“So wat do u want to wrk on 2day?”: The ethical implications of online counseling
Abstract
Internet counseling is an area of rapid expansion in the field of applied psychology. Internet counseling or psychotherapy involves a variety of activities such as psychoeducation, individual therapy, and automated self-help interventions delivered via the Internet. Although other professional societies such as the National Association of Social Workers, the American Counseling Association, and the National Board of Certified Counselors have tackled the issues of Internet counseling ethics head on, the American Psychological Association has been conspicuously absent from this debate. Yet online therapy clinics are operating, and intervention efficacy is being studied. This discussion provides an overview of online counseling modalities, details the ethical concerns associated with each, and offers suggestions for the ethical practice of online counseling.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
If trained psychotherapists choose not to participate in the new and emerging field of online psychotherapy, it seems likely that charlatans will emerge to meet the ever-growing demand, perhaps driving professional psychotherapists out of the market.
“If trained psychotherapists choose not to participate in the new and emerging field of online psychotherapy, it seems likely that charlatans will emerge to meet the ever-growing demand, perhaps driving professional psychotherapists out of the market (37).”
From Ethical Issues in Online Psychotherapy: A Narrative Review (2020) · cites this paper as [37]
Cites
The American Psychological Association
Langfeld, H. S. (1919) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.49.1254.51 · Cited by 7,453 · see citing works
The online disinhibition effect
Suler, J. (2004) · CyberPsychology & Behavior · doi:10.1089/1094931041291295 · Cited by 4,375 · see citing works
“Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct”
Ford, G. G. (2000) · CRC Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781482274400-4 · Cited by 4,257 · see citing works
Barak, A., Hen, L., Boniel-Nissim, M., & Shapira, N. (2008) · Journal of Technology in Human Services · doi:10.1080/15228830802094429 · Cited by 1,283 · see citing works
Working Alliance in Online Therapy as Compared to Face-to-Face Therapy: Preliminary Results
Cook, J. E., & Doyle, C. (2002) · CyberPsychology & Behavior · doi:10.1089/109493102753770480 · Cited by 503 · see citing works
Helping Skills: Facilitating Exploration, Insight, and Action
Hill, C. E. (1999) · Cited by 409 · see citing works
Kessler, D., Lewis, G., Kaur, S., Wiles, N., King, M., Weich, S., Sharp, D. J., Araya, R., Hollinghurst, S., & Peters, T. J. (2009) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(09)61257-5 · Cited by 387 · see citing works
Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct
American Psychological Association (2002) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037//0003-066x.57.12.1060 · Cited by 304 · see citing works
Griffiths, K. M., & Christensen, H. (2006) · Clinical Psychologist · doi:10.1080/13284200500378696 · Cited by 210 · see citing works
Online counselling: A descriptive analysis of therapy services on the Internet
Chester, A., & Glass, C. A. (2006) · British Journal of Guidance & Counselling · doi:10.1080/03069880600583170 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
The Practical Aspects of Online Counseling
Mallen, M. J., Vogel, D. L., & Rochlen, A. B. (2005) · The Counseling Psychologist · doi:10.1177/0011000005278625 · Cited by 199 · see citing works
An Exploratory Study of Client Perceptions of Internet Counseling and the Therapeutic Alliance
Leibert, T. W., Archer, J., Munson, J., & York, G. (2006) · Journal of Mental Health Counseling · doi:10.17744/mehc.28.1.f0h37djrw89nv6vb · Cited by 172 · see citing works
An Empirical Examination of Client Attitudes Towards Online Counseling
YOUNG, K. S. (2005) · CyberPsychology & Behavior · doi:10.1089/cpb.2005.8.172 · Cited by 170 · see citing works
Mallen, M. J., Vogel, D. L., Rochlen, A. B., & Day, S. X. (2005) · The Counseling Psychologist · doi:10.1177/0011000005278624 · Cited by 165 · see citing works
King, R., Bambling, M., Reid, W., & Thomas, I. (2006) · Counselling and Psychotherapy Research · doi:10.1080/14733140600874084 · Cited by 150 · see citing works
Counseling and therapy on the Internet.
Maheu, M. M., & Gordon, B. L. (2000) · Professional Psychology Research and Practice · doi:10.1037/0735-7028.31.5.484 · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Online counseling: The Internet and mental health treatment.
Alleman, J. R. (2002) · Psychotherapy · doi:10.1037/0033-3204.39.2.199 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Webb, M., Burns, J., & Collin, P. (2008) · Early Intervention in Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1751-7893.2008.00066.x · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Online counseling: The Internet and mental health treatment.
Alleman, J. R. (2002) · Psychotherapy · doi:10.1037//0033-3204.39.2.199 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Shaw, H. E., & Shaw, S. F. (2006) · Journal of Counseling & Development · doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2006.tb00378.x · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Patten, C. A., Croghan, I. T., Meis, T. M., Decker, P. A., Pingree, S., Colligan, R. C., Dornelas, E. A., Offord, K. P., Boberg, E. W., Baumberger, R. K., et al. (2006) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2006.03.001 · Cited by 114 · see citing works
The Internet versus the telephone: What is telehealth anyway?
