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What is Online Counseling?
Online counseling (sometimes called eTherapy, Cybercounseling, Cybertherapy) has been around since the dawn of the Internet but only in recent years has it grown to become not only widely accepted in medical and mental health circles, but also proven to be an effective course of action for people trying to deal with difficulties in their lives, including:
- Stress
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Anger
- Relationships
- Substance Abuse
- Loss and grief
- Parenting
StressGroup.com offers Online Counseling services utilizing Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) the most accepted and effective methods worldwide for treating many of life's difficulties and problems. These methods can be easily learned by anyone. Once you've been given these tools, you can truly become your own self-help counselor for life.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about StressGroup.com Online Counseling.
- How do I know if Online Counseling is right for me?
- What Online Counseling services do you offer?
- What's the difference between telephone counseling and email sessions?
- Is there a certain type of therapy that you engage in?
- Who provides your online counseling? What is their training?
- Are your services available anywhere in the world?
- Is online counseling the same as psychotherapy?
- What are the fees for your online counseling? How do I pay?
- Are there disadvantages to online counseling?
- Is there anyone who should NOT receive online counseling?
- Is it confidential? How do I know someone can't intercept the Email communications between us?
- What's next? How do I go about getting your online counseling services?
1. How do I know if Online Counseling is right for me?
Counseling gives you the opportunity to discuss the problem(s) in your life with a professional trained to provide you with solutions, and the ability to resolve your emotional upsets so that you ultimately feel better. The goal of all counseling is that you come away with a higher quality of life.
If you feel in a rut, stressed out, or suffer from the symptoms of conditions such as depression, anxiety, anger and rage, have relationship problems, grief issues, and more, then counseling is an excellent choice.
Online counseling has a number of distinct advantages that many people find more desirable than face-to-face counseling (or psychotherapy.)
- Comfort: A certain level of anonymity may make it easier to share your problems
- Access: The ease of access to a counselor online versus traveling to an office and the gas, traffic, time, etc. involved
- Time Constraints: hectic schedules make it difficult for some people to schedule office appointments
- Availability: online counseling avails itself to those who may otherwise be unable to receive it, such as the disabled, infirmed, or live in a remote area
- Therapeutic: Email counseling gives you the opportunity to write out your thoughts, taking time to think them out along the way. This often helps you to give clarification to your feelings and organize your thoughts.
- Cost-effective: Many people cannot afford face-to-face psychotherapy, and many therapists do not take insurance. Online counseling is usually a more affordable alternative to office counseling.
Some people also find online counseling to be a trial of sorts for themselves to see how counseling works before seeing a counselor for in-office psychotherapy.
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2. What Online Counseling Services do you offer?
StressGroup.com offers 2 types of online counseling: 1. Email sessions 2. Telephone Counseling
Email sessions: Our eTherapy sessions are conducted solely by email (not chat.) You may choose the number of emails you want (a discount is offered for multiple emails--see Fees.)
Email sessions work best when you have a single issue that you would like to ask about, or get help dealing with. You may find that your questions are answered and you are feeling better after one email session. More than one session may be more beneficial to you if you have multiple things you would like the counselor to help you with.
One of the advantages to email therapy is that the process of writing out your questions and feelings oftentimes is therapeutic itself. Email therapy is a great way to gain an understanding of your emotions and map out a plan to feel better and have a higher quality of life.
Telephone counseling: Telephone counseling sessions are one-on-one between you and a licensed, professional mental health counselor.
Telephone sessions last one hour. Some people find that one session is sufficient to answer their questions and give them a good course of action for now, and the future. Others find that several sessions are helpful so they can get to the bottom of their emotional troubles and avoid them from coming back in the future. (Discounts are offered for multiple telephone counseling sessions--see Fees.)
For telephone counseling you are given a toll-free number to call at a given appointment time agreed upon between you and Dr. David Thomas, who conducts all of our telephone counseling sessions.
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3. What's the difference between Email Sessions and Telephone Counseling
>>>A confidential Online Questionnaire must be completed before either type of counseling can begin.<<<
Aside from the obvious, telephone counseling is more in-depth, your questions are answered on-the-spot, you can stop the counselor and ask for clarifications...things that cannot be done via email.
Email sessions are less expensive, and give you the chance to write out your problems, which may be beneficial to you of itself.
Telephone sessions with the counselor last one hour.
An email session consists of your question(s) for the counselor, including any information that you would like to share with him that you feel he may need to know. The counselor will first review the confidential Questionnaire you completed, then respond directly to your email questions and concerns. This process involves apx. 30 minutes of the counselor's time.
