LifeWorks - services for you, family, business & career

Online Counseling - Is It For You?

What is online counseling? Will it work for you? I have created the following handout with excerpts from a newspaper article in USA Today. Please let me know if you have further questions. I'll gladly and promptly reply.

Online Counseling may be helpful for you if:

You are comfortable using the internet, and know the confidentiality of sending messages into cyberspace cannot be absolutely guaranteed;
You enjoy writing and can express your feelings through writing;
You are willing to be honest with yourself and your therapist;
You will take responsibility for participating in the process;
You are willing to have occasional telephone sessions (and in-person sessions if needed) as an augment to online counseling.

It may not be helpful if:

You are suicidal or in major crisis;
You are not comfortable writing at length;
You cannot write expressively or choose not to reveal certain feelings;
You are unwilling to fully embrace a special time in order to nurture a process of growth and healing.

What About Fees?

I set up an account for each client, with a prepaid balance of at least two hours. This time can be utilized in increments or in hourly sessions. My fee is $80 per hour.

How Do I Get Started?

Due to the high demands on my time, unfortunately, I am no longer able to offer a free 1/2 hour consultation. My $80 session fee can be broken down into 20 minute segments and you are welcome to make an appointment for the shortest amount of time to get started. If we decide to work together, I will send you (regular mail) a confidential intake form that I ask you to fill out completely. This will help focus our work together and save time in the long run. Return the Confidential Intake Information with your check for $160. I like to set a day and time by which I will respond and/or receive inputs from you. For example, say our 'day' is Friday. I hear from you on a Friday, and I will usually respond within a 2-4 day time frame. You can then respond to me by the following Friday. We keep this schedule going unless we need to change it for whatever reason. Often phone sessions are helpful to summarize or clarify certain email 'sessions'. You pay for the long-distance charges, and our time together is subtracted from your account balance.

Other things I need from you? Yes, they are:

To keep your account balance current;
To maintain contact throughout our relationship together
To agree to some sort of closure when our work together seems to be at a closing point, or one simply wishes to 'take a break';
To be willing to explore and set small goals for our work together and to process how we are doing in relation to the goals.

For more information,
or to find out if online counseling may be for you,
contact Jacquelyn at info@lifeworkshelp.com.

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