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There is a growing need for high-quality evidence to support the efficacy of online counseling and peer support via social networking sites (SNSs) as an intervention to reduce mental health symptoms in young people. This article presents Phase 2 of Kids Helpline (KHL) Circles, which used mixed methods to assess the acceptability, safety, user experience, and mental health benefits of a purpose-built, counselor-facilitated SNS. Young people aged 13–25 years (n = 552) were recruited to participate in one of six 8-week "Circles." Of those, 154 participants completed study surveys at three timepoints (baseline, midpoint, endpoint). Significant reductions in depression, anxiety, stress, and general distress symptoms were reported at the midpoint of the intervention, with further significant reductions in depression and stress symptoms by the endpoint. More than half said that their mental health improved as a direct result of KHL Circles, and most felt less mental health stigma and would be more willing to seek help for mental health issues in the future. These results contribute to increasing the evidence base for SNS interventions to reduce mental health symptoms. Adjustments are necessary for the ongoing evolution of this service to ensure it is user-centered and scientifically rigorous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the popularity of Videoconferencing Psychotherapy (VCP) is rapidly growing as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, research findings on the actual status of VCP use in Japan and on the factors predicting dropout from VCP are insufficient. Specifically, no research has been conducted on the early stages of VCP. In this study, we used VCP data (4,921 to 3,470 participants) from a private company to assess the actual status of VCP use. We then conducted a hierarchical logistic regression analysis to explore explanatory variables that predict dropout and continuation between the first and second sessions. The results indicated that therapists with longer clinical experience were more likely to continue the counseling sessions and clients were less likely to continue when they felt the effects of psychotherapy in the first evaluation session, and more likely to continue when they had expectations of psychotherapy being effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Istanbul Commerce University Journal of Social Sciences / İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi is the property of Istanbul Commerce University Journal of Social Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of IUG Journal of Educational & Psychological Studies is the property of Islamic University of Gaza and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Group counseling is one intervention that seems to be perceived as less valuable than individual ones in helping professions. In countries where counseling is still in an emerging stage, there is sometimes little to no specific training in group skills for future counselors. This paper addresses the history of group work in helping professions, the types of groups in career settings, the benefits and limitations of group interventions, and the opportunity offered by increasing interest and access to online interventions. The study covers the implications of the social and psychological outcomes of the COVID-pandemic on school and career counseling interventions. Challenges for practitioners and educators in countries where counseling is not a recognized profession are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of E-Beratungsjournal is the property of E-beratungsjournal.net and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: COVID-19 has triggered public health crises all around the globe. It has caused mental health issues not only in infected cases but also in uninfected cases. The world was put under strict/restricted lockdown to contain the transmission of COVID-19 diseases. All important aspects of life including therapies and counseling went online. "EmoAid" is one such online mental health program started during the COVID-19 to ease psychological distress. Aim: The current study assessed the efficacy of "EmoAid" program. Methods: One hundred and twenty-two participants completed depression, anxiety, and stress scale-21 online at three time periods; before the program (T1), after the program (T2), and 3 weeks after the program to study the maintenance effect (T3). Results: The results suggested that the program was successful in decreasing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress among participants. The maintenance effect of the program was also observed. Conclusion: The results highlight the importance of "EmoAid," an online mental health program in lowering the levels of psychological distress during the pandemic, however, a randomized controlled study is required to validate the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[U25] is a German online-peer-counseling service for adolescents with suicidal ideation, who typically do not seek or receive adequate counseling. We conducted an online survey in order to compare persons who receive online counseling by [U25] compared to those who are visitors of [U25] websites but do not (yet) receive counseling. Via online survey, all visitors to the [U25] websites were invited to fill in a questionnaire on sociodemographic data, utilization reasons, and barriers. Our final sample consisted of n = 318 counseling clients, n = 1127 persons who have not yet sought help but intend to do so (“prospective clients”), and n = 444 persons who do not consider [U25] counseling for themselves (“refusers”). Clients were more often female and showed positive attitudes toward online counseling. Low perceived need for counseling was the most frequent barrier reported by the refusers, whereas fear of stigma and practical barriers were rarely reported; younger and male refusers reported needing to write down one’s problems as a barrier more often. Self-selection might reduce generalizability of our results. Online counseling can facilitate receiving psychosocial support for young persons with suicidal ideation, particularly if barriers are addressed.

