Online Counselling: Information Leaflet
On this page you will find:
- How does online counselling work?
- Is online counselling suitable for me?
- What are the arrangements for email counselling?
- How do I make the best use of email counselling?
- What are the arrangements for counselling by live chat?
- How do I make the best use of counselling by live chat?
- Can I use smilies, emoticons, text abbreviations, or other inserts?
- What difficulties might I encounter?
- What if I feel desperate and in a crisis?
- How secure is online counselling?
- Is my counselling confidential?
- What if I have a technological problem during my counselling?
- What if I have a complaint?
How does online counselling work?
After you have completed our Registration Form for counselling, a counsellor will contact you by email to arrange your online counselling. Your counsellor will explain how the counselling works.
You will have a counselling email exchange, or live chat session, once a week, unless you ask specifically for less frequent contact.
Your counsellor will explore your experiences with you, offer support, help you understand better, and/or make changes. They will not tell you what to do, but will try and help you make your own decisions.
The counselling we offer is short term, ie from one to several weeks. Early in your counselling, you and your counsellor will decide for how long you expect to work together.
Is online counselling suitable for me?
Your counsellor can check with you if online counselling is right for you.
You do not need to be a technical expert, but you do need to know how to write and receive emails and have good access to a computer. If you choose live chat, you will need to know how to text in live chat, though your counsellor will provide guidance if it is relatively new to you.
The occasional technical mishap will not prevent your counselling, but if you have regular problems on the computer, face-to-face counselling would be a better option.
You must be able to use your computer without anyone else present and to prevent access to any stored messages.
There are some circumstances where counselling should be face-to-face, because this is likely to be the best way of helping you. These circumstances are:
- if you are at a high risk of severely harming yourself or others
- if you have a history of severe mental illness
- if drugs or alcohol is your main problem.
What are the arrangements for email counselling?
It is important to use encrypted emails. “Encrypted” means that the emails are sent in such a way that only your computer can read them (although very rare, it is possible to intercept ordinary emails). You can use Safe-mail to write encrypted emails. It is best if you set up a Safe-mail address before your counselling starts, and you can do that now. It is easy to set up and use, but if you have any difficulties or worries, your counsellor will help you. (If you know about encryption and prefer another method, tell your counsellor, and, if possible, they will use that method.)
A tip about using Safe-mail: You can get a message sent to your normal email address saying that you have a Safe-mail. Click on Preferences in the top tabs. Click on Mail (under Email) in the side menu. In the middle block, click on New Mail Alerts and write in your normal email address. Click OK. Test it out by sending yourself a Safe-mail!
You email your counsellor at least once a week, and they will email back on a specified day.
How do I make the best use of email counselling?
Different people find different things useful. Here are some possibilities:
- Maybe write when you feel strong emotions, because you may find your feelings easier to describe and may find writing is a relief.
- You may find it helpful to read what you have written and reflect on it before sending the mail.
- Don't hurry when you read your counsellor's response. You may want to read it several times to help you think about what is said.
- Keep your emails and your counsellor's responses, so you can re-read them and reflect further. You may want to create a separate folder on your computer, or print out the mails. Be careful to keep your records secure, eg by password protecting, so others can't read them. Ask your counsellor if you are unsure how to do this.
What are the arrangements for counselling by live chat?
In live chat counselling, you communicate with a counsellor through text from your computer terminal in real time. You can use either Skype or Live Messenger. Counselling is through text only: we do not provide speech or video links. You don't need to be familiar with Skype or Messenger, although it helps if you are.
Skype encrypts all text messages. Live Messenger is not encrypted, so, to prevent anyone intercepting the messages, you must download a security package, called Simplite. Simply follow the automatic set up procedures, including generating a key. You can just accept all the default settings. It's all automatic and easy to do.
If you have any problems with downloading or securing any programme, your counsellor will help you.
Your counsellor will give you a time for your session, this will be on Thursday between 9am and 12 noon, or Friday between 1pm and 3pm. You may have some choice in the time of your session. The session will last 50 minutes. You will have 1 session per week.
How do I make the best use of counselling by live chat?
It often helps to be spontaneous and say what you feel in the present, but stay focused and to the point – remember that text is slower than words and you want your session to be useful. It is helpful to reflect on the session afterwards.
If you are sure no-one can access it, you can keep a message history, so you can go back and re-read your session.
For Skype: Click on Tools at the top of the window, then click on Options. Click on IM & SMS. Click on IM, if this section is not already open. Beside “keep history for” select a period to keep your conversations on your computer.
For Live Messenger: Open Windows Live Messenger, and click on your name. Click on Options. In the pop-up, click on Messages. Make sure there is a tick next to “Automatically keep a history of my conversations.”
If you keep a history, you must make sure no-one can access it. Do not use an automatic sign in to Skype or Windows Live Messenger, and never leave it open on your computer. Ensure your password is not known to anyone, nor easy to guess.
