Back in 2017 I tried email counselling for the first time as a client.
I'd heard of the concept of meeting a counsellor by email for at least a year prior.
BUT
To be perfectly honest I was a bit sceptical so it took me a while to finally get in touch with a counsellor.
I wondered, would email counselling even work?
I had a lot of judgy questions going around my head …
Would I not need to actually see my counsellor to trust her and be able to open up?
Would my counsellor not need to see me and read my body language to help me?
Would my words be confidential, could my emails be read by others?
What would I even write?
How could emails really help me feel better?
Although I'm a counsellor myself, I wanted to try this way of communicating as I was curious and hopeful (although also still a bit sceptical) as to how/if email counselling really works.
I was so glad I tried it becasuse it did work, and it helped me so much!
Keep reading to find out how NOT TALKING helped me go deeper into my issues. And also how the flexibility to write at a time that fitted me was an added bonus!
How does email counselling actually work?
Each week I would send an email at an agreed time and my counsellor would reply offering her thoughts/reflections as well as some questions to get me thinking. It felt very different not having to travel to a therapist’s office, turn up at a set time, and stop talking when the clock told me to.
I liked this as it felt quite freeing to have the flexibility to write in my own space, at my pace, and read her replies when I was ready.
Not having to find a set session time was a big advantage as I was very busy with work during the day. This meant I could write late in the evening when the house was quiet and take my time to think about what I wanted to say.
In the past, with traditional counselling sessions, I sometimes found it difficult to focus, ending up forgetting what my counsellor had said. With email counselling I liked having the time to keep reading over her reply and really take the words in.
No clock was telling me to stop.
Email counselling enabled me to explore things I had never been brave enough to broach out loud with a counsellor before.
A bonus was that I had a record of all my sessions to read back whenever I wanted.
I still have those emails and can read them if I feel low.
My personal experience as a client showed me that email counselling is very different from traditional counselling but offers many benefits as it’s much more accessible and flexible.
Where did my personal experience take me next?
This very positive and transformative experience of email counselling motivated me to learn more.
As a qualified counsellor I wanted to offer this to my clients too, so in 2018 I undertook an additional course in online counselling, which covered email counselling, and I’ve been offering it as an option ever since in my counselling pracitce Sussex Rainbow Counselling.
Back in then 2018 a lot of counsellors and clients hadn’t heard of email counselling.
However, when the Covid pandemic hit the world in 2020 there was a sudden increase in demand for online counselling as lockdowns meant we could no longer meet in person.
During the lockdowns email counselling in particular surged in popularity in my counselling practice as people needed more privacy and did not want to risk being overheard in a house full of people.
There continues to be a growing demand for email counselling but, sadly, there is still a lack of counsellors trained to work in this way.
A very different and complex set of skills are required.
Are you a counsellor ready to learn more?
As a counsellor today I'm passionate about dispelling the myth that email counselling is not proper counselling which is why I created the Foundations in Email Counselling course at Email Counselling Academy.
Email counselling was an amazing experience for me as a client. I want more clients to access this transformative exeperience.
If you're a counsellor and would like to learn more about email counselling and how you can offer this to your clients, then I’m excited to announce I've written a book for you.
My Ebook — Email Counselling: An Introduction for Counsellors
Learn how email counselling works and how you can offer it to your clients.
What's inside?
How email counselling helps clients talk about sex
How to manage boundaries in email counselling
Why the disinhibition effect matters in email counselling
How email counselling can free our assumptions about race
Why clients and counsellors choose email counselling
Why email counselling is popular with LGBTQ+ clients
Packed full of opportunities for counsellors to reflect on practical and ethical considerations, this book will help you decide if email counselling would work for you and your clients in your counselling practice.
Learn more and get empowered to join our growing army of email counsellors.
What people are saying ...
"Easy to read book and extremely helpful at getting me to see how it can help with talking about sex." (Jane Murphy — Counsellor)
"The content was engaging and was an excellent opportunity for me to reflect on my perceptions regarding email counselling, including how I can consider this in my private work." (Emma Brand — Counsellor)
"Very interesting and helpful introduction to email counselling." (Michael Knight — Counsellor)
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