The technology industry offers the foundation for information, social media, and communication. It is a huge industry with a massive growth prospective; however there are possibilities of ethical and legal issues. Within human services there is continuously a worry about confidentiality and safety when networking with clients. Several clients require assistance but they do not recognize the issues related to preserving of confidentiality of their information.

Therapy may be considered a client's maximum force in obtaining control of their problems they face during their lives. In current years therapy has evolved into a higher-level of treatment and can be taken online. Online therapy is cost effective, convenient, and helps with time management. On the web currently there are uncountable amounts of online therapy organizations available for individuals to benefit from, if needed.

To obtain knowledge of the details of online therapy I have researched some of online therapy organizations to find out whom they serve, what they provide, moral and safety issues, and the disadvantages and advantages, and obligations of the professionals of online therapy.
Licensed human services professional must not forget in order to counsel on the web, they are subject to the identical laws that standardize the practice of telemedicine and telehealth.

Sunrise Counseling

The first site I researched was with Sunrise Counseling. This content of this website was traditional and to the point. It was easy to maneuver and provided many topics. It listed examples of how individuals may feel and ways to respond to their situations. The website offered links to questions and other helpful websites. I found it really easy to use.

Dawn Sutton is skilled therapist on this website. Ms. Sutton offers potential openings of confidentiality, encoded email technology and secure/encoded chat rooms. She noted that she could not guarantee privacy but if individuals had a concern that they could delete the browser’s cache. Due to this any security processes or complete confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. She states that she maintains her computer files and hard copy files of the communication with highest security measures in place (Sutton, 2013). While offering the most secured site as probable, it takes little time to see how the concrete online session happens.

The first step is to make sure all clients read the "What is Online Therapy"? Link. Next clients should fill out and submit a one-time free counseling application form. The therapist, normally, tries to return your email as soon as possible.

Serenity On-line therapy

Serenity On-line therapy was the second website I researched. Individuals can receive a wide variety of therapy on this website. The site displays the different selections of programs and fees and system of payments. Carl Benedict is a licensed clinical professional counselor for this site. There is a small resume of his credentials displayed.

This website has a professional design and offers individuals with resources and helpful links. Mr. Benedict admits that he is lawfully and ethically guaranteed to protect your online counseling confidentiality, which includes the privacy of your records (Benedict, 2013). These records are kept and protected according to professional guidelines. However, there are limits to confidentiality because laws require therapists to report any have of child abuse or neglect to the local Department of Social Services.

In addition to that, Mr. Benedict does not have access to credit card information. All transactions are processed through PayPal, the global leader in online payments. There are three steps to begin the chat therapy or on-line therapy. To start, one must fill out a questionnaire about themselves and any issues they have. Next, complete the Email counseling submission form. Lastly, individuals must pay the initial Email counseling session.

Mytherapynet.com

The last online therapy I researched was mytherapynet.com. Their goal is to provide superior access to mental health counseling services, exclusively to those who otherwise would not have access to in-person services (mytherapynet.com, 2013). Automatically, I could tell that it had more to offer than the other two sites. This site had several therapists to choose from. They each had a brief description about themselves. It also listed their credentials.

I also liked the different tools they used for communication such as webcam, email, phone, chat, and audio. They also offered a variety of different services and counseling topics. The only downfall I could see about the website was that there was limited information on guidelines. They did not mention anything about confidentiality. I imagine that that is something that will be confirmed after signing up. Online therapy has important requirements that one must consider. HIPPA is the main requirement. Notice of Privacy Practices protects therapists. Professional associations and state regulatory board interpret online therapy to be experimental, new, and original.

The therapist should request written consent form from all clients. It is obligatory for the therapist to obey all guidelines and regulations and particular admissions should be incompliance on the website before the client registers. When services start confidentiality practices should enforced to ensure that clients feel comfortable.

Confidentiality is the most important aspect when it comes to online counseling. Online counseling could harm the client because services over the internet can be affected. Some examples are decoded computers and data files, and phishing, sent over the networks.

Advantages and Disadvantages
Online therapy has many advantages and disadvantages. Most have advantages have to do with convenience. For example, you can engage in therapy from home or away, during the night or the day, and requires no traveling. Other examples would be that it’s more affordable, having the sessions in writing allows you to refer back to sessions, and it’s less intimidating.

The greatest disadvantage would be risks of confidentiality. Additional examples are the possibility of misinterpretations because of text-based communications, technology failure, and the fact that several insurance companies usually do not cover online therapy. I feel that the fact that the client can have therapy while sitting at home, where they are comfortable, is a big advantage. It is definitely more relaxed than being face-to-face with a stranger. However, many problems cannot be fixed with online therapy and most important the client’s privacy cannot be guaranteed by using the internet.

References

Mytherapynet.com. (2013). Retrieved from http://mytherapynet.com/

Serenity On-Line Therapy (2013) Online Counseling: Chat Therapy and Email Counseling.
Retrieved from http://serenityonlinetherapy.com/

Sutton, D (2013) Sunrise Counselling. Retrieved from
http://www.sunrisecounselling.com/index.html