Objective: This study aimed to develop a reliable tool for the abstraction of data from crisis chat transcripts; to describe chatters' suicide risk status and selected counselor behaviors; and to examine the relationship of chatters' self‐reported pre‐chat suicidal thoughts to counselor behaviors and to chatters' disclosures of suicide risk during the chat conversation. Methods: Coders used an instrument developed for this study to abstract data from 1034 crisis chats handled by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Crisis Chat network in 2015. The relationship of transcript coding data to data from an automated pre‐chat survey (PCS) was examined. Results: Lifeline Crisis Chat serves a young (median age = 21), high‐risk population: 84.0% of chats (869/1034) came from chatters endorsing current or recent suicidal thoughts on the PCS. Counselors engaged in rapport‐building on 93.3%, problem‐solving on 70.1%, and suicide risk assessment on 67.7% of these 869 chats. Counselor risk assessment behavior, and the availability of information on suicide risk in the chat transcript, varied significantly by the chatter's PCS response. Conclusion: Crisis counselors are able to implement keystones of Lifeline's crisis intervention model over the medium of online chat. Additional efforts are needed to ensure that suicide risk is assessed on every chat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mediterranean Educational Research Journal / Akdeniz Eğitim Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Turkish Educational Research Association (TERA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective This study compared online, synchronous video counseling to in-person counseling using solution-focused brief therapy for college students with mild to moderate anxiety. Participants: Participants were 49 undergraduate students who were seeking counseling for mild to moderate anxiety. The study was conducted from November, 2017 to December 2018. Methods: In a randomized, non-inferiority design, undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to online, synchronous video counseling or in-person treatment for anxiety using solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT). Participants completed the Beck's Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and College Counseling Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (CCAPS) to assess outcomes. Results: The results showed significant changes in scores on the BAI and the CCAPS Generalized Anxiety and Social Anxiety subscales for participants in both study conditions, and no significant differences in effectiveness of the two delivery methods. Conclusions: The findings provide support for the treatment of college students with anxiety with SFBT through online, synchronous video counseling. Limitations related to sample size and diversity are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for online counseling to preserve therapeutic processes that have begun face to face and to provide service to others in need during lockdowns. Previous studies underscored the importance of providing updated training as counselors frequently hesitate to use technological advances in therapeutic sessions. This study aims at reducing such barriers by revealing personal characteristics of future professionals that might inhibit or encourage their openness toward providing online counseling. To this end, this study is focused on several precursors of openness to provide online counseling: preference to communicate emotions online, identification of emotional expressiveness advantages in providing online counseling, innovative behavior, creativity, and future problem-solving thinking skills. The question at focus is which constructs would be found contributive to students' openness to provide online counseling. The sample included 277 undergraduate students (future counselors) who filled out questionnaires. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. Our findings pointed to the centrality of students' preference to communicate their emotions online in explaining their openness to conducting online counseling. This study might help pinpointing the adjustments curriculum designers should address to better reflect the intensive changes within the counseling field that necessitate transferring face-to-face skills to online settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current situation brought about by the pandemic and technological advancements has resulted in a significant rise in the number of people who participate in online settings. Research into online counseling practice is significant as it is given the relative newness of the techniques. With this trend in guidance and counseling, the research aimed to find out the different concerns and issues when providing online counseling and online therapy’s efficacy. The research design involved utilizing the qualitative research method in addressing the research question, and document analysis was employed. This research's specific documents include outcomes-based studies, process studies, and self-report studies in guidance and counseling. After examining and analyzing literature from the three categories of study, online therapy appeared to be clinically efficacious. Online counseling was more convenient and less inhibition in disclosing confidential issues during online sessions.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for online counseling to preserve therapeutic processes that have begun face to face and to provide service to others in need during lockdowns. Previous studies underscored the importance of providing updated training as counselors frequently hesitate to use technological advances in therapeutic sessions. This study aims at reducing such barriers by revealing personal characteristics of future professionals that might inhibit or encourage their openness toward providing online counseling. To this end, this study is focused on several precursors of openness to provide online counseling: preference to communicate emotions online, identification of emotional expressiveness advantages in providing online counseling, innovative behavior, creativity, and future problem-solving thinking skills. The question at focus is which constructs would be found contributive to students’ openness to provide online counseling. The sample included 277 undergraduate students (future counselors) who filled out questionnaires. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. Our findings pointed to the centrality of students’ preference to communicate their emotions online in explaining their openness to conducting online counseling. This study might help pinpointing the adjustments curriculum designers should address to better reflect the intensive changes within the counseling field that necessitate transferring face-to-face skills to online settings.

