I am a Virtual World Counselor. I provide counseling services to adolescents and young adults in secure and confidential Virtual World environments. Online therapy provides accessibility to counseling resources across time zones and regardless of the geographical location of professional staff and the participating consumers. As a therapist, I am able to experience flexibility where I can also provide those services from many locations.
I frequently start my day by logging in to our counseling grids to make sure things are flowing smoothly for clients to be able to access their services. I review my schedule to familiarize myself with individual sessions I have scheduled, orientation sessions for new clients, and group therapy. If materials or posters are needed for sessions or groups that day, I upload the content necessary and set those things up. One of the unique experiences as a therapist providing services in this context is that I get to create the things I need in the environment as I need them. For example, family communication might be an issue someone needs to work on that day so I could go in our virtual space and create a roundtable discussion setting where clients can practice healthier communication, or maybe we are having a group on anger management, so I set up the chairs around a volcano we have constructed as a visual aid. We are able to create multiple environments to meet immediate needs without worrying about expenses or construction time.
… read the complete story ~ http://issuu.com/onlinetherapyinstitute/docs/tiltiss7?mode=window&pageNumber=46
This article first appeared in the September 2011 issue of TILT Magazine ~ Therapeutic Innovations in Light of Technology.
Click here to read the entire article.
Brenda Bryan has been employed by Preferred Family Healthcare for over 15 years. She has been serving in the capacity of Virtual World Counselor for approximately 3 years. She has extensive experience in working with adolescents and young adults who suffer with drug and alcohol issues and mental health issues.
