Since July 28th I have sent out emails to 10 different cyber therapy counselors and no one has been willing to email me back and to answer my questions. One counselor eventually emailed me but instead of answering my questions this is what I received in response:
Hi Amanda! Sorry for the delayed response. If you go to my website www.loftuscounseling.com, it may answer many of your questions. If not, let me know. I'd be more than happy to help. best, Elizabeth
Elizabeth Loftus, LCPC, RPT, NCC
301.775.8660
I was excited to see that after all my failed efforts someone had finally contacted me, only to be disappointed that she had not answered my questions at all. I tried to email her again with the questions I could not answer from her website and never got a reply.
Below are the questions I asked Elizabeth Loftus at loftuscounseling.com. Since she did not answer them I tried to as best I could using her website:
1. What are your qualifications? In what way do you present your qualifications to your clients in order to show they are real? When viewing the website Elizabeth states that she is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, a National Board Certified Counselor and a member of the American Counseling Association. No where on the site however, does is there a way to prove to her clients that she has these degrees.
2. How do you advertise your services? I do not know how many ways she advertises her company, however, I found it when I Googled online therapy and it also appeared on the side of my Google search under advertisements.
3. How do you accept payment for your services? Do you accept insurance? According to her website she requires clients to create a pay pal account in order to pay her for her services. She states that she does not accept insurance but encourages clients to speak with their insurance company for possible reimbursement.
4. What safety parameters have you set up for both you and your clients? Under FAQs on the website Elizabeth states that her website, email, Skype and Instant Message accounts are all encrypted in order to protect clients information. She also posts the HIPPA guidelines and Counselor's Mission on the website and informs clients that she is obligated to follow these legal and ethical guidelines. Because I was unable to speak with Elizabeth, I do not know if she takes precautions such as a secure/private location when Skyping, or any other additional measures.
5. Do you feel there are any ethical issues with online therapy? What steps do you take to ensure your practice is ethical? I was unable to get a direct answer to this question from the information on the website. Under FAQs however, she answered questions such as "What are the benefits of online counseling?" She answered: "Online counseling is convenient and less expensive than traditional therapies due to very low overhead. I am able to offer my services at a greatly reduced rate, making therapy more accessible. Online therapy is useful for those who travel, are home bound, live in remote areas or are simply living busy lives and need a convenient and efficient way to access services". She also has a section on her website that provides research regarding the effectiveness of online counseling.
6. What is the process from beginning to end? (How do clients sign up, how many times do you meet with them, do you only use skype, termination). Again, without receiving a specific response from the counselor I could only conclude so much from the website. On the homepage Elizabeth asks clients to email her in order to set up an initial session. She also includes a tab that contains an Informed Consent document for clients to fill out prior to the first session. She requires payment for services prior to the session and encourages clients to confirm a time and date with her prior to paying to assure availability. The services she offers are: Video-to-Video sessions for 45-50 minutes via Skype, Email, Instant Message sessions via Skype for 50-60 mins, telephone sessions for 45-50mins, and a combination of services. The charge for all services is 60 dollars. I do not know how many times she meets with clients or how termination is done.
Despite not having my questions directly answered, I found the website to be clear and easy to read. I was able to answer a good deal of my questions by looking through the page and was surprised by all that I was able to learn.
After talking to Lee, she encouraged me to write about my difficulties with this project and what this might mean.Due to the failure in response I found this assignment to be very frustrating and continually became discouraged. Despite the various websites encouraging visitors to email them with any questions at all, it seems as though they could not be bothered to help me once they realized I would not be a client and would not be making money from me. I hope that these counselors are more professional when potential clients email them and are looking for more answers before they sign up for counseling. I think that online counseling is a good idea and could be very effective for specific individuals who may not be able to make it to a face-to-face session for one reason or another.
This makes for my final blog! I found this whole experience kind of fun and interesting. I never thought of myself as a blogger but I enjoyed writing and having the opportunity to read what others have to say.
Amanda
This makes for my final blog! I found this whole experience kind of fun and interesting. I never thought of myself as a blogger but I enjoyed writing and having the opportunity to read what others have to say.
Amanda
Very nice, Amanda. Your review of this therapist was well-done and you did learn a lot about her. I do find it interesting how little effort these professionals put into helping a student. It appears that without the motivation of money, there is little investment. Again - I wonder if this is the case for social workers as well. Food for thought.
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