Online Counseling: Perceptions of Counselors, Counselor Educators, and Trainees

Course overview

Course Description: This course examines the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of counselors, counselor educators, and counselor trainees regarding online counseling services in university settings. Drawing on a peer-reviewed mixed-methods study conducted at a public university in Ghana, the course explores how professionals in the helping field perceive and use online counseling in comparison to traditional face-to-face approaches. Participants will examine barriers to adoption, including concerns about confidentiality, technological literacy, and nonverbal communication, as well as the factors that promote effective online counseling implementation. This course on online counseling is designed for social workers, professional counselors, psychologists, nurses, and substance abuse counselors, who do clinical work. This course is appropriate for intermediate and advanced level practitioners who wish to develop or increase their knowledge of online and technology-assisted counseling modalities. It may also be useful for licensed clinicians who require continuing education courses for license renewal. Authors: Amos, Adade, Duodu Learning Objectives: This course will provide a professional with detailed information about online counseling perceptions, usage, and implementation strategies. Specifically, the practitioner will: 1. Identify the key knowledge gaps and attitudes held by counselors, counselor educators, and counselor trainees regarding online counseling based on research findings. 2. Describe the clinical applications and limitations of online counseling for addressing psychosocial problems, including relationship difficulties, trauma, and socio-phobic conditions. 3. Explain the infrastructural, ethical, and training measures necessary to promote effective online counseling services in educational and clinical settings. Citation: Amos, P. M., Adade, J. R. D., & Duodu, A. A. (2022). Online counseling: Perceptions of counselors, counselor educators and trainees. Journal of Asia Pacific Counseling, 12(1), 37-59.