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Online Therapy

Technology is booming, and innovations in many industries continue to develop.  One of the main goals of technological innovations of this time is the increase of convenience, specifically, the ability to do more tasks from your home computer chair than ever before.

One instance of this added convenience is the innovation of online therapy.  Online therapy provides potential clients with the ability to obtain professional mental health services through the internet, using internet communication technology.

Online therapy is also known as e-therapy, teletherapy, e-counseling, or online counseling.  It is usually used either in addition to typical psychotherapy, as a replacement to typical psychotherapy, or as an occasional mental health checkup.  For those unable to visit a traditional psychotherapist, online therapy may provide a channel to professional therapy that would not have been an option otherwise.  Online therapy also provides those who are unwilling to see a traditional psychotherapist due to a fear of exposing their feelings, embarrassment, or on a low budget.

The convenience of online therapy, though, is the most cited reason for its widespread use.  The use of technology allows both the therapist and the client added convenience, effectively providing better hours of treatment and transportation convenience.  Most of online therapy is usually conducted from the home of the client and the office of the professional.

Saving money is another benefit of online therapy that is recently emerging.  Free online therapy is now available on some websites, providing those with financial troubles a free consultation with a real therapist.  The use of these free online therapy websites has not yet become widespread, but the benefits associated with free online therapy are obvious.  Providing free online therapy to its clients over the internet allows the client to have substantial convenience, save a lot of money, and easily refer one to a traditional psychotherapy session, if desired.

So how can you find free online therapy?  Here are a few steps that you can take to find the free online therapy that you are looking for:

1.  Understand your situation

Before seeking an online therapist, do the best that you can to understand your own mental health situation.  Do you need a therapist to help you understand the situation?  If you do, will free online therapy help you understand and solve the problem?  Doing your research will help you better understand how online therapy may help you with your problem.

2.  Do an internet search

When you have decided that you want to see free online therapy, use an internet search engine to find a website that offers it.  Searching terms such as therapy, counseling, and online will enable you to find a site that has what you need.  Online therapy websites are abounding on the internet, you will surely find what you are looking for.  Be sure to find the right website that provides you with access to many different professional therapists.

3.  Contact your online therapist

When you have found a place that offers online therapy, contact a therapist, either through the website or through e-mail.  Ready your situation or problem so that you can get right to the point.  If desired, set up an appointment to further follow up with traditional psychotherapy.

Tim Du
Counselor Network Writer

Family Therapy

Everybody has experienced problems within their family and close intimate relationships.  When you are that close to another human being, the sharing of experiences and feelings can cause substantial stress.  It may be only a matter of time before you need help from an outside source.  Family therapy, then, may be the answer to your family problems.

Family therapy is defined as a type of psychotherapy that focuses on families and couples in close relationships, in hopes of bringing change and positive development.  In other words, family therapy may help you better your relationships and understanding within your family and close relationships.

Since a significant amount of stress is common in the family, family therapy aims to involve families in solutions for problems.  The overarching belief in all different forms of family therapy is that involving the family can bring out the strengths of the wider system.  The use of family therapy is widespread, covering almost every relational or psychological problem with its family approach to psychotherapy.

What separates family therapy from other forms of psychotherapy is undoubtedly its approach to therapy.  More specifically, therapists in family therapy focus on the dynamic of relationships between people, not the specific problems within one individual.  They focus on the systems of individuals and the impact of their relationships, either negative or positive, on each other.  The maintenance and solving of problems is more important to family therapists than the single cause of a problem.  For example, a family therapist may see more than one family member at each session and aim to relate the conversations and patterns of each family member to the others.

Family therapy utilizes a wide range of many different counseling and therapy techniques.  The rest of this article will help you understand some of the techniques that it uses:

1.  Psychotherapy

As mentioned before, family therapy is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on the family and its intertwining relationships.  Using psychotherapy, family therapists are likely to develop an interpersonal relationship with the members of the family, helping them better understand themselves and the problems between them.  Using the other family members present, the therapist may find solutions to a specific problem that involve the participation of the family.

2.  Personal Coaching

This technique uses questioning, reflection, and discussion to develop strategies and relationships.  Personal coaching is designed to develop a relationship between the therapist and the client, in this case, the family.

3.  Communication theory

In family therapy, communication theory refers to the benefits of transmitting information from one member of the family member to another.  Communication of feelings and experiences can benefit clients through the expressing of troubling issues.

4.  Media psychology

Media psychology is the seeking of an understanding of how people will perceive, interpret, and respond to a world filled with media.  The goal is to identify benefits and problems related to media.  In family therapy, then, the effect of media on the family has gotten so pervasive that family therapists have begun to study media psychology.  This will help them better understand the issues of media affecting the family.

Will Lee
Counselor Network Writer

Crisis

A few months ago, you and your family experienced a loss with the death of your grandfather.  Since then, you have had problems with coping with the loss.  Where can you go to find help with coping with the loss?  Crisis counseling may be the answer for you.

