Article

Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling

2020, Vol. 74(3) 166–174
Online/Cyber Counseling Services in ! The Author(s) 2020

the COVID-19 Outbreak: Are They Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions
Really New? DOI: 10.1177/1542305020948170
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Dominikus David Biondi Situmorang

Department of Guidance and Counseling, Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia, Indonesia

Abstract
Online/cyber counseling has been named as the best way to offer counseling services during the COVID-19 outbreak. The
purpose of this article is to explore the use of online/cyber counseling during the COVID-19 outbreak to solve psychological
problems. The author examines the history and concepts, the therapeutic relationship, transference and countertransfer-
ence, the advantages along with the disadvantages, considerations, implications, and curriculum for online/cyber counseling
during COVID-19 outbreak.

Keywords
Online, cyber, counseling, COVID-19, outbreak

Introduction
Online/cyber counseling has been characterized as the con-
veyance of counseling services via the Internet, where the
pastoral/spiritual counselor or psychologist and counselee/
client are not within the same physical area and they com-
municate utilizing computer-mediated communication inno-
vations (Abney & Cleborne, 2004; Baker & Ray, 2011;
Richards & Vigan
o, 2012). An assortment of modalities
has been recognized as online/cyber counseling, including
but not restricted to instant messaging, synchronous chat,
text messaging, video-conferencing, and asynchronous email
(Barak, Hen, et al., 2009; Barnett, 2005; Dowling &
Rickwood, 2013).
Over the past two decades, online/cyber counseling has
received much consideration and acknowledgment as a rea-
sonable counseling conveyance strategy (Cohen & Kerr,
1998). Pastoral/spiritual counselors or psychologists who
have adequate technical ability can progressively communi-
cate with their counselee/client through the online medium
and/or undertake the whole progress online (Mallen &
Vogel, 2005). The benefits of online/cyber counseling incor-
porate more noteworthy availability, reaching populaces
that would not immediately look for face-to-face counsel-
ing, reasonableness, and ease of record keeping (Leibert
et al., 2006; McCrickard & Butler, 2005; Rochlen et al.,
2004). Moreover, Suler (2002) and Partala (2011) expressed
that counselees/clients taking part in online/cyber
counseling are less likely to feel powerless for revealing
their individual data and also feel less ashamed about their
issues, due to the anonymity related to online/cyber
counseling.
In any case, pundits of online/cyber counseling have
raised concerns with respect to the reducing of visual
prompts, failure to intercede in an emergency, and need
of restorative control (Leibert et al., 2006; Richards,
2009; Rochlen et al., 2004). Numerous experts within the
field have expressed concerns regarding moral issues of
online/cyber counseling, including things such as compe-
tence, informed consent, privacy, and security (Barnett,
2005; McAdams & Wyatt, 2010; National Board for
Certified Counselors, 2012). In addition, online/cyber
counseling cannot be utilized by those who do not have
get to satisfactory innovation or do not have the essential
innovation aptitudes (West & Hanley, 2006).
In spite of the concerns around online/cyber counseling,
an increasing number of analysts have found proof support-
ing the viability of online/cyber counseling for an assortment
of mental issues, including depression, panic disorder, social
Corresponding author:
Dominikus David Biondi Situmorang, Atma Jaya Catholic University of
Indonesia—Semanggi Campus Jl. Jenderal Sudirman 51 Jakarta, DKI Jakarta
12930, Indonesia.
Email: david.biondi@atmajaya.ac.id
Situmorang
anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and eating disorders
(Skinner & Zack, 2004; Sloan et al., 2011; Stamm, 1998). In
addition, some research on counselee/client online counsel-
ing has uncovered empowering results. For instance, Cohen
and Kerr (1998), Richards and Vigan
o (2012), and Rochlen
et al. (2004) found that counselees/clients show the level of
session profundity, fulfilment, and smoothness to be com-
parable between online/cyber counseling and face-to-face
counseling. Furthermore, McKenna and Bargh (2000) and
Reynolds et al. (2006) found that counselees/clients who
experienced uneasiness and social separation were more
likely to create deep connections through online/cyber
