Abstract:

Computer technology and the use of Internet has become a major part of education and society in the United States. The U.S. Department of Commerce in 2004 reported the staggering pace of advancement and computer use to be at more than 60% of U.S. households. The mental health profession and counseling educational programs have recognized the power of this medium for communication and safe keeping of confidentiality and have begun to use the Internet as a resource to provide online counseling and education (Evans & Hawkins, 2002; Heinlen, Reynolds-Welfel, Richmond, &Rak, 2003; Rochlen, Zack, & Speyer, 2004).

The advancement of eLearning methods in the field of counseling have reached a substantial status as evidenced by the development of ethical guidelines by the American Counseling Association (ACA; 2005) and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC; 1998), both major organizations are at the forefront of the Counseling field in the United States. NBCC has further developed a Distanced Credentialed Counselor certification to ensure standardization of online practices as well as to ensure the general public that consistent and ethical codes of practice are used among all Distanced Certified Counselors (Trepal, Haberstroh, Duffy, & Evans, 2007).

With the increase in the use of online counseling services researchers have suggested an increase in online counseling graduate programs to satisfy the demands of the field (Mallen, Vogel, & Rochlen, 2005). However opponents of such a move have noted that in most face-to-face counselor education programs, students receive didactic instruction about the different components of counseling skills and are then offered opportunities to engage in supervised counseling practice and that those components would be missing in an eLearning environment (M. E. Young, 2005; Trepal, Haberstroh, Duffy, & Evans, 2007).

However with the advancement of technology and eLearning tools many of the previously thought about obstacles have been removed and instructional researchers have been able to adapt strategies for teaching basic counseling skills involved in establishing and maintaining the therapeutic relationship. Some of these skills would include the accurate and timely use of language, questions, reflections, and effectively opening and closing sessions for online practice (Trepal, Haberstroh, Duffy, & Evans, 2007).

This paper reports on the development of those strategies. In addition, highlights the scientific findings on the effectiveness and significance of Internet counseling and counseling education as they relate to the advancement of eLearning technologies.

Keywords:

elearning, online teaching, online counseling, counseling education, counseling.