Online Counselling

Evertondub

Wonder if anyone knows if there is such a service in Ireland. Know that online counselling is big in the US but can't seem to find anything in Ireland. Any help?

petes

I've heard there are some sites out there that do this. However I'm a bit sceptical about them I thin you really need to talk to someone in person to get the full benefit.

Evertondub

Hi. Thanks for that. Problem is I work shifts and don't have much spare cash. I hear it is cheaper and obviously more convenient etc. Strange there aren't any obvious ones here. I've found what seem to be some reputable one's from the UK but I'd rather do it with someone in Ireland.

petes

Is there any chance you can take an hour or two a week? I know it costs a few quid but your health has to come first.

sam34

i would run a mile from this.
any counselling intervention depends on a good trusting relationship being built up between the parties involved and you cannot get this from a computer screen.

plus, there could be all sorts of untrained and unqualified charlatans online calling themselves counsellors.

Odysseus

I would suspect that at poster with one post suggesting a therapeutic service is connected to that organisation, so that would may be weary of the above.

I'm a psychotherapists myself and I am very sceptical of online counselling services, I really doubt the ethics of it in the first place, but also its ability to work.

OP if there are issues in your life that make you consider entering therapy, then maybe its important enough to dedicate a couple of hours a week to help you deal with your situation. In some caes while it not ideal, some therapist will agree to see you every second week or longer if its need. If you ring around you will find someone who can fit you in. Hope that helps a little.

chocgirl

Jesus I'd stay well away from online counselling or online any sort of medical service!

Snowie

councilling needs to be done in person as the Councillor needs to see your body language amongst other important things...

its to easy for the person whos talking to the Councillor not to reply and avoid question's... as well as if the persons be through something traumatic.. etc..

arynne

I strongly believe that certain medical problems lend themselves well to online management. Nowhere is this more true than in the area of sexual dysfunction and especially erectile dysfunction. I manage a website where you can purchase an e-book and an e-consultation for this problem and I believe I have lots of satisfied customers. Men do not like talking about this and they are often untreated or under treated. The internet offers a way around this issue.

Monkeybonkers

sam34 wrote: »

i would run a mile from this.
any counselling intervention depends on a good trusting relationship being built up between the parties involved and you cannot get this from a computer screen.

plus, there could be all sorts of untrained and unqualified charlatans online calling themselves counsellors.

+1 on this. You have no idea who you are talking to online. I would run a mile from any site offering online counselling.

sam34

arynne wrote: »

I strongly believe that certain medical problems lend themselves well to online management. Nowhere is this more true than in the area of sexual dysfunction and especially erectile dysfunction. I manage a website where you can purchase an e-book and an e-consultation for this problem and I believe I have lots of satisfied customers. Men do not like talking about this and they are often untreated or under treated. The internet offers a way around this issue.

oh my good god!

an "e-consultation" for erectile dysfunction???????

how do you rule out the myriad of potential physical causes for this problem by e-consultation?

arynne

Firstly, on the question of 'you don't know who you are talking to': Any site that proports to offer a service like this must have credability.
Qualifications have to be clearly stated and should be verifyable and regristered. A physical address and contacts must also be included on the site.

On the question raised be Sam 34 there -- 'how do you rule out the myriad of physical causes'? The answer to that is that there are very few if any strictly physical causes for erectile dysfunction or ED. In the vast majority of cases there is nothing that needs physical examination or testing. As a rule of tumb 75% of ED in younger men is psychogenic -- most of it Performance Anxiery. In older men -- say over 60 yrs. 75% of their erectile dysfunction will be functional -- diabetes, arterioschlerosis, BPH, post prostate surgery and so on. All of this becomes obvious when they fill out a detailed questionnaire.

Sexual dysfunctions, including erectile dysfunction, are private and difficult and for that reason I believe lend themitselves, par excelacne, to being helped through this media.

AR

sam34

a questionnaire is no substitute for a medical history and examination by someone qualified to do both those things.

The answer to that is that there are very few if any strictly physical causes for erectile dysfunction or ED. In the vast majority of cases there is nothing that needs physical examination or testing

this quote from you is very worrying.

there are more than "very few" physical causes of erectile dysfunction, and quite a few of them require physical examination. (not necessarily examination of the genitalia, but some physical examination, nonetheless - perhaps an exam of teh peripheral nervous system, or the peripheral vascular system, for starters)


yes, sexual dysfunction is a very private and personal thing. thats why it should be addressed sensitively and with caution. some of the many psychological causes behing it may be very traumatic and distressing for an individual, and may require a highly specialised counsellor. whatever the cause, the counselling relationship would need to be one where there is great trust, and that, imo, cannot be obtained from a keyboard and computer screen. all the non-verbal cues are lost, and these are so important in counselling. tbh, i would question the credibility of anyone who thinks online counselling is appropriate for anything.

tallaght01

arynne wrote: »

On the question raised be Sam 34 there -- 'how do you rule out the myriad of physical causes'? The answer to that is that there are very few if any strictly physical causes for erectile dysfunction or ED. In the vast majority of cases there is nothing that needs physical examination or testing.

oh my god

sam34

tallaght01 wrote: »

oh my god

my sentiments exactly!