Online counseling is gradually finding its way into therapy in universities in Ghana. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 accompanied by uncertainties and the fears of physical contact signaled a consideration of complete acceptability of online counseling, in addition to face-to-face counseling. Nonetheless, the level of counselors, counselor educators and counselor trainees' knowledge, attitude, and usage of online counseling in Ghanaian universities is unclear. Thus, this study used an explanatory sequential mixed-method design to assess the perception of sampled respondents' and participants' viewpoints on online counseling available at a public university. Amid findings that counselors, counselor educators and counselor trainees have little awareness of online counseling and share a generally negative attitude towards it, the study concluded that online counseling is a highly unexplored option available on the university campus. Suggestions for augmented online counseling opportunities to assist students to resolve their difficulties on the university campus were also made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of E-Beratungsjournal is the property of E-beratungsjournal.net and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of E-Beratungsjournal is the property of E-beratungsjournal.net and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With advancements in technology, proliferation of online counseling services has recently become observable. The purpose of the current study was to reveal what people know about face-to-face and online counseling and to determine the direction of their preferences for both. The participants of the current study, which is of a qualitative case study, were 25 people, ranging in age from 17 to 49, of different professions (soldiers, security officers, secretaries, drivers, officers, housekeepers, housewives, high school-university students and academicians). While 4 of the participants reported experiencing face-to-face counseling services, 21 participants did not report receiving one. Besides, none of the participants reported receiving online counseling services. The time that the participants want to allocate for online counseling services was found to be more than the time that they want to allocate for face-to-face counseling. The top two methods that 17 participants preferred, being of the opinion that they would have a warm ambiance while receiving counseling, were video conference (7), and chatting (5). Finally, it was also observed that most of the participants (20) preferred face-to-face counseling services due to the existence of active participation and non-verbal reactions such as gestures and facial expressions, and very few of them (5) preferred online counseling services because of anonymity and availability. Results in general showed that individuals were eager to receive online counseling and find it more useful in terms of finance and availability.

The paper focuses on benefits, limitations, and ethical risks associated with online counseling yielded from domestic and international studies. We provide a detailed description of the most common online counseling ethical dilemmas, such as determining format suitability, taking action in crises, identification issues, method validity, regional differences in ethical and legal practices, confidentiality limitations, and establishing professional boundaries. A few options for ethical decision-making are offered, as well as advice on averting technical and ethical issues. We provide a specific version of informed consent for online counseling services, that helps ensure safety and protect both parties. It also describes the main aspects of online counseling, its technical and confidentiality limitations, crisis procedures, and ways to address potential conflicts.

Context: With relatively high transmission rate and fatal potential, the COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for widespread fear and psychological distress all over the world, including India. Aim: Assessment of these problems in the general population is the first step to address this problem. Settings and Design: We did an online survey using snowball sampling strategy through various social media communication platforms. Materials and Methods: Semi-structured format was used to collect sociodemographic data and COVID-19-related information. The Kessler's Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and the Fear of COVID-19 Scale were used for assessment psychological distress and fear, respectively. Results: A total of 530 study respondents had adequate participation from all socioeconomic strata, diverse educational and professional backgrounds, and from all parts of the country. Majority of the participants were from red zone districts of lockdown (72.8%) and considered the imposed lockdown as essential (98.7%), although many of them reported negative impact on their psychological state (38.9%). A substantial number (38%) of people reported psychological distress significantly (P < 0.05) associated with females, unmarried, students, lower socioeconomic status (SES), caretakers of COVID-19 patients, poor perceived physical health, and higher score on the Fear of COVID-19 Scale. Female participants and those belonging to lower SES and a red zone district also reported significantly (P < 0.05) higher degree of fear of COVID-19. Despite this, only about 10.9% of the respondents sought help through telephonic or online counseling and most (91.4%) of them found it helpful. Conclusions: The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on psychological health is catastrophic. Planned measures at local as well as national level are essential to avert this crisis.

