I work entirely online from my private practice using encrypted email counselling. I work from a Humanistic theoretical foundation and specialise in working with individuals who are experiencing unhappiness in their relationships or are feeling generally stuck. As far as my clients go, I tend to wait ages for one to come along and then, like London taxis, three or four turn up at the same time.
I am more or less glued to my laptop and my work begins the moment I receive a counselling email. If it’s a new enquiry, I tend to trust my gut instinct in terms of whether I feel I’d be useful to the client and if I feel we’d be able to form a working relationship. Recently, I received an email from someone I felt I wouldn’t be comfortable working with, so I crafted a response which was designed to help her find more appropriate support. But if the enquiry is from someone I feel is likely to benefit from online therapy, I’ll read and re-read the email, then get on with my day, thinking about and processing what I’ve read. I always respond back by creating a Word document, then responding within the client’s text, in a new colour. The client then responds back to me in yet another colour and our relationship develops and grows along with our document.
Since launching my online practice three years ago, I’ve worked with all kinds of people, both men and women, some wishing they were in relationships, some wishing they weren’t … and their problems have ranged from feeling upset about their partner’s behaviour, to feeling anxious they won’t complete their PhD. I don’t know if there is a correlation between my website content and design and the kinds of clients I hear from, but generally speaking, I find that the people who find me are people I feel happy to work with.
… read the complete story ~ http://issuu.com/onlinetherapyinstitute/docs/tiltiss8?mode=window&pageNumber=51
This article first appeared in the November 2011 issue of TILT Magazine ~ Therapeutic Innovations in Light of Technology.
Click here to read the entire article.
Helen Glatt is a BACP integrative, humanistic counsellor with additional training in online counselling, launching her private online practice at www.offload-onlinecounselling.co.uk in 2008. She is an Executive Committee member of ACTO, the Association for Counselling and Therapy Online. Helen lives in North London with her partner, daughter and dogs.
