{"id":5380,"date":"2011-12-13T10:29:34","date_gmt":"2011-12-13T15:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ccpa.scottbuckingham.ca\/blog\/?p=1545"},"modified":"2015-07-03T16:08:26","modified_gmt":"2015-07-03T20:08:26","slug":"but-are-online-relationships-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ccpa-accp.ca\/fr\/but-are-online-relationships-real\/","title":{"rendered":"But Are Online Relationships \u201cReal\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a question I\u2019ve heard many times. From colleagues as they try to understand how online counselling works and from parents as they puzzle over the amount of time their child spends on facebook (and other social media).\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, they don\u2019t often define \u201creal\u201d \u2013 just express this vague sense that somehow an online relationship is not valid.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at some anecdotal reports from this past week in my life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A counsellor I know is taking the Cybercounselling Level 1[1]<\/a> course.\u00a0 She said she had learned it was possible to feel connected to people she had only met online. That she had \u201cwarm feelings\u201d for the others in her course.\u00a0 This experiential learning was a pleasant surprise to her and enabled her to understand how a client and therapist might be able to establish a positive working relationship in an online format.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The CBC program \u201cThe Current\u201d had a show about poverty and I listened to a number of people talk about having to make budgetary choices such as dipping in to their food money to pay for internet and cable. Why would they do that?\u00a0 Because having the internet\/cable meant they felt less isolated and having some community or support was important enough to make that kind of difficult choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At dinner the other night friends were discussing how much closer they feel to far-flung friends and relatives since the advent of Skype and Facebook.\u00a0 One person said, \u201cnow I get to watch my niece growing up where before I would only see her once every four years\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A friend recently experienced a tragic loss and has been quite public about her grief journey on facebook.\u00a0 It\u2019s brave, courageous, raw, vulnerable, and real.\u00a0 The intense outpouring of love, compassion and support from friends is palpable and deeply moving.<\/p>\n

In my online counselling practice clients tell me (directly and indirectly) they feel heard, understood and supported.<\/p>\n

What about the research you say?\u00a0 Ah yes, research.\u00a0 There is an ever increasing amount of research on the topic of \u201clive\u201d versus \u201conline\u201d treatment and the efficacy of the therapeutic alliance in an online environment.\u00a0 If you are interested in knowing more you can go to this site for listings of research articles.\u00a0 I\u2019ve read more than a few of them!\u00a0 http:\/\/construct.haifa.ac.il\/%7Eazy\/refindx.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

So do I think online relationships are \u201creal\u201d.\u00a0 Yes, I do!<\/p>\n

What about you?\u00a0 What do you think?\u00a0 Real or not?\u00a0<\/p>\n

The opinions expressed in this blogpost are personal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dawn Schell, MA, CCC is an affiliate of Worldwide Therapy Online Inc.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.therapyonline.ca<\/a><\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a> http:\/\/therapyonline.ca\/cybercounselling\/course-desc-L1.asp<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a question I\u2019ve heard many times. From colleagues as they try to understand how online counselling works and from parents as they puzzle over the amount of time their child spends on facebook (and other social media).\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, they don\u2019t often define \u201creal\u201d \u2013 just express this vague sense that somehow an online […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001008,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-online-counselling"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBut Are Online Relationships \u201cReal\u201d? - L'Association canadienne de counseling et de psychoth\u00e9rapie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ccpa-accp.ca\/but-are-online-relationships-real\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"But Are Online Relationships \u201cReal\u201d? - L'Association canadienne de counseling et de psychoth\u00e9rapie\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s a question I\u2019ve heard many times. 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