Copyright of Psychotherapie Forum is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

With the arrival of COVID in Australia and the necessary social distancing measures put in place by the Federal and State Governments many social work services had to move to delivering services to an online platform. This happened relatively quickly and with little or no training for practitioners. This paper presents the findings of a literature review on the use of technology-assisted therapeutic group work intervention with children and young people who experienced maltreatment. The review found a variety of technological platforms of varying effectiveness to engage children and young people therapeutically. However, there was a gap in the scholarship in relation to online group work with children and young people and children and young people who experienced maltreatment. The conclusion to this paper is a therapeutic positioning for more research into technology-assisted therapeutic group work and a call for the epistemic privileging of young people and children and young people in service design and delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the COVID 19-induced psychological problems and help seeking demands in Turkey in the first months of pandemic. In addition, it was intended to determine the knowledge, attitude and skills of mental health professionals in dealing with those problems in the first months of COVID-19 pandemic. Research group consisted of 168 mental health professionals working in different regions of Turkey. Results revealed that 57.1% of the professionals were consulted for help due to mental health problems during the pandemic, and this demand came mostly from females and adults. Help-seeking demands were primarily about excessive anxiety, stress caused by educational and professional problems, repetitive ideas of getting virus, loss of pleasure and interest, insomnia and excessive cleaning complaints. Findings suggested that most mental health professionals participating in the study had positive attitudes towards online counseling and found these practices effective. In addition, 30.4% of the participants found themselves insufficient for online psychological help, while only 27.4% stated that they provided online psychological help in this process. The results demonstrated that mental health professionals were asked for help about on complaints of different types and levels during the pandemic. It was observed that the attitudes of the professionals about online counseling mental help were generally positive and their self-perceptions of knowledge and skill levels were rather low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ONLINE COUNSELING FOR STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITAS SEBELAS MARET, SURAKARTA, INDONESIA. The industrial revolution 4.0 resulted in disruptive changes that affected human life. Likewise, the students of Sebelas Maret University (UNS) in fulfilling their academic, personal, social, and career development assignments, also often demanded independence in this disruption era. As the third rank university in Indonesia, according to UniRank 4ICU rating agency, UNS needs to respond to this in order to be able to facilitate the task of developing students from the psychological side. Facilitation that can be done is by providing online counseling services for students. This study aims to describe the level of UNS student needs as initial data in compiling online counseling services. The subjects of this study were 544 students from ten faculties in the UNS that were randomly determined. The results of the analysis showed that the needs of student counseling services included six problem areas namely: personal-social (81%), academic (76%), career (82%), premarital (75%), traumatic (71%), and multicultural (81 %). The results of this study indicate that the level of need for online counseling services for UNS students is quite high. These results need to be followed up with the development of an android-based online counseling service platform in order to improve the quality of psychological services of UNS students.

Education is an important human activity, and a fundamental right of every human. There has been a continuous transformation of educational counseling methods and processes to improve them. However, research about the application of educational principles to long-distance counseling has not been available until now. This research aims to study the implementation of educational principles in the online counseling process with the Rasch model. The sample size of this study is 174 people, spread across Indonesia with varying demographics. The results of the study show that the application of educational principles in online counseling services significantly suppresses the problematic conditions of respondents. The study also examines how online counseling services serves as a quick help or first aid to problematic conditions experienced by clients. The implementation of the educational principles discussed in this study relates to the development of self-potential, self-control, personality development, independence development and development of self-intelligence and other skills.

