E-Therapy: Contemporary Tool in Psychotherapy

Abstract

Information and Communication Technology continues to be dispersed at a very rapid rate all over the world driving all the sectors of human endeavors. E-therapy is a new therapeutic modality aimed at assisting clients to resolve life and relationship issues through electronic means, synchronous or asynchronous. E-therapy, often called a variety of names including online practice, e-counseling, web-based therapy, web-based counseling, e-mail counseling, internet therapy, and therap-e-mail is a process of interacting with a therapist online in ongoing conversations over time when the client and counselor are in separate or remote locations and utilize electronic means to communicate with each other. This paper examines etherapy as a contemporary tool in clinical practice; consider its types and practicality, advantages and disadvantages, guidelines/ethical issues surrounding e-therapy, and prospects for use in Nigerian clinical settings.