counseling than through in-person counseling.
Research has shown that counselees/clients have dem-
onstrated both benefits and progress related to online/
cyber counseling services. Joinson et al. (2008) and King
et al. (2006) subjectively investigated adolescents’ encoun-
ters with a 24-hour emergency counseling service through
text-messaging. The participants projected a need for indi-
vidual contact, anonymity, and the capacity to re-read and
alter their written explanations as positive aspects of
online/cyber counseling administrations, in spite of the
fact that their main concerns were about how their pasto-
ral/spiritual counselors or psychologists would be able to
explore their feelings and sentiments through a texting
format. Kanani and Regehr (2003) and Young (2005) con-
ducted an overview of those who had shown an interest in
online chat sessions for compulsion issues and found that
members declared that their fundamental reasons in looking
for online/cyber counseling are secrecy, comfort, and the
pastoral/spiritual counselor’s or psychologist’s qualifications
(e.g., considerable experience and academic qualifications).
Be that as it may, they also stated the concerns related to
the need for visible security, and security related to online/
cyber chat sessions (Dowling & Rickwood, 2013).
At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak,
human activities were no longer the same as before.
Various countries in the world imposed regulations for
working from home, studying from home, social distancing,
physical distancing, etc. Furthermore, these adjustments
may eventually have triggered mental health symptoms,
such as anxiety, depression, stress, and so on (Arnout
et al., 2020; Liebrenz et al., 2020).
Regarding this phenomenon, mental health services can
no longer be done face-to-face, because pastoral/spiritual
counselors or psychologists and counselees/clients must
conduct social and physical distancing during the counseling
process, but psychological distancing is not permitted. This
has ultimately led to all pastoral/spiritual counselors or psy-
chologists around the world implementing an online/cyber
counseling process, whether through chat, email,
WhatsApp, video call, or even telephone. At present,
during this COVID-19 outbreak, the best solution is the
use of online/cyber counseling.
167
The History and Concept of Online/Cyber
Counseling
The history of online/cyber counseling began with the term
“distance counseling”. Distance counseling has existed since
the initiation of modern mental wellbeing. Freud and Morita
connected with counselees/clients regarding the side effects
and treatments (Barnett, 2005; France et al., 1995). Phones
have been utilized for emergency lines since the 1950s and
are at present broadly utilized for aide services (Allerman,
2002; Centore & Milacci, 2008; Mohr et al., 2008; Stead
et al., 2013), and counseling by means of video has been
utilized since the 1960s (Holmes & Foster, 2012; Rohland,
2001). For each of these, there is a modern computer-
mediated equivalent. Advanced letter composition regularly
happens through mail and electronic bulletin boards; syn-
chronous connections (i.e., those taking part at the same
time as the pastoral/spiritual counselor or psychologist and
counselee/client) incorporate voice-over-Internet protocol
(VOIP), video-conferencing apps, instant messaging (IM),
and chat, which contrasts with short-message service
(SMS), its phone-based counterpart (Centore & Milacci,
2008; Kessler et al., 2009; McCrickard & Butler, 2005;
Mallen & Vogel, 2005).
The utilization of Internet services is on the increase and
it is obvious that the preparation of student pastoral/spiri-
tual counselors or psychologists to work within this
medium must be advanced to take account of such social
developments (Mishna et al., 2013). Over a long period, the
use of online/cyber innovation to supply counseling sessions
has been developed (Allerman, 2002; Baker & Ray, 2011;
Pollock, 2006). A few accept with indiscreet eagerness
(Hennigan & Goss, 2014; Kettunen et al., 2013; Prado &
Meyer, 2004). In agreement with that, according to
Glasheen and Campbell (2009) and King et al. (2006),
online/cyber counseling has become a reasonable choice
for helping young people when they are confronting
mental wellbeing challenges. Counselee/client request for
such services are anticipated to significantly increase in
the long term (McKenna & Bargh, 2000; Norcross et al.,
2002; Stamm, 1998; Wright, 2002) due to easy access to
the Web.
