The Value of this Online Course: Online Therapy Specialist Certificate
This is my first blog here and (of course) right now, I feel completely stumped for something eloquent and deeply meaningful to say! What is so very true for me right now is how completely impressed I am with the technology displayed and taught in this Online Therapy Course!! I feel like a kid in a candy store, with all the attendant awe, desire to sample everything and also the knowledge that too much, too fast, will overwhelm me! I get glimpses into a virtual reality that is like watching the movie Matrix. There are astounding possibilities everywhere.
Kate and DeeAnna have put together something that will take years to know well, and lifetimes to master! I thank you all here and look forward to getting to know much more about all of this!
Author: Karen Turner
Originally published by Online Therapy Institute, Inc. May 19, 2012
A Reflection on my Course to Date: Online Therapy Specialist Certificate
I enrolled on my on line therapy course which teaches how to offer therapy services on line. In order to see Cyberspace from the clients point of view the module takes me into chat rooms, tweets, blogs and virtual reality rooms. It covers secure email and Internet safety. For the purpose of writing a blog as part of my assessment
I would like to reflect on my progress on this course so far. As a therapist who works full time, it was with some trepidation I embarked on this course. Uppermost in my mind was whether I had the time to actually do the course. However, with a bit of self-discipline and hard work I am now half way through Module 1. Many years ago I reluctantly became a computer teacher purely by accident and never really had great enthusiasm for technology, as my great passion was for people. My passion is still for people but I feel that my destiny also lies with technology so this course is a great opportunity to combine them both. I feel excited at the prospect of counselling using modern technology. When I had my own therapy I would have jumped at the chance to do it using private email, video, chat or any other cyberspace route. Instead of leaving a nice warm house after a full day’s work to face the drive in the dark cold Scottish winter nights to visit my therapist I could have made myself comfortable on my own settee.
So far the elements of the course have been fairly straight forward. I enjoy doing research on the internet so looking at mental health websites and researching such subjects as “manic depression” is already a daily occurrence for me. However, entering chat rooms was virgin territory. I did not feel at all comfortable in a non-specific chat room and felt a bit like an eavesdropper rather than a participant. On saying that I can see how a specific chat room set up for a client of my own would work very well. I already use Skype as I have friends and family scattered all over the world but had never used the chat facility before, only the audio and video. I felt very comfortable with the transition between typing and talking and can see the advantages in this for clients during therapy. If there is a topic a client finds hard to discuss it would be easier to type it out.
All the books and articles I have been reading for the last four years or so have had something to do with mental health so I found the task of looking for any subject that took my fancy on Wikipedia a bit daunting. It took me ages to decide on a topic that had nothing to do with mental health so when I finally chose a subject it was refreshing and fun. After this present task I will be entering a virtual reality room where I will encounter a graphical representation of a human being in a computer graphical environment. I am finding the course interesting and informative and look forward to the rest of my journey combining therapy and technology.
Author: Eve Russell
Originally published by Online Therapy Institute, Inc. September 22, 2011