Keep secure! If there is any chance of anyone reading it, do not keep a history:
For Skype: Follow the instructions above for keeping a history, but select “no history” beside “keep history for”.
For Live Messenger: Follow the instructions above for keeping a history, but untick the box next to “Automatically keep a history of my conversations.”
During your sessions, you may want to say a lot in one go. Type a line and then type three dots (...), this tells your counsellor that you haven't finished speaking yet. Press Send. Repeat this every line. Your counsellor can read while you are typing, so it speeds things up. Your counsellor will do the same if they want to say something lengthy.
It is common in live chat to use brief texts like “means?” rather than “what did you mean?”. This speeds things up.
It's also okay to use abbreviations like “u r” for “you are”. If your counsellor doesn't understand, they will ask you. They will only use abbreviations if you do, to make sure you understand them.
Sometimes you may want a silence while you think or take something in. If no-one types for a while, it can be unsettling, and Windows Live Messenger sometimes closes. To prevent this your counsellor will type a dot (.) every few moments, and you can do so too if you like. To let your counsellor know you are reflecting you can also type things like “thinking” or “quiet moment”.
Your counsellor can't see you, so it helps them understand how you are feeling if you tell them!
Can I use smilies, emoticons, text abbreviations, poems, images, or other online inserts?
Yes, if you want to. You may find these helpful in expressing yourself. But if you don't like using such inserts, don't use them.
If you want to use different colours or pictures to express yourself, you can do this. Some people like to attach poems or sayings that have personal meaning. Again, no need to do so! It is fine to just send plain text.
Please note that it is not acceptable to send viruses. If you do, your mails will be blocked by your counsellor's virus protector.
What difficulties might I encounter?
It isn't frequent, but occasionally technical failures occur. If you don't get an expected email reply, email your counsellor again. If still no reply within a day, tell reception by phone (Oxford 484650) or email ssrecpt@brookes.ac.uk
If your counsellor isn't online for your live chat appointment, check your emails in case there is a message. If not, email your counsellor. If no reply after 10 minutes, tell reception.
It is a good idea to tell your counsellor your phone number, so that you can be contacted immediately if the counsellor's computer stops working. Please contact reception if your computer stops working, so that your counsellor can decide with you how to proceed.
In face-to-face meetings, we use body language to help us communicate. We can't do that online, and this means that sometimes there are misunderstandings. It will help minimize this if you always tell your counsellor when you think they have misunderstood you, and let them know how you are feeling about their replies.
What if I feel desperate and in a crisis?
Your counsellor will read your mails on specified days of the week. Your counsellor is not contactable by live chat outside your weekly sessions. If you need to contact someone urgently because of how you feel, there are a number of people you could contact:
- Your doctor
- the Samaritans
- other sources of help can be found on our webpages
Counselling can be useful after a crisis has resolved, to help you understand what was happening and reduce the chances of it happening again. If you are at risk of harming yourself or someone else, then face-to-face counselling may be the best option.
How secure is online counselling?
No computer system is 100% secure. However, because we ask you to use secure systems, your counselling is very well protected.
But someone accessing your computer could read your emails or message history unless you take precautions. You can password-protect access to your emails, live chat history, and stored documents. It is advisable to do this for online counselling, because you may say things you haven't told others. If you don't know how to password protect, contact Computer Services, so they can tell you how – you don't need to tell them why you want to do this as there are many reasons for password protecting access to computer files. If you prefer, you can ask your counsellor for advice on protecting access.
Your counsellor will keep your records password protected on their computer.
Is my counselling confidential?
Yes. Except for the limits outlined below, your counsellor will not divulge information to others without your consent. This includes your family, friends, tutors and doctor.
Your counsellor will discuss their work with a supervisor, which is normal counselling practice. They may also discuss their work within the small team of counsellors at Oxford Brookes University. The supervisor and other counsellors keep everything confidential.
Your counsellor would only consider breaking confidentiality in the rare circumstances below:
- if you are at risk of severely hurting yourself or someone else
- if the law requires it (there are very few circumstances, please ask if you want to know more).
Online counselling is subject to the same level of confidentiality as face-to-face counselling. If you want to know more, refer to our policy on confidentiality. We have a short or a full version of our policy.
What if I have a technological problem during my counselling?
If you have a difficulty, please let us know by contacting Counselling Service reception. Please leave your telephone number, so your counsellor can contact you, and help you decide how to proceed.
What if I have a complaint?
If you are unhappy with your counselling, it is generally best to tell your counsellor. The most likely problem is a misunderstanding. You and your counsellor may be able to rectify that, and your counselling can proceed.
Your counsellor is bound by the Ethical Framework of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). If you think your counsellor has been working unethically, you can contact the Head of Counselling, Student Services, Oxford Brookes University. Alternatively, you can contact BACP directly. All complaints will be taken seriously.
If you prefer, you can make a complaint through Oxford Brookes Complaints Procedure as for any service provided by the university.