With the progress that is happening in the cyber world it
is recommended that there should be critical suggestions
for improvement in supporting counseling offices such as:
instruction, mental wellbeing, and social work (Kettunen
et al., 2013). Kessler et al. (2009) and Mishna et al. (2013)
accept that this will require more efficient consideration,
mindfulness-raising, and discussion of online issues, and an
introduction to the necessary aptitudes which will need to
be learned. Also, this new information must be coordinated
with preparation for counseling.
Research supports an assortment of terms used to
depict online/cyber counseling, such as cyber counseling;
online or Internet therapy; e-counseling; e-therapy; email
168
therapy; Internet counseling and Web counseling, to name a
few (Allerman, 2002; Cook & Doyle, 2002; Jones, 2013; Lau
et al., 2013; McCrickard & Butler, 2005; Pollock, 2006).
Also, online/cyber counseling can be conveyed through a
variety of distinctive media, by means of phone (Mallen &
Vogel, 2005; Mohr et al., 2008), non-concurrent mail, con-
tent chat or messages posted on discourse-board chat
rooms (Joinson et al., 2008; Jones, 2013), genuine time syn-
chronous chat through Web-based and face-to-face
Webcam sessions (Bambling et al., 2008; Cook & Doyle,
2002). Richards (2009) and Rohland (2001) conclude that
professionals cannot disregard the influence of such inno-
vation, and Lau et al. (2013) and Wagner et al. (2014) rec-
ommend that at whatever point an Internet counselee/
client is communicating in a virtual world, their problems
should always be regarded as genuine.
According to Marton and Booth (1997, p. 111) and
Rochlen et al. (2004), a person’s understanding and involve-
ment of wonders (in this research about online/cyber
counseling) are entwined with their capacity to act—since
“you cannot act other than in connection to the world as
you encounter it.” Kettunen et al. (2013) and Goss and
Anthony (2004) support this conviction, which was origi-
nally hypothesized by Kember (1997) and Akerlind (2003,
2008); that a broader understanding of practitioners’ con-
ceptions is to begin with required some time recently
arranging preparing mediations. They conjecture that this
will affect a person’s or a student’s capacity to adjust to
unused advances in their skills (Situmorang & Salim, 2020).
The Therapeutic Relationship in Online/
Cyber Counseling
There is no proof that the relationships between counselee/
client and pastoral/spiritual counselor or psychologist are
exceptionally diverse when counseling treatments are given
over the Internet. The foremost self-evident contrast is the
need for non-verbal signals (Abney & Cleborne, 2004; Liess
et al., 2008). Whereas this clearly unfavorably influences the
strategies utilized in conventional counseling, a few have
contended that such disadvantages are, at the least,
mostly counterbalanced by the favorable characteristics of
text-based communication (Suler, 2004). For example, a few
have contended that counselees/clients unveil at a faster
rate when making contact via email (Barnett, 2005;
Rochlen et al., 2004), which online/cyber back bunches
may have a ‘‘disinhibiting effect’’ (Allerman, 2002; Barak
et al., 2008). Clearly, counselees/clients are more likely to
get straight to the point instead of steadily easing into an
articulation of the issue (Hennigan & Goss, 2014; Rochlen
et al., 2004; Suler, 2004). This divulgence may be candidly
noteworthy in spite of being text-based (Bar-Lev, 2008;
Centore & Milacci, 2008).
Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling 74(3)
The revelation of their problems may be increased by the
sense of privacy that counselees/clients may experience by
not being physically seen or by not having to disclose their
character (Cartreine et al., 2010). Revelation may be
advanced and encouraged by the orderly introduction of
web-based methods (Joinson et al., 2008; Jones, 2013).
Moreover, certainly requiring the counselee/client to ver-
balize their concerns in a written format may create a more
intelligent position on the part of the counselee/client
(Hennigan & Goss, 2014; Rochlen et al., 2004). Composed
communication permits counselees/clients to consider what
they are “actually saying” and to change their explanations
without worrying that it will come across incorrectly the
first time. This could be more than just the original com-
munication made by a pastoral/spiritual counselor or
psychologist.
The Issue of Transference in Online/Cyber
Counseling
Transference may be a central occasion which decides the
