Technology and Counseling
The general adoption of technology and social media has had a plethora of impacts on the counselor-client relationship. Below are some of the major benefits and drawbacks from the perspective of a counseling student.
Benefits
One major benefit is that clients are no longer restricted to seeing counselors who are in their immediate proximity, providing more options to meet their individualized needs. Another apropos benefit is that during the Covid pandemic, counselors and clients were able to continue their sessions virtually, without risk to their health. Separately, social media could offer ancillary benefits by helping clients to get a sense of a new counselor before their first visit. Since counselors benefit from the ability to more easily manage client information and session notes, counselors who fail to keep up with technological advancements will likely encounter issues submitting client information to be processed for third party payment. Likewise, the unconnected therapist is likely to find it impractical not to transmit any client information over the internet or to successfully communicate with clients who are, in fact, connected. Furthermore, clients can easily search for, and find, suitable counselors by researching through their insurance provider databases and by browsing online professional profiles. For these reasons and more, counseling sessions themselves are increasingly being conducted online. There's also the added benefit of video calls removing the customary office coffee table, which can subconsciously drive a psychological wedge between the client and counselor. This allows for a direct, face-to-face interaction.
Drawbacks
However, these technologies also have their share of issues. Viewing social media profiles can bias the opinion of both counselors and clients and blur the lines of professionalism between them. This could distract both parties from the important issues being addressed in session and negatively affect the outcome of counseling. Perhaps the largest loss is that counselors are unable to use physical cues like body language to glean insight into client feelings. Since humans have evolved to manage their facial expressions and hide potential signs of vulnerability, body language cues can often be helpful in the counseling setting - a loss that is difficult to quantify. Eye contact is another large factor, as it is said that the eyes are the windows to the souls. Communicating via video, robs patients and counselors alike of making a true human connection. Don’t believe me? This is such an important facet of communication that Meta (formerly Facebook) has invested an enormous amount of time, effort, and money into fixing this issue in their Metaverse. The way they see it, virtual reality simply won’t work if people can’t make real eye contact.
Final Thoughts
It seems that young people in therapy often prefer the online format, and ultimately, the pros of embracing technology in the counseling setting far outweigh the cons. Aside from its undeniable convenience, they may be used to and potentially more comfortable communicating in this manner. This shift provided counselors and clients alike with more options in terms of treatment, as they are no longer restricted to professionals in their physical proximity. One thing is for sure, the age of the online therapist is here to stay. To me, technology is best when used as a tool.
