Things to consider about working online
Internet and connection
To engage in online counselling we need internet that is strong/fast enough. If you can stream Netflix, or other media without interruption it should be ok. Having losses in connectivity can be frustrating and can interfere with our work.
There are some things you can do:
- have other people avoid using the internet at our appointed time.
- turn off programs that quietly use bandwidth, such as skype.
But sometimes we’ll still need a plan B. Or plan C.
Alternate plans:
B. We’ll try an alternate platform.
C. We’ll turn off ‘cameras’ and try voice only.
D. If that fails or is not desirable we can continue with text-only chat.
E. If that is not working or not desirable, and we need to abandon the session we will first try to reschedule at another time.
F. If we are not able to reschedule we can talk about a refund.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality online has some extra things to think about than when we meet in person. We need to think about safety at your end. Where will you meet with me? It could be your home, office, car, or a different place. Will other people overhear you? Is that a concern for you?
If the worst should happen and an emergency happened at your end, as a responsibility practitioner I need to be ready to do all I can to help you. That’s why I’ll need to confirm with you where you are each time we meet. I’ll need to have two emergency contacts who can speak English and who live near you.
Because of these special circumstances I’ll need permission from you beforehand to follow these steps in the event of an emergency:
- I’ll make every attempt to contact you directly through online message, email, your own contact phone number
- If I have no success and I am still concerned, I’ll call first one then the other of your emergency contacts
- If I have no luck there, and I’m still concerned I’ll call your local police or other service, that you previously identified.
Limits of online communications
Although video chat is almost as good as meeting in person, there are some limitations. Since we can’t see each others’ whole body to sense all non-verbal communication, there’s potential for misunderstanding. This is made even greater when we remove the visual and are speaking as if on the phone. Removing sound and using text only (such as email and instant messaging) increases the potential for misunderstanding even further.
These limitations can mean that online counselling isn’t the best approach for some people and some circumstances. We will discuss this in our first meeting.
If we do go ahead with the counselling, I’ll check out with you whenever anything seems ambiguous to be sure that I am receiving the full message and I ask for you to do the same. If I do something that seems offensive or out of character in any way I ask that you bring it up for clarification, as it could be a miscommunication related to the technology.
For these reasons, voice-only or text-only communication will not be our preferred contact method. If you feel you need these, please discuss this with me further.