I’ve been considering acquiring an iPad for some time now.  As I was doing some research I came across a number of counselling-related apps for smartphones and iPads.

I thought I would share two of the apps that stood out for me. 

The first app was recommended by four different counselling websites so I decided to try it out.  Breathe2relax is a stress management app and it’s free.  You gotta like free.  I downloaded it to my phone and started using it.  I like the way the designers have structured it. It’s easy to use.  If you are unfamiliar with how to do effective belly breathing [to use their term] there’s a video that demonstrates how to do it.  Before you begin a breathing exercise you are asked to rate how stressed/relaxed you are.  You can personalize the music and visuals and you can adjust the length of inhalations and exhalations to suit your own rhythm.  Finally, there’s a body scanner where you can learn how stress affects different areas of your body.  I will definitely be sharing this one with my clients. 

The second one is– Traxitall.- a goal setting, motivational, habits building, all-in-one daily log/tracking system (to use the designers’ words).   The cost for this one is $1.99.  Not bad.  It’s easy to use and follows the SMART approach to goal setting.   For each goal you are tracking you get three choices about how to track your progress.  There is a screen where you can enter your daily progress and a goal bar that shows you how close you are to achieving your goal.  One feature that appeals to me is you can use this app to track multiple goals. Again, I would recommend it to clients. 

I looked at other apps that track one’s mood or assist people to deal with depression, anxiety or OCD.  The jury’s out on those at the moment.  My main concern is privacy and confidentiality.  Not so much from the point of view of purchasing one of them.    Rather – what happens if a client loses a phone or tablet on which these apps are installed?  Or what if a friend or colleague sees what the client is doing when they are tracking their symptoms?  I imagine, that in addition to the basic security features, there are other measures one can take to protect one’s privacy.  So, I will do more investigation into the subject and get back to you.

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

When Lawrence Murphy and I were co-presenting “Taking Career Counselling Online” at Cannexus13 we asked participants what they wanted to learn in our session.  Practical tips and resources was one of the requests. Time management was another.  As one person said “how do you manage your time so that what would be an hour in person doesn’t end up as three hours writing?”  Good questions.  Sounded like a great topic for a blog post to me!

Here’s some tips for asynchronous text-based counselling. 

Just as I would for an in-person counselling session I make sure I am not going to be interrupted – close my office door, unplug the phone,  mute the alerts on my laptop, ensure I can’t see incoming emails, put the cat out, etc. 

I read through a client’s entire message and then take a few moments to think about what the main issues are and what exercises/resources/information I might wish to share with my client.  If there are multiple issues I make a determination about what to focus on.

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Looking back over the year [wondering where the time went!] I have been reflecting on what stood out for me this year with respect to Online Counselling.

In 2012 I was encouraged to see the following:

In June 2012 the Canadian Association of Colleges and University Student Services [CACUSS] conference’s focus was on the use of technology in student services [wish I had been there].  One of the questions up for discussion was “are colleges and universities in Canada ready to take student services online”.  The programme covered topics such as –transitioning career services online, evaluation research conducted on an online alcohol intervention program, self-help programs for anxiety and depression, facilitating community, and how to provide academic supports to at-risk students – to name a few!  One snippet of information that stood out for me was from Dalhousie University – “half of current students would prefer help via the internet”.  [1]  Sounds like interesting times ahead for our post-secondary institutions.

An exponential increase in journal articles and research on Online Counselling (check out this Research Bibliography https://www.ismho.org/research_bibliography.asp).  One piece of research that caught my attention was a large scale assessment of Telemental Health outcomes on 98,609 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Patients enrolled in Telemental Health Services [2]

Interesting and informative LinkedIn group discussions.  Not the least of which led me to consider what my Social Media policy will be [an evolving document at the moment].

Continued development of excellent online mental health supports.  Check out the list I wrote on this blog in December 2011 of my favourite sites.  

And, at the CCPA conference this past May it seemed to me there were more people talking about online counselling than ever before.  Some of the attendees expressed interest in joining a CCPA chapter on Online Counselling.  That is still in the preliminary stages but if you have any interest please let me know!

It feels as if 2012 was a year of moving forward on so many levels in the world of Online Counselling.   I am looking forward to 2013 and continuing to share ideas and resources with all of you.  Let’s keep the dialogue going.
Dawn M. Schell, MA, CCC, CCDP is an affiliate of Worldwide Therapy Online Inc.  http://www.therapyonline.ca

A couple of posts ago I said I would be reading the “Ethical Framework for the Use of Scoial Media by Mental Health Professionals”[1] from the Online Therapy Institute and reporting back to you what I learned. 

One thing I learned right away is that I haven’t given this whole topic quite as much thought as it deserves! I had participated in a workshop on Social Media for career practitioners and that experience prompted me to be much more intentional about my use of Social Media.  But there was a lot I had not considered.  Reading the Ethical Framework has led me to rethink my approach to Social Media.

As it happens I am part of a group on LinkedIn where this topic was also being discussed.  Tamara G. Suttle, a therapist who writes the blog “All things Private Practice”, brought up the topic of Social Media in two recent blog posts.[2] The discussion arose from a counsellor who wondered what to do about a former client ‘following’ her on Twitter.  The ensuing discussion about boundaries between therapist and client was helpful in furthering my thinking about this topic.

From these posts I found out about Dr. Keely Kolmes’s work on Social Media for Clinicians.  While she works in the US I think what she has to say is relevant.  Dr. Kolmes offers a course in Social Media for Clinicians though you don’t need to take the course to read the articles and view her private practice social media policy.[3] I will definitely be creating a Social Media Policy of my own [feeling a little sheepish that I haven’t done it yet!]. 

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It’s been a week of focussing on the business aspects of online counselling.

The issue of marketing arose when I was meeting with a colleague in the community who is an executive coach.  She’s just starting her own private practice and was asking me about my marketing.  Where did I advertise?  How did I handle marketing? What innovative and creative ways was I using to get the word out?

I felt a little sheepish as I mumbled something that I hope sounded reasonable.  I will admit that marketing is not my strong suit.  I know I have to do it yet it’s one of those things about which I tend to procrastinate.    Which isn’t good because I am in private practice!    Anyone else feel the same way?  Continue reading →