The counselor's email response is generally several paragraphs long and not only addresses your questions, but also gives you a plan of action to take so that you can better understand where your emotional upsets are coming from, and what you can do to eliminate them and feel better.
An appointment is not needed for Email Sessions.
If you choose telephone counseling, the counselor will have thoroughly reviewed your confidential online questionnaire ahead of time. At a pre-established appointment time you call a toll-free number; once the counselor comes on the line the session begins. Click here to see available telephone appointment times>>
During this 60 minute period, you are free to openly discuss whatever you wish with the counselor. He will answer questions, give you guidance, and work with you to prepare a plan to help solve your emotional upsets now, as well as when they may arise in the future.
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4. Is there a certain type of therapy you engage in?
Yes. It is called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). Universally accepted and practiced for over 50 years, REBT helps to show you how to deal with the upsets and disturbances in your life as they come along. It's been called the "antithesis of Freud" due to REBT's teachings that your upset feelings stem NOT from what happened in your childhood or past (as taught by Dr. Sigmund Freud), but instead from your self-talk in the present and interpretation about events happening now, or in your past. REBT is somewhat unique in that it also helps to show you how to deal with the primary causes of anxiety--which are not issues of your past, but excessive worry about the future.
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5. Who provides your online counseling? What is their training?
Online counseling at StressGroup.com is provided exclusively by Dr. David L. Thomas, psychotherapist and Licensed Mental Health Counselor. Dr. Thomas has been providing counseling services for over 23 years, specializing in particular in helping those suffering from stress, depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, relationship problems, low self-image, and more. Learn more about Dr. Thomas' credentials and qualifications here>
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6. Are your services available anywhere in the world?
While our Email Sessions are available anywhere, our Telephone Counseling is not. Our toll free "800" number is for use only in the U.S. Time differences prevent us from offering phone counseling overseas. We do not offer service to Canada at this time, but anticipate to in the near future.
Email Session counseling can be done from any computer, anywhere in the world. According to our Terms of Service, you will need to have a profiency in English (both reading and writing) in order to receive our services. We provide English speaking services only at this time.
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7. Is Online Counseling the same as Psychotherapy?
No, not really. Psychotherapy is face-to-face therapy with a counselor and has been done for several decades while online counseling is maybe one decade old. In terms of mental health practices, online counseling is still in its infancy and those who practice it and engage in it are pioneers, somewhat. This is important to keep in mind as your go about getting you online counseling.
Psychotherapists are well trained to look for (no-verbal) visual and auditory cues. Volume, as well as tone of voice, facial expressions, body language in general are present in traditional psychotherapy, where with online counseling they are not. These types of “clues” help the counselor determine your mood. An example could be that in psychotherapy you might tell your counselor that you feel fine, but certain cues tell him/her otherwise. These cues could indicate that you may be depressed, or anxious, yet through email or over the telephone the counselor may have know way of “seeing” these things, and therefore may not focus in on what’s best to help you to feel better.
Whether selecting our Email Sessions, or Telephone Counseling, please be sure to tell the counselor as much as you can about how you feel and how you’re doing.
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8. What are your fees for Online Counseling? How do I pay?
Our fees for Online Couseling are as follows:
Email Sessions:
- $45 for first session
- $40 per session thereafter
Telephone Sessions:
- $85 for each 60 minute session
We accept all major credit cards as payment as well as PayPal.
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9. Are there disadvantages to online counseling?
Yes, there may be a few:
§ As mentioned above, there are non-verbal cues that are present in traditional face-to-face counseling that are not present in online counseling. These may be helpful to the counselor in determining how a client is feeling so they may adapt the focus of the counseling session accordingly.
§ Some people find they prefer the physical presence of a counselor in that they feel more committed to the process and trustful of the counselor.
§ Being able to put feelings in writing and being able to write clearly and somewhat articulately is more challenging for some people than others. Writing about yourself and your feelings can actually be quite therapeutic, but some people find the task daunting.
§ Online counseling is not a formal or accepted method for diagnosis and treatment. This requires traditional face-to-face psychotherapy.
§ Emailed communications are sometimes difficult for the other person to perceive. Typed words on the screen do not convey things such as emotion or emphasis.
§ Certain people are NOT candidates for online counseling, including: anyone who is in crisis or is suicidal, someone in danger to themselves or others, persons who have serious emotional or mental health disorders, people unable or unwilling to discuss their feelings or put them in writing, anyone under the legal age (18 years of age in most instances.)
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10. Is there anyone who should NOT receive online counseling?
Yes.
11. Is it confidential. How do I know that someone can't intercept the Email messages between us?
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