holistic nutrition, and chiropractic medicine (Ask the Internet Therapist, 1998). Each therapist is licensed with a link to direct one to the proof of his or her license. The licenses range from license social worker to doctor of philosophy.

The third online therapy site visited was Online-Therapy.com. Online-Therapy.com's staff includes cognitive behavioral therapists, consultant therapists, practitioners, and support staff, the staff works together to provide his or her clients with quality online therapy (Online-Therapy.com, 2009). Online-Therapy.com offers an eight-week therapy program that consists of weekly sessions, daily therapist feedback, worksheets, live chat, forums, mobile access and tests are given to monitor a client's progress. Online-Therapy.com provides counseling in addiction, agoraphobia, anger, anxiety, depression, stress, weight loss, and so on. There are approximately 343 therapists from all over the world working as therapists. It is stated on the website that every therapist is qualified, his or her qualifications range from Bachelor's degree in Psychology to doctor of philosophy. There is no proof of showing the licensing of any therapist on the website.

Informed Consent

According to Online Institute (Nd), online therapy practitioners performing counseling, therapy, or consultation services via electronic means must obtain an informed consent from any individual requesting his or her services. The practitioner must obtain the informed consent early in treatment, and in the language easily understood by the client. The informed consent explains the reason for therapy, course of treatment, the organization's fees, and the limits of confidentiality and the involvement of any third parties.

Confidentiality

Whenever there is development in technology there is always issues with security and ethical problems. Online therapy is no different; there are concerns if online therapy is helpful for clients. It has been questioned if a client can provide a therapist with an informed consent, also there is no way to monitor a chat session to prove the person a client is talking to is a professional therapist.

Pass Online Therapy, Ask the Internet Therapist, and Online-Therapy.com all state that their websites pages handles sensitive and personal information, this information is SSL encrypted for maximum security. This includes their email,