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Is Online Depression Counseling For You?

Online depression counseling is available now!




online depression counseling

Dave Turo-Shields, ACSW, LCSW






Online Depression Counseling may be the choice for you. I have been offering online help since 1998, but this year will give birth to online counseling in the public's eye. The numbers are climbing steadily, showing that you are looking specifically for this service online.

I sat down with one of my private practice clients last week. She came in a few minutes late, sat down and said, "I don't have time to be depressed!" Online counseling is convenient because it fits into YOUR schedule, and we seem to be as busy as ever these days. Taking time out of your busy schedule for a therapy appointment costs in time, money for therapy and often money for child care as well.

Online depression counseling can occur in a variety of forms.

(1) EMAIL CONSULTATION

This is the most popular, probably due to the simplicity. All you have to do here is send and receive email. Other benefits of email consultation include time to be thoughtful about questions. This benefit also applies to me as well. I often find myself in my study pulling reference books for a thorough and helpful response.

(2) ONLINE CHAT

Many of you now use instant messaging, through Microsoft Messenger, I.R.C., I.C.Q., Yahoo Messenger and a variety of other programs, to communicate live to friends and family. This live chat can also be used to receive my help in online counseling. Once you the software loaded on your computer and have signed up for a free account, you are ready for a live online chat session. I use I.C.Q., which you may download at www.icq.com, Once you've signed up and downloaded their program your are assigned a unique number. All I need is your unique number. I put out a call to you across the internet, and as long as you have the I.C.Q. program running, you are alerted and we can begin the chat. A box pops up on your screen including a section for the text you type and a section for the text I type. If there is one downfall to scheduling live chat it comes from a very simple misunderstanding. We do not all live in the same time zone. Scheduling has to take into consideration the variance in time, depending on where we each live. I live in Indianapolis, Indianan - USA a Central Time Zone area.

(3) GROUP CHAT

Group chat occurs by signing into a website chat room. I would host the chat as psychotherapist and clients would sign up prior to the beginning of the chat and then sign in at the designated time. A benefit is the cost tends to be lower than one on one chat. A potential negative occurs when the group size gets too big. A good group leader will not allow the group to be over 10 people.

(4) VIDEO CONFERENCING

The least used online depression counseling service, video conferencing requires a fast connection to the internet by client and psychotherapist, otherwise the quality of the conference is very disruptive compared to the benefits. The majority of internet users continue to connect to the internet by modem. Video conferencing may become more popular as high bandwidth connections become mainstream... BUT here's an interesting research survey. In a study monitoring online depression counseling by chat and online counseling with video, people without the visual connection shared 80% more information.

Interesting, huh?

I offer a unique proposition for depression sufferers. I have written The Depression Recovery Course, which combines online depression counseling by email with a distance learning model. The course includes eight classes and two bonus reports and takes approximately 12 weeks to complete by email. Read more about this unique form of online depression counseling.

For specific information on personal online depression counseling and other types of consultation services, including price list click on the "Back To Home Page" link below.

Online depression counseling is not for you if you are currently contemplating suicide. If you are currently suicidal you need to immediately email me to receive an appropriate referral.

If, in this article on online counseling, I have not addressed a specific question you have concerning online depression counseling please take a moment and email your question directly to me at Dave@Overcoming-Depression.com


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