How Technology has changed the way we learn> Is there a place for technology within the field of Counselling and Psychotherapy, what positive role does it play and at what cost?

ICT is the topic for this Blog, and therefore, I thought I would share with you one of my assignments I completed in my final year of my Counselling skills and Psychology degree.  

Aptly titled "Is there a place for technology within the field of Counselling and Psychotherapy, what positive role does it play and at what cost?

There is much debate regarding the use of technology within counselling and psychotherapy, notably the potential complications it poses in enhancing the therapeutic process.  Avatel (2013) identified E-Therapy, Cyber Therapy and Cyber-Counselling, to be a small number of ever increasing therapies available through technology today.  

No longer is counselling just a face to face interaction, it has become far more than just attending a counsellors therapeutic establishment. Reljic, et al. (2013) implied, that changes are necessary to keep up with the technicality of new age apps, gadgets and social networking used by today’s youth. 

Can technology replace the interaction and attachment felt between client and therapist?

Shallcross (2012) inferred that, computers, by 2020 will be installed with software allowing a client to answer questions relating to their problems without the need of a counsellor, and where does that leave face to face counselling?  The Online Therapy Institute (OTI, 2014) identified, therapy to be delivered via the internet, otherwise known as ‘therapy delivered via technology’ and video conferencing coupled with virtual worlds, allow a practitioner to explore various forms of modalities.

McNeely (2005) as cited, in (Maples and Han, 2008) inferred, that technology “only enhances hands on experience, it does not and cannot replace true human interaction” (p.45).  Technology is likened to a tsunami, that raises concerns which threatens counselling and the true face to face therapy that counselling is identified with (Reljic, et al., 2013).

Whilst there are arguments for both, one cannot escape the fact we live in a technological age, whereby many of us do not recognise the true potential that technology provides.

The full document can be accessed via the link provided.  Happy reading. Is there a place for technology within the field of Counselling and Psychotherapy

Avatel, 2013. The Evolution of Long-distance Communication. [Online]
Available at: http://avatel.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/the-evolution-of-long-distance-communication/
[Accessed 22 10 2014].

Maples, M. F. & Han, S., 2008. Cybercounseling in the United States and South Korea: Implications for Counseling College Students of the Millennial Generation and the Networked Generation. Journal of Counseling & Development, 86(1), pp. 178-183.

Online Therapy Institute, 2014. Therapeutice Innovations in light of Technology. [Online]
Available at: http://onlinetherapyinstitute.com/about-tilt-magazine/
[Accessed 6 11 2104].

Reljic, R., Harper, A. & Crethar, H., 2013. Using Technology Creatively to Empower Diverse Populations in Counseling. Ideas and Research you Can Use. 1(1), pp. 1-12.

Shallcross, L., 2012. What the future holds for the counseling profession. [Online]
Available at: http://ct.counseling.org/2012/03/what-the-future-holds-for-the-counseling-profession/
[Accessed 7 11 2014].