Introduction Since October 2017 till 2019 the project of Psychosocial Care for internally displaced persons and the war affected population in Ukraine has been in place (short name “Let’s talk”). In 2020 this project continuing for counselling pandemic affected persons. Objectives The counsellors are professional psychologists who were trained within the scope of the project. Sessions may be held in Russian or Ukrainian, according to the user’s choice. Methods Analysis of protocols of online counseling sessions and supervisions. Results The key and most frequent issues mentioned by the clients are loneliness, the loss of the sense of life, fear, uncertainty, anxiety, difficulties in family relations, in particular, with children, job insecurity, addictions, psychosomatic disorders and so others. They are closely related to the situation in the country (military operation, the division into “We” and “Other”, the risk of provocations, the cases of treason and personal revenge, threats to the family members of the military). The above issue is in potential clients’ inadequately high suspicion level (in some cases on the border of paranoid fantasies), which is manifested in the fear of the possible infringement of confidentiality, over-listening, surveillance, recording of talks etc. Conclusions The online counseling is the way to provide professional, accessible, free for the users and fully anonymous psychosocial care. Most frequent issues mentioned by the IDPs and the war affected population peoples has been indicated. When presenting the project service, the focus is always made on the high level of data protection and strict confidentiality. Disclosure No significant relationships.

Introduction As in many areas of life, the covid-19 epidemic has had a great impact on psychological counselor training. Although studies and practices on online counseling are increasing every day in the world, there has not been a psychological counseling method preferred by experts in Turkey, which comes from community culture and, where physical contact is important, until the pandemic. Objectives The examination of the opinions of the students studying in the last year of the psychological counseling and guidance undergraduate program during the pandemic regarding online counseling, where they perform their first psychological counseling experience. Methods The study was conducted with 10 counseling students, 9 women and 1 Man. The age range of the students is 22-24 and the average age is 20.6. The students’ opinions are taken with open-ended questions such as “Can you share your views on online counseling before online counseling?“ The reflection letter that the students responded to was subjected to content analysis. Results The findings of the study show that there are four themes: Emotions before the counseling process, Thoughts before the counseling process, Therapeutic relationship, Online counseling in professional life. For example; in online counseling, negative emotions such as anxiety, excitement, fear, anxiety, stress, anxiety, as well as feeling comfortable and safe are among the positive feelings they experience in their therapeutic relationships. Conclusions As a result, although students have a positive view of online counseling, they mainly prefer to do it face-to-face. The findings were discussed taking into account Turkish culture. Disclosure No significant relationships.

There has been a recent rise in online counseling applications in response to the increased need for counseling during this pandemic. Unfortunately, the concept of online counseling apps in Indonesia is still premature because the apps just connect counselee and counselor via chat or call. These apps cannot monitor the self-development tasks that the counselors gives to the counselee, even though this is a requirement of the counseling process. The researchers in this study used M. Asimov's model to design a new mobile app. The features to monitor self-development tasks divide into yearly, monthly and weekly planning. The information system categorizes into time and fourth quadrants of time. It is hoped that the counselee can use this to manage their activities based on the importance level to help achieve their goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have demonstrated the importance of online activities to wellbeing, especially in later life. The present study seeks to determine whether and how online religious counseling can improve the wellbeing of older believers. A six-month qualitative study was conducted with a group of Orthodox Jewish older adults (N = 26, aged 70-96) who manifest various types of age-related distress. The participants were home trained to use a dedicated, accessible online platform featuring religious questions and answers (Q&A). Data were collected through netnographic observation, monthly online inquiry and in-depth interviews with counselees and counselors alike. Analysis indicated that online spiritual Q&A for the elders are characterized by unique content, types and styles of discourse. Their variety reflects the heterogeneity of needs, areas of interest and worldviews among older religious adults. Participation in online religious counseling provided them with numerous religious, intellectual and social rewards. At the same time, their counselors--six rabbis that volunteered in this project--gained religious, communal, professional and psychological benefits from the opportunity to share their knowledge and advice. Anonymity, asynchronicity, digital literacy and types of questions were identified as issues that may have opposite effects on the experiences of participants and counselors, respectively. Although some factors may delay and/or diminish positive contributions, involvement in online religious counseling appears to promote wellbeing in later life. This service is particularly beneficial to Orthodox older adults with detrimental health conditions whose use of online religious Q&A helps them cope with the difficulties they face and maintain their enjoyment of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With advancements in technology, proliferation of online counseling services has recently become observable. The purpose of the current study was to reveal what people know about