Online Counseling

Mallen, Vogel, and colleagues explore the developing field of online counseling from the unique perspective of counseling psychology. They examine the body of available research and relevant clinical, ethical, legal, and practical issues and make recommendations for counseling psychologists who desire to participate in online counseling. This article provides a critique of their contributions, finds support for much of what they present, offers additional suggestions for counseling psychologists, and makes recommendations for counseling psychology to resolve challenges that at present, limit online counseling’s value, effectiveness, and impact. The author makes recommendations for practical research that studies the actual online-counseling process, establishing additional standards, more effectively disseminating information, enhancing training, expanding access through innovative programs, and increasing advocacy efforts.