It happens to me every time I attend a conference or workshop.  And I know I’m not the only one who did this at the recent IAC/CCPA conference.   I saw other people doing the same thing.

There we were walking around the book table, eyeing up the goods, calculating how much room there was in the budget, justifying a need versus a want, rationalizing the purchases and then leaving with an armload of books and a contented smile.

Over the years I have tried to curb this habit.  Put restrictions on myself such as “you can only buy one” or “no more till the current ones are gone”.   I swear it’s not an addiction.   I just happen to love books.   Maybe someday I’ll get an e-reader but for now I will continue to enjoy the feel of paper and the smell of newly printed books.

Which leads me to my goals for the summer.   Last year I focussed on improving my digital career literacy (a work in progress).   This summer I will be reading my new acquisitions as professional development.

These are not all newly published books.  I keep a list of books that others recommend or are by authors I know or that sound interesting. See, I have learned restraint when it comes to book buying.

Here’s what I will be reading this summer:

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Recently, the Canadian Scholarship Trust (CST) put out their list of “Job Titles of 2030”.  I enjoy career forecasts like this and was intrigued to see  “Robot Counsellor” as one of the career options listed. [1]

My first thought was it would be a robot doing counselling. I have had online clients express relief that their online counsellor was a “real person and not a robot”.   So I guess to some, robot counselling seems a natural extension of online counselling.

Reading this futuristic job title reminded me of ELIZA, the first computer ‘therapist’ from the 1960s.   We’ve come a long way since those days!

It turns out that CST is predicting robots will be doing more household and caregiving work in the future and we will need counsellors to do needs assessment with individuals and families and also, prepare them for the changes having a robot will entail.  And if the robot doesn’t “fit in”?   Presumably the robot counsellor will assist you in sorting out your robot relationship issues or finding you a different model to meet your needs.

I was sceptical about this being only 16 years in the future and then I did some research.  Starting with recent TEDTalks about robotic advancements.  Oh My.  If you haven’t seen it yet check out Henry Evans and his telepresence robot from Robots for humanity.[2]  Absolutely mind-blowing.   You may also want to check other TEDTalks about robots that show empathy, have ‘self-awareness’, and learn from humans about how to interact.   Not to mention robots that dance and do magic.

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Maybe it’s the longer days at this time of year.  Or maybe it’s getting close to the end of the school year.  Or expectations at work have increased.  Or maybe it’s just the norm for our society these days.  Everyone I talk to – colleagues and clients alike keep saying how tired they are.   If they aren’t talking about it they are showing it!

For some it seems to be an issue of having difficulty falling asleep.  Too wired up or tense from the day’s stressors.   For others it is an issue of interrupted sleep or being awoken too early.   We all know how important sleep is for our physical and mental well-being.  What to do?

There’s an app for everything it seems and sleep is no exception.  I found over 2,000 apps related to improving sleep.  That number may be indicative of just how many people are struggling with getting a decent night’s rest.

There are apps to help you determine your optimal sleeping patterns and that then help you set an alarm that is a “natural” awakening.  There are apps that are aimed at creating a relaxed state for you to drift into sleep naturally.   You have to pick those ones carefully.  Some of my clients have commented they find certain voices to be “creepy” or just plain annoying.  Not exactly conducive to relaxing and falling asleep. Continue reading →

I remember my first encounter with a personal computer.   It was 1984 and the professor I was working for had acquired a Mac.  One of my job requirements was learning how to use it.   At that point I had barely learned how to use an electronic typewriter and struggled with getting my assignments done on the university mainframe computer.

My professor sat me down in front of the computer and asked me a very important question.   “What are you most afraid will happen?”   I knew my answer was silly but I couldn’t help believing it might just be true.

“I’m afraid it will explode and you will lose everything.”

Thankfully he didn’t laugh.   He assured me there would not be an explosion and then, patiently, led me step by step through the process of learning how to use the technology.

At the recent International Association for Counselling Conference I attended a session by Jody Rempel on “Developing an integrated digital sense of self”.  Jody Rempel and Dr. Paul Jerry of Athabasca University did something quite brilliant.  They took Erikson’s 8 stages of psychosocial development and applied it to our adoption of technology.

As I reflected on the 8 stages I was reminded of that first encounter with a Mac.  And with every technological change I have gone through since then!  It goes across the generations too.  Yesterday, a grade 9 student told me “my computer hates me”.

Here’s a quick summary of the stages as it relates to adopting technology.

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Public. Permanent. Searchable

These are not the words youth associate with their online lives.   And yet, they are exactly the words they ought to think of.

