The idea of online counseling may still come as a surprise to many, especially older people who are not as familiar with the internet as younger people, but it is fast becoming the way for most people to get the help, therapy and counseling that they need. The availability of online therapy or counseling has been successful in tearing down the barriers that have kept many people from getting the help that they need. The barrier was the discomfort, mixed emotions and inability to physically go down to the therapist’s office and speak with them in person; these three reasons are what has prevented many people from seeking help for their depression, which has left many individuals suffering in silence.

Depression is a curious mental health problem that too many people are suffering. What makes it so curious is that depression is caused by different variables in different people. Some people suffer depression as a result of certain genes they have inherited from one or both of their parents, a poor social life or chemical imbalance in the brain; just to name a few. Study and research is still being done on the causes of depression as well as how to better treat it, but this does not mean that there isn’t help for people who are already suffering from some form of depression. Many people are unaware that they have depression, others are aware that there is something wrong but are unable to ask for help for any number of reasons and there are still others who know they are depressed and want help, but are not comfortable with speaking to someone in person; this could also be due to any number of different reasons. Online therapy is an option that is yet another way for depressed people to find help. Online therapy and counseling is just like the regular therapy, but it is more confidential, because there is less of a chance that others will see the patient going to see the therapist, and it gives the patient the chance to speak to someone in their own comfort zone.

The online therapists that people would go to for help for their depression are fully trained professionals who can help people find their way out of the depression they are experiencing. By the therapist exchanging messages with their patient online, they can work with the patient to first find out what the cause of their depression might be. Once a possible cause is found, the therapist can then help the patient learn to deal with these issues and help them get out of the resulting depression. Many people are still a little skeptical of online depression, but it has been around for a while, been proven to work just as well as regular therapy and is something that will probably be around for a very long time. More and more people are seeking help for their depression through online therapy because they feel more comfortable messaging someone in the privacy and comfort of their own home. Many people have been successfully treated for their depression through online therapy; people who would not have normally sought help if online therapy was not an option for them.

I'm sorry if I am out of line but I think I need to point out that , as I suspected, this is a paid service - just check the links. Is this within Tangler guidelines? Not that I'm too god with rules myself but.......

Yeah, I thought so too.

Will leave it to the forum owner to delete this topic.

I did of course mean to type that I am not too "good" with rules. According to my psychiatrist the "God" thing is a Freudian slip. At least it goes with my Freudian hat and gloves.

LOL!

Just trying to share info with the community and get the word out.  Online therapy can be useful for so many people and it is a relatively new concept.  We offer free therapy through our forums and we are able to help a lot of people that would not be able to afford therapy otherwise.  Hope you guys can appreciate me helping get the word out about online counseling.

Good to hear that you will not be charging for the service and that you are spreading the word out of the goodness of your heart. What a wonderful idea, it certainly promotes a responsible, professional and caring attitude.

We do both, i do not want to decieve anyone in here, but I do like to offer my serivices for free when I can.  I have had clients for years and sometimes they cannot pay and they work it out with me.  It is more about getting help than getting the money.  My clients know they can always come to me when then need help.  I set up a way to allow free online therapy, but there is also paid services on the site as well.  Hope that clears up the confusion and we can continue to have good conversations.  If i find something that I think is interesting, I post on it, and there is a lot of interesting things on the web.

So what you're trying to say is that: Yes you are a commercial  service. Yes you are using this forum to advertise your service, complete with links to your commercial site. Yes you know that's inappropriate, but Yes you think that by racking up a pile of "yes" words, you can at least fool some of the people some of the time into thinking that it's O.K. anyway?

I think you are on to something thinka.  Out of curosity I followed the link to the web-site to see what was being offered for free.  Well, there is something labelled as a "new" forum, initiated by them because people are asking for free advice.  However, if you go and view the forums and read some of the posts you can see straight away that they are almost transcripts from case notes.  The English is too good, the posts are very ordered and by and large, conclusive.  In my humble opinion, I'd say the whole forum is contrived.

Ah yes Arthur me old, people who are trying to relay problems when in need of emotional assistance are rarely the best or most accurate of typists are they? stereamofconciousness tyupe stuff with plenty of keyboard mashing in an effort ot get theideaacrtoss quickly would be more like it in general, or at least occasionally.... These folk are hawking - something which despite having spent many years in advertising, I frankly believe is for the birds!! (Sorry, couldn't help it - perhaps I need counselling?...)

And it's not too hard to see a couple of names here which I might be forgiven for assuming could belong to people somehow associated  with the sites you've found!!!! d'oh!

Hello:

Arthur, I am the one that responds to each person on the forum and I can tell you that it is for real.  I spend a lot of my time counseling people for free and I think that it is a healthy outlet to express your ideas and opinions.  I take everybody seriously and I try to respond in a way that can offer help.  The fourm is not contrived, but thank-you for the compliment about the english, I didn't really know I was that great of a writer.  The posts do not come from case notes.  When did you become so critical?

and I come across sites every so often like this one and when something interests me, I post on it.  I was going to post a new article that I just wrote, but I do not think you guys would appreciate it.  I wish you the best.  take care

Jennifer

I meant that the English of the so-called poster is good.  I'd expect someone who is well educated and professionally qualified to have good English.  However I wouldn't expect someone who is desperate enough to post their problems on a message board to be much better than a 2normal" forum post - that is full of tiny errors.

I wish you the best too, people have to make a living somehow but please don't think that everyone is gullable enough to believe everything they read.

I know, but even if I can help a couple of people, then I am doing my service.  I have a gift to be able to help people so I will, thxs for the interesting thread,  I appreciate it.  good luck to you too

I though that you were talking about my responses to people and they are not cookie cutter.  I would only hope that people that post are doing so because they need help.  Thats the best I can do right now.

May I ask you a question?

Can a person who is not a psychologist help with serious problems? and under what conditions?

You can if you do it online and anonymously!!! :=)

And of course if you have "a gift to be able to help people"  which I guess could possibly include being able to get messages to and from dead friends and relatives too! I think I hear a sympathetic comment from ....the name begins with "D" is it "david" no "Dennis?" no Denise"  "Derek" your uncle was called Derek".??...