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November, 2008 | SAGE Publications Ltd

Online Counselling and Guidance Skills

A Practical Resource for Trainees and Practitioners


Jane Evans
- Counsellor, Supervisor and Consultant in Private Practice
208 pages | November, 2008 | SAGE Publications Ltd
Instant Access!
eBook
ISBN: 9781446244241
Hardcover
ISBN: 9781412948647
$177.00
Paperback
ISBN: 9781412948654
$63.00
Instant Access!
eBook
ISBN: 9781446244241

"A very practical text that provides professionals new to this arena with a good introduction to what they can expect to encounter in online work. The book contains numerous thought-provoking examples and exercises for those contemplating work in virtual arenas."
-Terry Hanley, Lecturer in Counseling, University of Manchester  

"It's tempting to think that face-to-face experience translates straightforwardly to online work. But it doesn't. Jane Evans shows how many different aspects there are to counseling on-line… My advice would be, don't attempt it until you have worked through this book." 
-Michael Jacobs, author of Psychodynamic Counseling in Action  

Counselors and other professionals who provide emotional support and guidance are increasingly working online. The difference between online and face-to-face interaction with clients is vast and practitioners need to equip themselves with specialist knowledge and skills to ensure that they are being effective.

Online Counselling and Guidance Skills is the first book to deal with the practicalities of this mode of working. It looks at how practitioners need to adapt their basic counseling skills to the online environment and guides them through the process of setting up, defining and maintaining a working relationship with a client within professional, ethical and legal boundaries. Case studies and extracts from online sessions show how the skills are put into practice, while practical exercises and points for further consideration help readers to develop their own knowledge and skills.

Until now, books and articles have generally focused on the therapeutic work done by counselors online. However, this book addresses people who use counseling skills in a wide range of contexts; including counseling, education, mental health, social care and careers guidance.

Establishing Practitioner Suitability for Adopting the Use of Online Counselling Skills
Confidence Building When Using Counselling Skills with Computer Mediated Technology
Online System Stability and Suitability: What To Do in the Event of Technology Breakdown
The Structure of Effective Practice: Individual Client Sessions and Meetings
Online Security Procedures
Administration, Management and Storage of Client Material

Online Presence
Working Without Visual or Auditory Cues
Avatars
The Online Relationship
The Initial Online Interaction
Forming a Physical Perspective of a Client
Helping Clients to Help Themselves

Online Empathy
Online Feeling Expression
Responding to Feeling Expression
Online Disinhibition
Emoticons and Acronyms

Communicating Presence, Interest and Attention
Developing and Maintaining Attunement

Seeking Clarification
The Use of Questions
Paraphrasing and Summarising
Working with Client Resistance and non-verbal Cues
Offering Challenge and Feedback
Managing Misunderstandings and Conflict
Online Immediacy
Self Disclosure

Client Groups Seeking Online Support
Assessment Procedures
Contracting
Online Risk Assessment
Confidentiality
Endings

Maintaining Appropriate Boundaries within Online Interactions and Online Communities
Appointment Schedules and Organising a Conducive Working Environment for Online Practice
Online Practitioner Professional Responsibilities:
The Relevance of Professional Creativity and Encompassing Differing Theoretical Perspectives When Seeking to Engage Online Clients

Ethical Practice and Guidelines
Membership and Affiliation to Professional Bodies
Supervision Arrangements for Online Practitioners
Conclusion