Nua Aristotle

Just wanted to follow up on this thread - I know it is bit old but nevertheless I think that a couple of things need to be straightened out.

Research from Australia, the UK, the states and some domestic research by the HRB (eHealth/teleHealth) into online and phone counselling (when provided by accredited, professional and insured counsellors) has just as good results for areas like depression, anxiety, phobias etc as standard in-person counselling. In fact it is sometimes better statistically as people are more willing to engage as they can do so from the comfort of a setting of their choice and depending on the service at more suitable times. Also research shows that people (esp men) feel more inclined towards online and phone counselling as they do not have to worry about the stigma of being seen entering a clinic. Furthermore it gets mental health services out to rural areas where there is minimal to no existent services of this calibre. There is a plethora of research out there if you just Google it advocating online and phone counselling from renowned sources. People should not just bag something until they do a bit of research IMHO. Online counselling is not the perfect answer but it is an option and a well research one at that. At the end of the day it is about providing solutions for people to suit them that matters.

HRB (Irish Health research Board): ‘More strikingly, results found that they had increased their utilisation of healthcare and had better communication with medical staff based on information they had found on the Internet. As help seeking for mental health is often delayed because of social stigma, the power of the Internet as a means of encouraging help seeking was revealed by these studies’.
In Psychcentral.com’s newsletter June 14th 2009, the benefits of online therapy for depression were related, based on a study from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). The newsletter also tells us of the benefits of online counselling for other social phobias such as anxiety. They further relate the fact that the internet can be a great asset to people living in isolated or rural areas.

Finally the author informs us how the internet services can be of help to people who feel a stigma in going to a mental health clinic or counselling room:
‘Patients in a clinician-assisted Internet-based treatment program experienced rates of recovery similar to those achieved by face-to-face therapy...’.

Moreover, the program – dubbed the Sadness program – required an average of only 111 minutes of clinician email contact per person over an eight-week period, significantly less than other comparable clinician-based therapies. The findings suggested that the Internet could overcome many of the barriers to seeking treatment for depression – including the stigma associated with seeing a mental health professional, the limited availability of clinicians for face-to-face treatment, and the difficulties associated with seeking treatment during working hours.

There were also important implications for people in regional areas or who were otherwise socially isolated.

‘The Internet program is convenient’, Professor Andrews said. ‘People can use it when they need to, without having to make an appointment or leave the house. Participants were logging in at 1 am.’

There are over 60 articles on the same site describing the benefits of web based therapy for a myriad of disorders such as eating disorders, insomnia and social phobias.

The BBC.co.uk online news section from the 1st of November 2005, discusses a Swedish study on the benefits of online therapy in regards to the use of CBT with mild depression:
‘Therapy delivered via the internet is just as good as face-to-face sessions for treating depression, say Swedish researchers.’

Another piece of research on the topic of online counselling and support is published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. In the study, 117 volunteers with mild to moderate depression participated in a web-based self-help CBT programme plus an internet discussion group, or an internet discussion group alone.

Further to this, Dr John Grohol writes a regular blog on the PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) website in the US where he refers to The Journal of American Medical

Association which carried out a 600 participant study on the benefits of phone and internet therapy:

‘The best part about the study’s findings if that it was inexpensive to administer and resulted in far more depression-free days than the other treatment methods …According to the researchers, few of the patients who received phone-based therapy sought in-person therapy. They went on to suggest that phone-based therapy is more convenient and acceptable to patients than in-person psychotherapy. The same could be said of web-based interventions as well.

Telephone-based psychotherapy also has a much smaller drop-out rate compared with face-to-face psychotherapy. A study last year found an attrition rate of only 7.6 percent for those in telephone therapy, versus nearly 50 percent for those in face-to-face therapy. ‘It’s cheaper to provide, is more convenient and acceptable for the client, and has a significantly smaller attrition rate.’

To the poster -yes there are online counselling sites out there including Irish ones some are run by charities and some by private enterprise. Always check to see if they are accredited with a well known body in fact ask for their accreditation numbers and look them up first to be sure would be my advice.

To the moderator who is a psychotherapist - shame on you - you shouldn't be giving advice to this poster in the way that you have. When dealing with people and their mental health needs you need to look at the individuals needs not what school of thought you come from and just apply it in a blanket fashion without doing a bit of research first. Educate yourself before you give advice please or else you are doing more harm then good IMO.

Panthro

Zombie thread.
Closed.