Online Counseling and Therapy: Critical Issues

As Internet technologies continue to expand and become more accessible to the general public, their use in clinical helping professions will surely continue to grow. Due to the increasing prevalence of the Internet and its use in clinical practice, the purpose of this course is to provide an overview of the practice issues, strengths and limitations, and legal and ethical issues pertaining to online counseling. In addition, members of the public may use this course to enhance their personal knowledge of the subject matter presented.


Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:


1. Review Internet history and usage trends.

2. Define terms associated with online counseling.

3. Evaluate different technological applications for online counseling.

4. List the advantages and limitations of online counseling.

5. Identify sociocultural issues involved with the use of online counseling.

6. Discuss ethical and legal issues pertaining to online counseling.

7. Describe the empirical literature related to the efficacy of online counseling.

8. Discuss clinical practice considerations within the context of online counseling.


This 5-hour continuing education course is available for download for professional development; if continuing education credit is desired, please see instructions included in eBook.