Counselling by e-mail and chat or web conferencing is now well established as a useful way of getting help. The results are as good as, and in some cases better than, face to face, and many people prefer the anonymity of it. Also, it is usually cheaper than face to face counselling. You will not meet your counsellor or therapist unless you decide together to do so.

Your first step is to mail the counsellor of your choice and ask if they are available and willing to take you as a client. Sometimes they may refuse if they have a heavy caseload, or feel the issue you want to deal with is beyond their expertise.

The counsellor will then tell you their terms and conditions, what they will charge and what they will do for your money! and how and when you should pay. Any counsellor will be happy to answer questions about qualifications and training, codes of ethics and practice, what professional bodies they belong to and anything else about their professional status. They are most unlikely to answer any personal questions! Your counsellor will often ask for your real name, address, date of birth, and your doctor's name and address, in case of emergency.

To begin counselling, you will have to explain your problem and answer questions from the counsellor, some of which may seem unrelated, but there will be a good reason behind any question. If you really have to think about your answers, that is good. In counselling, it is generally the client who has to do the thinking. Your counsellor will not have the answers for you! You may be given tasks to fulfil, and books or articles may be useful for you to read. There may be web sites the counsellor can reccommend you to visit. Sometimes just telling somebody helps you to see your own way forward.

We think internet counselling can work very well with a whole range of problems, whether by e-mail or chat/ web conferencing.