A crisis, in terms of mental health, is defined as a situation or event where the person feels overwhelmed or unable to cope.  A typical crisis may include a death in the family, being let go at your job, or a rough ending to a relationship.  People are emotional beings, and crisis counseling may help one deal with feelings such as being frightened, anxious, or depressed.

In crisis counseling, a counselor works to provide mental health support and guidance to his or her client.  The effect of mental health on emotions is well documented.  Crisis counseling, then, works to reduce emotional pain, provide a safety net, and develop a plan to increase mental health.  It helps people develop skills that may help them anticipate and cope with a crisis.  These mental health skills can help a person improve their quality of life.  Understanding your own mental health attitudes during crisis can be the first step to better mental health.

Crisis counseling is more advantageous than many other forms of counseling or therapy due to its low cost and simplicity.  While other forms of counseling or therapy use psychotherapists or others trained in psychology, crisis counseling may be used by doctors, psychologists, and social workers.  In addition to the many different professionals who use it, crisis counseling is also especially versatile in it’s availability.  As it is a low-cost form of counseling, it can be provided in hospitals, police stations, local clinics, and military bases.  Crisis counseling is also available over the phone or the internet, providing protection of mental health during a crisis.

Crisis counseling may last only a few weeks, but it is important to understand that crisis counseling is not a form of psychotherapy.  Instead, it is focused on the management of mental health during the time of a crisis.  There are a few common step that describe the process of crisis counseling, and the rest of this article focuses on these steps:

1.  Assess the situation

The first step is to assess the client’s situation.  Crisis counselors will usually ask the client questions to better understand what each client needs.  During this step, the counselor will often provide the client with emotional and mental health support while ensuring the emotional and physical safety of the client.

2.  Educating the client

Counselors must inform their client of their condition during the crisis.  Steps that need to be taken by the client are spelled out.  The counselor will help the client to understand that their situation is common, and that, through work, they will return to their normal functionality.

3.  Offering support

The counselor should stabilize the mental health of the patient through emotional support and the offering of resources.   It is important in this step to listen actively to the client and provide nonjudgmental, encouraging support.  Hopefully, a dependency between counselor and client will develop, strengthening the emotional and mental health of the client.

4.  Development of coping skills

As the inability to cope is one of the symptoms of a crisis, developing skills to deal with coping is of utmost importance.  Such skills may include exploring and listing different solutions to problems, stress lowering techniques, and techniques for positive thinking.

Tim Du
Counselor Network Writer

Career Counselor

Amidst the terrible recession, your company sends out a memo to all employees that they will be laying off 15% of the working staff in 2 weeks.  Surprised, you start to worry about your job security, and begin to lose sleep and focus at your work place.  Your co-worker and friend notices this change in your behavior and recommends that you see a career counselor for career counseling.

If you are struggling with career issues, there may be an answer for you.  Career counseling is a type of traditional counseling that focuses on issues dealing with the career.  It focuses on issues such as possible career choices, career change, and the development of your own personal career.

Career counselors are professionals who usually have a background in psychology.  Through interviews, interest inventories, ability tests, and tests that assess personality, these career counselors can help you through the stress of possibly being laid-off.  Additionally, career counseling may help you, as a working professional, find other, possibly better, options for your career.

The career counselor may help you assess your interests, skills, personality tendencies, and values to better help you understand and explore your career options.  For those still in school, career counseling may refer to a high school’s guidance counselor, or a student dean.  Finding the right major or career opportunities during schooling can jump start your career, and a career counseling can help point you in the right direction by helping you understand yourself better.

So when do you know when to delve into career counseling, or if it is even the right answer for you?  There are many different factors that can make career counseling more or less effective for each person.  The rest of this article will highlight several tips to help you understand how career counseling may help you:

-  Are you about to have a career breakdown?  Visiting a career counselor before your career breaks down may save you plenty of headache and financial troubles.  Career counseling can help you get into a situation where you are happy with your employment, fulfilling your dreams, and enjoying work every day.

-  In reality, career counselors are still human beings.  They can not answer questions such as “what job should I apply for?” Instead, career counselors will help you answer questions such as “what job might I be good at?” or “what job would I enjoy?”  Learning about yourself will help you develop, commit to, and implement an action-oriented plan for your career.

-  If you have already been let go, a career counselor can help you find a new job.  He or she can help you conduct a smart career search.  Career counselors are experts at helping you develop strategies, powerful resumes, and proper use of all available resources.

-  In some states, career counseling does not require a license, so be careful.  Do your best to find a counselor who has the designation of National Certified Career Counselor (NCCC).

Will Lee
Counselor Network Writer

Group Counseling

Human beings learn about themselves very quickly when they are forced to share their feelings with others, especially if the others are in a similar position.  The utilization of this fact is a therapy called group counseling.  Also known as group psychotherapy or group therapy, group counseling is a type of psychotherapy where one or more therapists treat a group of small clients.

