Advice on the Internet brings with it new problems. Online counselling is entering the professionalisation phase in terms of both the technical and infrastructural framework conditions as well as the professional qualifications of online consultants.
The apparent anonymity of the Internet seduces people into revealing things they would otherwise never mention in public. The following can be problematic:
- The Internet is not secure, so third parties may read along. An unencrypted e-mail is not suitable for communicating confidential or personal data. In this case, an encryption technique, e.g. PGP or its free variant GnuPG, should be used.
- Since the user names used are often identical and are used in different web contexts, there is a risk that extensive personality profiles will be created by unauthorized parties.
- Third parties can also gain access to consulting data via pharming. Especially in the case of targeted attacks on individuals, this form is used, among other things, by illegally operating credit agencies. They create complex profiles about the respective target person. Clients use the information obtained, e.g. when filling vacancies, granting loans, insurance, etc.
- The institutions that offer online counselling should therefore inform users about the remaining dangers and show how those seeking advice can actively counteract the dangers through self-data protection.
- A comprehensive security concept can provide a remedy if it is up-to-date and actively counteracts a wide variety of threats and also educates those seeking advice. In addition to the security issues, however, it is also important to clarify how the organization itself deals with the content of the consultation. Data protection is becoming increasingly important, especially in such sensitive areas, as the organization is responsible for what exactly happens to the data of those seeking advice.
During online counselling, new forms of communication disorders can arise that the counsellors are not aware of because communication situations that are familiar to them are shaped by correctives such as posture, facial expressions and the sound of voices. Taking up and further developing the experiences of the first studies on online counselling and the evaluations of the pioneer institutions is therefore a central challenge in the field of online counselling. In addition to the important, above all technical, dangers of data security, psychological online counselling must also clearly consider the dangers with regard to those seeking advice and counsellors.
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Due to the low-threshold access to online counseling, those seeking advice may miss the path to face-to-face counseling if they are not made aware of the limits of online counseling by the homepage or by the counsellor. However, we know from the research results that many people seeking advice come to an ftf consultation via online counselling. Others, on the other hand, with serious disturbances, could lose valuable time or even be misdirected. Those who know about this danger will also know how to counter it.
Advisors can run the risk of succumbing to the acceleration triggered by technology. In itself, at least the e-mail consultation offers the opportunity to take enough time to read a text thoroughly and to think about a reply before sending it. However, circumstances can tempt you to react quickly and slip into a rush to respond, which can trigger or accelerate a burnout of the consultant. This is all the more likely if an institution has little time for an e-mail response, if resources are scarce, if the counsellor works in a lonely position, or if online counselling fills up too much of the total counselling workload.
Traumatized counsellors in non-professional online counselling can expose themselves to a very high level of self-endangerment. Because those seeking advice write more openly about their experiences in online counselling, traumatised counsellors are inevitably exposed to their own trauma. Parallels to the self-help groups of the 80s can be seen here. In these cases, a volunteer online counsellor will only be able to take a user seeking advice as far as he or she has come with his or her trauma processing. Online counselling centres must be aware of these dangers and take them into account when training online counsellors and in their training concepts (similar to telephone counselling).
