ONLINE COUNSELING AND THERAPY SKILLS FOR THE POST-COVID ERA. APPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL AND CAREER COUNSELORS
ONLINE COUNSELING AND THERAPY SKILLS FOR THE POST-COVID ERA. APPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL AND CAREER COUNSELORS

Summary/Abstract: The issue of online delivery of counseling and therapy services is definitely not a new one, however the recent historical events have rushed enormously the development in this area. The paper will address the increasing need for online delivery of counseling, coaching, and therapy interventions, in a world that is recovering from a pandemic and in the larger context of the fourth industrial revolution. Professionals like school and career counselors, mental health experts, therapists, and coaches have been facing a reality they had to adjust to quickly, sometimes in the absence of proper training or professional support. COVID Stress Syndrome is also presented, and potential implications for caregivers’ work are discussed, with an emphasis on the online type of service delivery. Practical elements of organizing an online session, process steps, environmental details are presented and analyzed. In addition, issues like empathy in cyberspace, online delivery of individual and group interventions, particularities of online approaches for various types of counseling are explored. The profile of a helping professional, able to effectively use online tools to ignite and maintain an optimal therapeutic alliance, is also analyzed, with special attention to cultural and ethical elements. Special consideration is given to the professional practices used within the counseling community in Romania.

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