Wired magazine has an excellent article on the privacy talk all parents need to have with their children.   As the authors say, “Parents across the globe today — from Lagos to Los Angeles and from Myanmar to Moscow — need to have a new conversation with their kids….It’s something new, something parents never considered as a critical issue 20 or 10 or even 5 years ago — but something that is just as pervasive as any of the other issues in their children’s lives and, in so many ways, just as important.  It’s data permanence. How can we preserve our reputations in the digital era?”[1]

A very important question indeed.

Last week I had the privilege of attending a talk by Darren Laur of Personal Protection Systems (http://www.personalprotectionsystems.ca).  He spoke to students about internet safety and digital citizenship.  It was a whirlwind two-hour talk about how we all have a “digital dossier” that is public, permanent and searchable.  He shared statistics about the percentages of post-secondary institutions, employers and landlords who are searching our dossiers and making decisions about what they see.  Decisions such as:  not hiring, not offering scholarships, not renting.

Mr. Laur talked about (supposedly) anonymous chat sites and messaging apps as well as the more frequently used Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.  The main thrust of his message was – anything we post online is Permanent.  We may think we have deleted it or we may think that the system we are using doesn’t keep the files and yet, it can be found and retrieved.

It was a huge reminder to think before you post.  Because you have no idea who will see it or how or when that post could come back to haunt you.

Dawn M. Schell, MA, CCC, CCDP is an affiliate of Worldwide Therapy Online Inc.  http://www.therapyonline.ca

I’ve written previously on the CCPA blog about crisis line services for youth that use text as their main method of communication.  Many youth crisis line services in Canada and elsewhere have noticed there has been a shift away from making phone calls.  Several crisis services have responded to this and have added live chat/messaging/email or texting as alternatives to phoning.   Three Canadian examples are Youthspace.ca, YouthinBC.com and KidsHelpPhone.

Why do youth use these types of crisis services via text?  Well, it’s the same reasons I’ve mentioned before.  It’s mobile.  You can use it anywhere. It’s private.  You can reach out for help and no one else needs to know that is what you are doing.  It can be immediate.

This past week, CBC’s Spark program (which “brings you the latest in technology and culture”)[1] featured ‘texting crisis lines for teens’.[2]  Crisistextline.org and the Samaritans (http://samaritanshope.org/index.php) were interviewed.  It’s well worth 15 minutes of your time to listen to this portion of the program.

The host of Spark, Nora Young, asked the question that is often asked – can teens get quality counselling online?   Both groups agree that it can be a medium to help a teen out of crisis.  As Ron White of the Samaritans says, being able to use text “allows teens and young adults access to crisis services they would not have otherwise”.

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Ah, technology.  Wonderful when it works the way you expect!  However, when you are engaged in online counselling at some point you will have one (or more) of these experiences.

Something you have spent hours on ‘disappears’.  Passwords get forgotten.  Video doesn’t work.  Audio is not audible.  Save buttons don’t save. Servers go down.  Internet connections fail.  Computers crash.  Backups don’t backup.  Power goes out.

These three words go a long way to making it easier to deal with –  Plan, prepare and inform!

Give serious thought to how you will handle technological problems.  Make a plan for every possible type of issue.  If you have trouble coming up with a list ask anyone you know with a techy mind to help you generate ideas.  Believe me they will have ideas!

Ensure you have client contact information in a secure location– phone numbers, email addresses and whether or not you can leave a message. Every time you start working with a new client be sure to print out their contact information.  Printing it out means it’s accessible to you in the event your computer is the one that crashes.

Ensure clients have a way to contact you.   Do they have your work phone number?  I always include mine in my initial welcome/housekeeping message.

Let clients know ahead of time what will happen if there is an interruption in service.  Clearly outline who will do what within what time frame.  If need be, bring it to their attention more than once.

For example, in their guidelines for communicating during a computer system failure, Nottingham Trent University states, “If your computer system fails and you cannot send or receive emails you will need to contact us immediately by telephoning (number).  When we receive a phone message from you, we will suspend the online counselling process until you inform us that your computer system is working again. Once we receive the information that your system is working we will reschedule another online appointment with you.

If our computer system fails and we cannot send or receive emails, we will contact you by phone and inform you of our system failure.  Once the system is working again we will contact you by email informing you that we can recommence the counselling process.”

Other online counselling sites I have seen also suggest both parties (counsellor and client) assume positive intent.  By that they mean – don’t assume your counsellor/client is upset with you and so has stopped communicating.

Technological problems will happen.  I guarantee it.  Usually when you least expect it or when it is most inconvenient!

Be prepared isn’t just a good motto for Scouts.

Dawn M Schell, MA, CCC, CCDP is an affiliate of Worldwide Therapy Online Inc. http://www.therapyonline.ca