Onilne counseling in cyberspace are you in doubt? Sincerity and respect in deconstuction and reconstruction of meaning (research).

Online Counseling, Online Therapy, e-therapy Homepage

Since about the year 2000 and even earlier online counseling raised doubts in the mind of traditional psychotherapists and the public.

“Good luck with that! More highly-evolved therapists, such as myself, realize that text-based distance therapy offers a different kind of therapeutic interaction with its own distinctive set of features.” Richard Sansbury at (http://www.headworks.com/etherapy.htm)

The doubts of tradition are based on the assumptions of pragmatic thinking. From these assumptions, an expert must clearly understand / see the person in counseling from his expertise / knowledge (the modern paradigm). I do not deride pragmatic thinking in its wonders, inventions and liberation. *1

Most current research does confirm that online counseling can be successful / efficient. My online services also were researched and I got a good review in a Thesis.

I personally do not think online counseling should make use of diagnosis / labeling.*2

Online counseling can be very useful as an additional narrative tool. Online counseling can also serve as a reflective space on its own in which the person in counseling moves towards a life, marriage / outcome that he /she prefers.

I believe and experience the value of sincerity and respect in listening to the stories told in online counseling. I follow a respectful and non-blaming (non labeling) approach. Respect for the stories, knowledge, resourcefulness, skills, competencies, beliefs, values, commitments and abilities that persons in counseling already have is very useful in online counseling.

For me the language / story that enter into online counseling are more important than “expert” knowledge / language. It is a way of exploring other dimensions, meanings and alternative stories or outcomes. Online counseling can be the respectful deconstruction and reconstruction of stories. The meanings must be ‘understood' from the story \ experiences of the person in online counseling. Letters in online counseling attempt to mean as much as they can (rich / quality / thickness).

*1 Having an academic / scientific background and working in the field, I am aware of the help that can be provided by “Psychological and Sociological truths”. Often expressed as facts I rather think of them as modern narratives. I approach them from post cognitive and narrative thought.

Jack