VandenBos, G. R., & Williams, S. (2000) · Professional Psychology Research and Practice · doi:10.1037/0735-7028.31.5.490 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Online versus face-to-face conversation: An examination of relational and discourse variables.
Mallen, M. J., Day, S. X., & Green, M. A. (2003) · Psychotherapy · doi:10.1037/0033-3204.40.1-2.155 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Introduction to the Major Contribution
Mallen, M. J., & Vogel, D. L. (2005) · The Counseling Psychologist · doi:10.1177/0011000005278623 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Dream work in therapy: Facilitating exploration, insight, and action.
(2004) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/10624-000 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Barnett, J. E. (2005) · The Counseling Psychologist · doi:10.1177/0011000005279961 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Skinner, A. E. G., & Zack, J. S. (2004) · American Behavioral Scientist · doi:10.1177/0002764204270280 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Heinlen, K. T., Welfel, E. R., Richmond, E. N., & Rak, C. F. (2003) · Journal of Counseling & Development · doi:10.1002/j.1556-6678.2003.tb00226.x · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Regulation of telepsychology: A survey of state attorneys general.
Koocher, G. P., & Morray, E. (2000) · Professional Psychology Research and Practice · doi:10.1037/0735-7028.31.5.503 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Wade, S. L., Walz, N. C., Carey, J., & Williams, K. M. (2008) · Journal of Pediatric Psychology · doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsn081 · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Male Restrictive Emotionality and Evaluations of Online Versus Face-to-Face Counseling.
Rochlen, A. B., Land, L. N., & Wong, Y. J. (2004) · Psychology of Men & Masculinity · doi:10.1037/1524-9220.5.2.190 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Therapy On Paper: Therapeutic Letters and the Tone of Relationship
Moules, N. J. (2003) · Journal of Systemic Therapies · doi:10.1521/jsyt.22.1.33.24091 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Ethical issues in internet counselling
Robson, D., & Robson, M. (2000) · Counselling Psychology Quarterly · doi:10.1080/09515070010037911 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Avaliação da relação terapêutica na terapia assíncrona via internet
Prado, O. Z., & Meyer, S. B. (2006) · Psicologia em Estudo · doi:10.1590/s1413-73722006000200003 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
National Board for Certified Counselors
Tucker, J. D., & Nelei-Nunnemaker, C. G. (2024) · doi:10.4135/9781071808023.n380 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Applying Technology to Online Counseling: Suggestions for the Beginning E-Therapist
Elleven, R. K., & Allen, J. (2004) · University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Caspar, F., & Berger, T. (2005) · The Counseling Psychologist · doi:10.1177/0011000005280183 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Historical Context: The Relationship of Computer Technologies and Counseling
Granello, P. F. (2000) · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Success Factors in Internet-Based Psychological Counseling
Schultze, N.-G. (2006) · CyberPsychology & Behavior · doi:10.1089/cpb.2006.9.623 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Zack, J. S. (2008) · Journal of Technology in Human Services · doi:10.1080/15228830802097083 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
The Ethics of Counseling via the Internet
Frame, M. W. (1997) · The Family Journal · doi:10.1177/1066480797054009 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Skills for On-Line Counseling: Maximum Impact at Minimum Bandwidth.
Collie, K. R., Mitchell, D., & Murphy, L. (2000) · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Sanchez-Page, D. (2005) · The Counseling Psychologist · doi:10.1177/0011000005279964 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Barthelmeus, S. J. (1999) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Jones, H., & Benson, C. (2016) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315737744-19 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Brown, A. (2000) · doi:10.1002/9780470698846.ch8 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Current and Future Trends in Internet-Supported Mental Health Interventions
Barak, A., & Grohol, J. M. (2011) · Journal of Technology in Human Services · doi:10.1080/15228835.2011.616939 · Cited by 373 · see citing works
Ethical Issues in Online Psychotherapy: A Narrative Review
Stoll, J., Müller, J. A., & Trachsel, M. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00993 · Cited by 340 · see citing works
Feijt, M. A., de Kort, Y. A., Bongers, I. M., & IJsselsteijn, W. A. (2018) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.9485 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
“Technology-mediated modalities allow clients to disconnect at any time, without the therapist knowing whether this is due to technology failure or because the client is in some kind of crisis, and the therapist is not in the same space to ensure their safety [17].”
BackgroundJohnson, G. R. (2014) · Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne · doi:10.1037/a0038002 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
The ethical and clinical implications of utilizing cybercommunication in face-to-face therapy
Fantus, S., & Mishna, F. (2013) · Smith College Studies in Social Work · doi:10.1080/00377317.2013.833049 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
- Authors
- Rummell, C. M., & Joyce, N. R.
- Affiliations
- University of Akron (US)
- Venue
- Ethics & Behavior
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2010-12-13
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 482-496
- ISSN
- 1050-8422 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-7019
- OpenAlex
- W2060168937
- Cited by
- 68
- References
- 46
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 4.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Ethics & Behavior (publishedVersion)
- DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Counseling Practices and Supervision
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation
- Keywords
- online counseling, online therapy, American Psychological Association, professional ethics, psychoeducation, individual psychotherapy
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review