face-to-face and online counseling and to determine the direction of their preferences for both. The participants of the current study, which is of a qualitative case study, were 25 people, ranging in age from 17 to 49, of different professions (soldiers, security officers, secretaries, drivers, officers, housekeepers, housewives, high school-university students and academicians). While 4 of the participants reported experiencing face-to-face counseling services, 21 participants did not report receiving one. Besides, none of the participants reported receiving online counseling services. The time that the participants want to allocate for online counseling services was found to be more than the time that they want to allocate for face-to-face counseling. The top two methods that 17 participants preferred, being of the opinion that they would have a warm ambiance while receiving counseling, were video conference (7), and chatting (5). Finally, it was also observed that most of the participants (20) preferred face-to-face counseling services due to the existence of active participation and non-verbal reactions such as gestures and facial expressions, and very few of them (5) preferred online counseling services because of anonymity and availability. Results in general showed that individuals were eager to receive online counseling and find it more useful in terms of finance and availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the view that hidden youth suffer from disempowerment in society due to their inability to meet mainstream expectations, this study explores an alternative intervention approach for hidden youth by using an online gaming platform to provide Play Therapy. This empowered them and coincides with their culture and interests. The evaluative study of the effectiveness of the intervention involved 502 hidden youth in Hong Kong aged twelve to twenty-one years, of whom more than 70 per cent spent at least ten hours online per day. Correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were conducted to measure the effectiveness of Play Therapy in terms of the empowerment effect, as well as participants' sense of well-being and coping abilities (psychological capital). Results showed that the three variables were significantly related. Also, while Play Therapy significantly predicted psychological capital in the Level 2 regression model, this relationship was replaced by empowerment in the Level 3 model. This suggests that empowerment is an essential element in Play Therapy for enhancing psychological capital. The implication for social work practice is, rather than re-integrating youth into disempowering mainstream society, practitioners can advocate empowering, localised intervention which unfolds youth's subjugated strengths and nurtures their self-preferred development to fulfil their developmental needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): To investigate differences in public stigma, self‐stigma, attitudes (value and discomfort), and intentions to seek help between online and face‐to‐face counseling. To identify a difference in the relationship between these variables and both counseling modalities. Method: An online survey completed by 538 college students from one university in the Southeastern United States. The sample included 412 females and 126 males with a mean age of 20.21 years (standard deviation [SD] = 1.26). Results: Significantly higher levels of self‐stigma and discomfort toward online counseling were reported. Significantly higher value and intentions were reported toward face‐to‐face counseling. Self‐stigma was positively related to public stigma, value was negatively related to self‐stigma, and intentions toward seeking help was positively related to value. Conclusions: Results suggest face‐to‐face counseling is seen as a more favorable method of service delivery compared to online counseling. Value toward online counseling is an important predictor for seeking this type of help. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence and severity of mental health issues among students have been increasingly talked about on campuses in recent years. The Internet has rapidly developed to deliver information and facilitate online communication, which creates online counseling to meet the mental health needs of college students. Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study examines college students' intentions to seek both face-to-face and online counseling. An online survey was conducted with 440 college students. Results suggest that subjective norms, attitudes, and perceived behavioral control predicted participants' intentions to seek counseling. Although face-to-face counseling was generally seen as most appealing, this effect was moderated by different levels of self-stigma, stigma by close others, and communication competence, such that higher self-stigma, stigma by close others, and lower communication competence made face-to-face counseling less attractive compared to online counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Millennials and Generation Z young adults are texting at a rate of over 100 messages a day. Considering how embedded communication technology is within these populations, this study explores its connection with mental health and social support from the relational perspective (texting with friends and family) and professional support perspective (text counseling). From the relational perspective, stress buffering model was used to analyze how computer-mediated social support affects Millennials' and Gen Zers' mental health outcomes. From the professional support perspective, this study investigates the participants' perceptions of computer-mediated counseling services, and the likelihood that they will engage in online therapy. Research results from 3,710 participants (N = 3,710) illustrate a significant moderating effect of computermediated social support on stress and depression. It is also negatively associated with social isolation and suicidal ideation. Further, participants are most likely to use text counseling as compared to phone call and face-to-face. A regression analysis shows perceived quality of text counseling/therapy is a significant predictor of likelihood of using text