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Abstract
A ‘surf on the net’ reveals that internationally, many organisations are providing a range of counselling services online including counselling via email, interactive ‘chat rooms’ and teleconferencing. Online counselling appears to be offered primarily as a ‘fee for service’ and many online practitioners work in the area of mental health. In Australia, KIDS Help Line offers ‘free’ counselling for young people using both email and chat rooms. Meanwhile, other organisations/professional groups are struggling to come to terms with this new form of service delivery. This paper begins with a brief explanation of where Relationships Australia (Queensland) is placed in terms of online counselling followed by some of the advantages and disadvantages of online counselling based on a literature search. Concluding statements lean towards favouring online counselling as it offers a new form of intervention that may suit many clients and organisations. The term ‘online’ counselling refers herein to e.counselling or email counselling