Reprinted from the April 1998 Counseling Today

Counseling and the challenges of cyberspace

By Courtland Lee, ACA President

John Doe is experiencing a mid-life crisis that is negatively affecting his work, family life, and relationship with his friends. He has been depressed for several months. One day while surfing the World Wide Web, he comes across information about a counselor in another state who specializes in men's issues. The counselor advertises that he offers confidential counseling via the Internet. John Doe contacts the counselor by e-mail and begins weekly sessions with the counselor through his home computer. John and his counselor are separated by almost 3,000 miles and never meet face to face.

If this scenario sounds like a tale out of some Orwellian future, it is not. Counseling via the Internet has become a reality. While only in its infancy, it is certain that "cybercounseling" will grow as computer technology and Internet capabilities become more sophisticated.

In most respects, the notion of counseling via the Internet is counter to everything that we know and hold sacred about our profession. Counseling has traditionally been predicated on the establishment of a working/therapeutic relationship between two live human beings who are in reasonably close physical proximity to each other, generally in the same room. This relationship has been fueled by the verbal interchange between these two individuals. The therapeutic dimensions of this relationship are further enhanced by the ability of the counselor to observe the non-verbal behavior of the client, and vice versa.

Counseling via the Internet calls all of these relationship aspects into question and raises important concerns about the possible quality of counseling provided. Sitting at separate computer terminals, perhaps miles apart, counselor and client have little if any face to face contact. Additionally, typing responses via a keyboard minimizes the need for the spoken word and effectively negates any possibility of observing non-verbal behavior.

Although these concerns are no doubt legitimate, there are many counselors who would argue that doubts about cybercounseling mirror concerns about telephone counseling or other media innovations in counseling practice that were expressed in years past. These individuals state that as we move into the 21st century, counseling via the computer is inevitable. Besides, the argument continues, we have an emerging generation for whom interaction via the computer is a common, natural, and fully accepted means of communication. This generation of potential clients is used to less actual personal contact and greater interaction in cyberspace in many aspects of their lives. To think that clients in the new century would not expect to access Internet counseling services is probably foolish and short-sighted on our part.

I think it is important that we prepare for this brave new world of counseling practice and make it as safe, effective, and ethically sound as all other forms of client service delivery. That is why I applaud the National Board for Certified Counselors for developing standards for the ethical practice of webcounseling. It is the issue of ethical cybercounseling that is most challenging. How is the confidentiality of counselor-client communication maintained in cyberspace? What are the limits of confidentiality, both real and electronic? Is it ethical to offer counseling services via the Internet to clients in a state where one is not licensed? How do we guard against impostor clients and impostor counselors on the Web? Are there problems/issues that are inappropriate for cybercounseling? What potential misunderstandings could arise from a lack of visual clues from client or counselor? How will technology failures impact the counseling process? How do you prepare a professional web page to advertise counseling services? Questions such as these underscore the necessity for a set of standards for ethical webcounseling. Initial direction for addressing these questions are provided in the NBCC standards. They lay the foundation for ethical cybercounseling.

In addition to the NBCC Webcounseling standards, I have directed the ACA Ethics Committee to review the ACA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice in light of the growth of webcounseling (See "Ethics in Counseling" on p. 16). It is vital that our ethical code continue to provide the basis for ethical practice in a rapidly changing and technologically sophisticated world.

There is no doubt that for John Doe and many other clients counseling in cyberspace provides a new dimension to client service delivery. It is important that as professional counselors we are ready to meet the challenges and embrace the opportunities of this new mode of communication. There is no doubt that the computer offers a powerful new tool for the delivery of counseling services. Used ethically and in conjunction with our tried and true traditional methods of counseling intervention, this tool will enhance our ability to better meet the needs of our clients.

If you have thoughts or comments about counseling and the challenges of cyberspace, please share them with me. My e-mail is cl8r@virginia.edu and my fax number is 703.823.0252. Additionally, you can contact me the "old fashioned" way via phone or regular mail at ACA Headquarters.

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This article has been reproduced from Counseling Today Online. All materials contained in this publication are the property of the American Counseling Association. ACA grants reproduction rights to libraries, researchers, and teachers who wish to copy all or part of the contents of this article for scholarly purposes provided that no fee for the use or possession of such copies is charged to the ultimate consumer of the copies.

Copyright ©1998, American Counseling Association.

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