What is online counselling?
CMS Victoria’s Online Counselling service is provided by a fully qualified and experienced counsellor.
Online counselling enables a highly accessible and cost effective form of therapy, especially for those restricted by time, location, money or who feel uneasy attending face to face counselling. Through one to one private correspondence, the counsellor will help you deal with the matters of concern and assist you in overcoming/coping with these issues and/or problems areas, and help foster a greater emotional/psychological well-being.
What types of issues can the online counselling sessions cover?
- Anxiety / Panic
- Self Esteem/Confidence
- Relationship/Marital Issues
- Coping with Separation/Divorce
- Family Conflict
- Grief and Loss (including loss of persons, pets, divorce/custody issues, status)
- Life Transition (moving, just married, new parent, job change, separation/divorce, retirement…)
- Workplace Stress/Conflict
- Career/Study Advice
- Sexual Abuse/Misconduct
- Depression*
*If you are experiencing thoughts of self harm/suicide, you are strongly encouraged to seek professional face to face counselling.
Online counselling is not suitable for crisis situations (such as domestic violence or actively suicidal – please contact crisis lines in your local area) or if you have been diagnosed with a major mental illness (eg. schizophrenia, bipolar, major depression)
What are the benefits of online counselling?
- You can remain totally anonymous
- No travelling to appointments
- No need to allocate time off work/study to attend sessions
- Flexible timeframe: Email at any time – day or night
- Highly accessible : Rural/remote areas, Australia wide and Internationally
- Costs less than face to face counselling
What are the requirements and restrictions of online counselling?
- You must have an email account
- All content must be in the body of the email – strictly NO attachments.
- English language only
- You must be over the age of 16.
- As there is no physical presence, the clients body languange/presentation (non-verbal cues), which provide further useful information to the counsellor, is lacking and therefore the counsellor can only go by what is written in text format.
- As some spam filters re-direct emails (indiscriminantly) to “spam/junk” folders – please ensure you have added CMS Victoria’s email address to your email account address book and ‘whitelist’ (if applicable).
What details do I need to provide the counsellor?
- Your name (you can use an alias, your initials or your real name)
- Your current age
- Your gender
- The postcode/zipcode and country you live in
- Details of the current issue / reason for seeking counselling (unlimited word length)
- If you have any addictions (alcohol, drugs, gambling, sex)
- Some relevant background information is also helpful
How do I make a booking for online counselling?
Send an enquiry/request for booking email to counsel_mediation@smartchat.net.au with “ONLINE COUNSELLING” written in the email subject line. In the body of the email please include the following:
- Your name (alias, intitials, real name)
- Your gender
- Your age
- Postcode/zipcode
- Country you live in
The counsellor will then respond to this (typically within 24 hrs) providing you with any further information you have requested and/or a Paypal invoice will be issued. Once payment has cleared, you will receive a “Confirmation Email” along with a payment receipt. You may then forward your first session email to the counsellor. Typical turn-around response is within 24 hrs. International clients – please consider time zone difference (CMS Victoria – Melbourne, Australia – EST). Should you not receive a reply after 48 hrs has passed, please contact CMS Vic via email or telephone (voice call/text message) on 0401 158 448 to check on the status (it is rare, but sometimes emails do go astray or are delayed by Internet Service Providers).
If your email program has “Read Receipt” function, CMS Victoria recommends attaching this to each email. This will confirm your email has been received successfully when the counsellor opens your email.
How do I pay for my booking?
Acceptable payment methods : PayPal and Bank Deposit (via internet or phone from your bank ; personal deposits at any Suncorp branch)
After you have arranged your booking and have indicated your prefered method of payment, you will be sent a Paypal invoice or Invoice with Bank Account Details from CMS Victoria. All bookings must be paid for in advance. Prices are in Australian dollars (AU). When making your payment, please ensure you quote the name you are using when corresponding with the counsellor.
More about Paypal :
- free to create an account/send money
- fast and secure
- transactions are insured
- pay via credit/debit card or direct from bank account.
Note : Paypal does not disclose any of your financial details when paying via this means. (Please see the Paypal website for more information : https://www.paypal.com )
*see Price list below*
Confidentiality and Privacy
Only the treating counsellor has access to your emails/file. All online correspondence is PGP encrypted and saved securely. Upon cessation of online sessions, the treating counsellor prints hardcopies and stores them in a locked filing cabinet in a secure premises. The email communication is then PGP wiped from the system.
You may choose to use an alias, your initials or your real name. The choice is entirely yours. You may wish to create a web based email account (such as those provided by yahoo or google) to further your anonymity or if you do not want other people who may have access to your computer to view your correspondence.
CMS Victoria maintains the latest Anti-virus, Spyware and Firewall software. We encourage you to ensure your system is protected also.
Prices*: The more sessions booked in advance – the more you save!
Introductory Session (Compulsory before proceeding to the below "Options"):
2 emails (1 email to counsellor/ 1 response from counsellor) - $25 AU
The counsellor may request further information should they feel it would be beneficial/necessary before they respond. This additional email/response is free of charge.
Then you may choose any of the following 'continuing' online sessions:
Option 1 - 2 emails (1 email to counsellor/ 1 response from counsellor) - $20 AU
Option 2 – 4 emails (2 emails to counsellor/2 responses from counsellor) - $35 AU
Option 3 – 6 emails (3 emails to counsellor/ 3 responses from counsellor) - $50 AU
Option 4 – 10 emails (5 emails to counsellor/5 responses from counsellor) - $80 AU
Option 5 - Unlimited emails (unlimited emails to and from – within a 3 month period) - $250 AU
For Australian persons: All prices are GST exempt (ie. GST is not applicable on counselling services).
Note: There is no word limit to emails. The counsellor’s response will be a minimum of 500 words. For any further queries – please email counsel_mediation@smartchat.net.au