First, let’s better understand psychotherapy, as group counseling is concerned.  Psychotherapy is the personal counseling with a psychotherapist, or in the case of group counseling, the therapist.  It is aimed to aid clients or patients with problems associated with living.

Group counseling, then, focuses on the group of clients and attempting to benefit from sharing their experiences.  Group counseling usually tries to fix a particular issue, such as anger management or addiction to alcohol.  Counseling is usually led by a therapist, but it is encouraged in a group counseling session that all members of the group contribute in some way.  For a person dealing with an issue, it is likely that they will experience some form of isolation, whether intentional or unintentional.  Sharing their experiences in a group, where the other members are experiencing the same issue and isolation, combats that problem, eventually leading to the solving of the issues; at the very least, clients can use the counseling to overcome the isolation, and the problems that may come with it.

Irvin Yalom was partially responsible for the continued development of group counseling after WWII.  He came up with 12 therapeutic principles that describe the different factors of counseling that can positively affect the clients.  The rest of this article focuses on listing and describing the 7 main counseling factors:

1. Universality

Universality describes the shared experiences among clients.  It helps the clients overcome their sense of isolation, validate their experiences, and raise self-esteem.

2. Altruism

Group counseling is a place where members are able to help each other.  This improves their own self-esteem and develop better coping styles and interpersonal skills.

3.  Instillation of hope

Counseling in a group of mixed members can help newer members and long time members maintain hope while they are still struggling.

4. Cohesiveness

Cohesiveness is often referred to as the most therapeutic factor from which all of the other factors flow.  Humans have an instinctive need to belong in groups, and some personal development can only occur in interpersonal relationships.  Cohesiveness bring belonging, acceptance, and validation to the counseling process

5.  Corrective recapitulation of the primary family experience

Clients will often unconsciously identify other members of the group as their own immediate family.  The counseling can then help the client overcome unhelpful patterns in their relationships.

6.  Self Understanding/Interpersonal learning

Members of group counseling may achieve a bigger level of self-awareness through interactions.  They may also achieve greater levels of insight about what stems one’s problems through counseling.

7.  Catharsis

Catharsis is defined as the experience of relief from emotional distress by expressing emotion.  Counseling can help the client overcome his or her shame and guilt by telling their story.

Tim Du
Counselor Network Writer

Psychotherapists

A majorly under looked part of the United States health system is psychotherapy.  As time goes on, we begin to better understand that our physical well-being is not alone, but that mental well-being is just as important.  Psychotherapy is technique that may very well be able to help your mental well-being.

Psychotherapy is defined as personal counseling with a psychotherapist.  It is an interpersonal relationship with a psychotherapist that can help you increase your sense of well-being.  These psychotherapists use a variety of techniques to improve the mental health of their client, including: building a relationship, dialogue, communication,  and attempted behavior change.  In addition to psychotherapists, psychologists, therapists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, counselors, and psychiatrists may also perform psychotherapy.

Using psychotherapy can help you in a few ways.  First, you will better understand yourself and your personal goals and problems.  Secondly, it can help you develop relationship skills.  Thirdly, it may help you overcome certain psychological problems such as anxiety, stress, or depression.  Lastly, psychotherapy may help you obtain a solution to problems you seek by talking it out with a psychotherapist.

Critics, on the other hand, do not believe in the healing power of psychotherapy.  They believe that it is time that spurs an intervention, not the therapeutic relationship with a psychotherapist.  To them, psychotherapy is an unnecessary replacement of resources readily available to a person, such as friends, family members, and peers.

There are typically 3 major types of psychotherapy.  The rest of this article will focus on listing and defining these three types:

1. Cognitive Therapies

Cognitive therapy was developed by Aaron T. Beck, an American psychiatrist.  It aims to help the client solve problems by finding and changing dysfunctional thinking, behavior, and emotions.  It often develops skills for changing your beliefs, relating to others, and changing behaviors.  The psychotherapist works with the client to identify and test beliefs, leading to the understanding of dysfunctional thinking.  Cognitive therapy was initially created to fight depression, but now is used more widely.

2. Behavior Therapy

Behavior therapy is primarily used to treat common mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and phobias.  It is based off the philosophical theory of behaviorism, or the belief that behaviors are the direct manifestation of psychological matters.  That being said, behavior therapy aims to modify or condition learning, responses, and other forms of behavior.  Psychotherapists work with the client to identify what causes dysfunctional behaviors and how to change those behaviors.

3. Psychoanalysis

Developed by Sigmund Freud, psychoanalysis is a form of psychotherapy in which psychotherapists work with clients to understand psychological functioning and behavior.  It can be used to investigate the mind, theorize about human behavior, and treat psychological illnesses.  It is a specific mind investigation technique that usually involves the client lying on a couch, unable to see the psychotherapist.  Psychoanalysis works primarily to explore the unconscious mind through the interpretation of mistakes, dreams, and symbols.

Psychotherapists around the nation apply many different forms of psychotherapy to help their clients.  Hopefully, in reading this article, you now better understand the world of psychotherapy.

Will Lee
Counselor Network Writer