counseling/therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating how counselors perceive technology as a tool for delivering counseling services is crucial to understand the usage and challenges that may have implications for training programs, policymaking, and allocation of resources. With the COVID-19 crisis and accompanying shelter-in-place and self-distancing guidelines, telemental health, including distance counseling, has become a satisfactory primary delivery system and is now expected to be part of routine counseling care. The present pre-COVID-19 study explored practicing counselors' perceptions of distance counseling regarding advantages and challenges. While noting benefits, results indicate continuing barriers to widespread telemental health use encompassing licensure, training, safety, privacy, evaluation, and regulatory policies. Also, attention is needed for therapeutic relationships and culturally alert digital interventions. In addition, counselors can take advantage of rapidly changing technologies to provide numerous innovative counseling services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personal therapy for therapists is described as a means for advancing personal and professional growth. Therapist problems contribute to boundary disturbance, ethical violation, and incompetence. Benefits of therapy include enhanced counselor reflection and therapeutic alliance. Telehealth therapy overcomes barriers and represents an innovation in self-care and career development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hessische Blätter für Volksbildung is the property of wbv Media GmbH & Co. KG and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Internet counseling can be a valuable resource for people who cannot seek mental health care due to various reasons. The aim of this study was to analyze the time patterns of first-time contacts made by clients to online counseling services. Data from two online counseling service providers, encompassing 3,291 people, were analyzed. The results showed that people tended to contact online counselors during the seasons with less sunlight (winter and autumn), and during evening and afternoon. There were no pronounced day-of-week effects. These results support, to some extent, the seasonality and time-of-day patterns related to mental disorders and help-seeking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this case study, we investigated the efficacy of mirror therapy and online counseling in the management of phantom limb pain. The patient was a 28-year-old woman who experienced phantom limb pain after a traumatic transhumeral amputation three and a half months before initiating therapy. After a 40-minute educational session with a nurse researcher experienced in pain management and surgical nursing, the patient practiced mirror therapy at home for four weeks and kept in contact with the nurse using a mobile chat application. The patient scored the intensity of her pain before and after each practice session on a 0-to-10 numeric pain scale. The first week was difficult for her because of tiredness and the pain. In the second week she experienced less pain during the day than at night but claimed to feel much better than before. In the fourth week, she reported having difficulty sleeping, but she stated that her pain had decreased. The intensity of the pain didn't change following mirror therapy in the first week; however, her average pain score was 1.15 points lower after mirror therapy in the second week (from 4.57 to 3.42), and 1.57 points lower in the third and fourth weeks (from 5.42 to 3.85 and 4.85 to 3.28). Online counseling for mirror therapy is easy, economical, and time-saving for patient and nurse alike. However, physical and physiological problems experienced during this process may reduce the effectiveness of the therapy, highlighting the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to phantom limb pain management, which may include care from a psychologist, massage therapist, physiotherapist, and specialist in alternative therapies for relaxation, in addition to the surgeon and the nurse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religion and spirituality are the means to know God and to love Him through practices. Because of lack of training of religious and spiritual counsellor, they do not know how to realize the presence and power of God in healing the illness. People are simply satisfied going to Temple/Mosque/Gurudwara/ Church and involve there in prayer and alms. Religious/spiritual counselors' focus should be to suggest counselee how to serve and love God. We have various questions regarding the present and future, work, relationships and health-related problems linked with Covid. Our mind is always busy chattering and trying to cope with it. It is essential to seek online counselling to give answer of those questions which are being unanswered by the self. The advantages and disadvantages associated with online counselling are discussed in this article. Moreover, cure for psycho-spiritual illnesses linked with Covid pandemic are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online counseling can overcome barriers families face when accessing support services for issues such as a relative's alcohol or other drug use. However, little research has explored how online counseling platforms assist family members to improve their well-being and support their relative. We thematically analyzed 90 transcripts of online counseling sessions with family and friends of people who use alcohol, opioids, and amphetamines in Australia between 2015 and 2016. In our analysis, we drew on the concept of affordances to articulate how online platforms afford or constrain potentially therapeutic encounters with families. We found online counseling enabled families to make first contact, relieve distress, plan appropriate action, improve communication, regain direction, and connect with local services. Sessions were constrained by Internet access, web-chat communication, counselors' focus on referral, and limitations in addressing the wider concerns of families. The findings present opportunities for improving online services for families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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