Why Online Adolescent Counseling is Becoming the New Boon for Families

By Carol Brannum

Whether parents realize it or not, their children are hungry for information about their problems.  They may or may not meet the clinical definition of being in need of mental health services, but they have questions that they would rather not talk to parents about.  What’s more, they don’t really want anyone to know they have questions or problems, so they would not ask to see a counselor in person.  It may be because of the stigma associated with needing counseling, or it may be that they just want a quick consultation about how to handle a certain short-lived problem.  In either case, they need the answer and are looking for a reliable, confidential solution.  Previously, kids in these situations have been dangerously relying on input from online strangers.  Being not-too-far-removed from this method in my own years as a teenaged girl, I can assure you advice flows freely on the Internet and it’s not all good.

But legitimate online counseling has grown rapidly in the past few years due to several factors.  Most importantly, confidentiality and security of information has been refined; systems to verify licensed counselors have been improved; and the availability of immediate crisis care has gone up.  Many online counseling services offer multiple types of service access such as email, chat, or phone.  This means that a teenager has access to licensed online professionals 24/7 without a need for a car or time away from school. 

Akin to this availability, it means even teens in remote or rural locations that generally had limited access to qualified counselors can now be serviced.  What’s more is that adolescents with rare or unusual issues that require more specialized training can often find someone online even if that specialty is not available in their immediate vicinity.  Because it’s fully confidential and they are not in a face-to-face scenario, teens also tend to be more self-disclosing.  This benefits both the counselor and the teen and makes for a much more useful session. 

Of the methods currently available, email is the most common.  Teens and therapists that use this method often report that it affords an opportunity for reflective writing – a process which is therapeutic in itself.  It also allows time for processing as a teen reads through and reflects on the response.  The flip side is that there is some loss of momentum in an email exchange and a teen could be stuck with carrying the emotions of a session until the next email.  With chat, the results are real-time and the confidentiality stays the same.  Phone services are also helpful and confidential, but some teens will still shy away from this as a resource because of the perceived lack of anonymity.

Some have criticized online counseling for its inability to allow for therapists to pick up on verbal and physical cues which are so important in sessions.  It’s that non-verbal communication that often says more about what’s going on than a teen’s words do.   Some get around this with video-conferencing, but again, the perceived anonymity is erased.  There is also no way to reach out and provide physical comfort to a young person when the situation warrants it.  But by the same token, some teens with grief and loss issues may be uncomfortable about crying in front of others and use online counseling as a medium to get around that fear.

One other prominent disadvantage to families choosing to use this option is that insurance companies rarely cover this type of session, even though they are done with therapists that normally accept insurance.  The good news is that it is often much less expensive and flexible than traditional counseling, even though the expertise remains the same.  In recent years, some programs and schools have begun to offer online counseling ‘credits’ to families.  These credits can then be used with an online counselor of choice by the teen.  Families should be encouraged to contact their local social services agency to see what is available to them, or they can contact NCJI directly to see what sort of credits are available in their area.  Facilities interested in providing credits through NCJI as a supplemental service can contact NCJI as well for further information.