relationship between the counselee/client and the pastoral/
spiritual counselor or psychologist in each psychotherapeu-
tic experience (Kanani & Regehr, 2003; McCluskey &
O’Toole, 2019; Parth et al., 2017). In any case in which psy-
chodynamic or classical psychoanalytic interventions are
concerned, there is continuously an oblivious transference.
Historically, this is often a disclosure of early psychoanalysis,
which means in a smaller sense, the enthusiastic attitude of
understanding a pastoral/spiritual counselor and psycholo-
gist has in the counseling process that initially offends child-
hood, but which is unconsciously expressed in the counseling
process (Aggarwal, 2020; Greenberg, 2016). These incorpo-
rate, for example, early childhood-acquired love, desire,
abhorrence, and neglect, which are connected within the
treatment situation. It is an oblivious occasion, the realiza-
tion and mindfulness of which may be at the center of psy-
chodynamic and explanatory treatments (Aggarwal, 2020;
McCluskey & O’Toole, 2019).
An ordinary transference in online/cyber counseling
(especially during this COVID-19 outbreak), which may be
connected with stress, anxiety, and depression in counse-
lees/clients, regularly unfurls at the start of online/cyber
counseling. The counselee/client feels frail and powerless,
talks discreetly, and is unknowingly looking for maternal
security—somebody who “gets” them and who can do
everything for them. In the event that their unhappiness is
related to early misfortune encountered in their childhood,
as is frequently the case, their oblivious transference serves
the craving to re-establish the circumstance some time to
remind them of the painful events they have experienced
(Parth et al., 2017; Veach et al., 2018). This may be related
to idealizing trust, regarding the meaning of the transfer-
ence perspectives to the pastoral/spiritual counselors or
Situmorang
psychologists. In a more basic history, this transference sit-
uation is regularly found within the relationship with the
counselee/client, whether female or male. The partner in
the counseling process will unconsciously expect to get
protection from us and we can become dominant figures
for themselves.
The Issue of Countertransference in
Online/Cyber Counseling
Countertransference is the complementary response of the
pastoral/spiritual counselor or psychologist, which ought,
moreover, which should be explained in a broader sense,
including all the enthusiastic responses given by the coun-
selee/client (Aggarwal, 2020; McCluskey & O’Toole, 2019;
Parth et al., 2017). That is, in a broader sense, countertrans-
ference is the full subliminal enthusiastic reaction of the
individual giving treatment and a pastoral/spiritual counselor
or psychologist group to the behavior of a counselee/client,
which incorporates their responses and states of mind
coming about from the transference (Gait & Halewood,
2019; Greenberg, 2016).
Within the pastoral/spiritual counselor or psychologist,
sentiments of maternal and counselee/client-oriented assur-
ance are activated. If this complementary response is not
reflected, the pastoral/spiritual counselor or psychologist
rapidly chooses a solid, supportive, and dynamic role. To
begin with, the counselee/client unknowingly gives the pas-
toral/spiritual counselor or psychologist reassurance, by
giving a slight indication of change. This, in turn, propagates
the pastoral/spiritual counselor’s or psychologist’s behavior
(Aggarwal, 2020; Gait & Halewood, 2019). When the
involvement of torment and loss is at that point treated
in online/cyber counseling, resistance becomes an issue;
the counselee/client survives in a discouraged, pitiful state
of mind, so as not to have to re-experience past trauma. As
a resistance, which is additionally not realized, depressive
indications are used against psychodynamic translation
endeavors, which may take a long time. Because online/
cyber counseling preparations are not functioning properly,
transference problems arise within the pastoral/spiritual
counselor or psychologist (Searles, 2017; Veach et al.,
2018). Furthermore, Kehoe (2016), Pedhu (2019),
Maximo (2019), and Peeters (2020) give detail information
about countertransference and ethical considerations in
spiritual/religious counseling and psychotherapy.
The Advantages of Online/Cyber
Counseling
There are a few advantages to online/cyber counseling.
Counselees/clients and pastoral/spiritual counselors or psy-
chologists do not have to meet each other within a physical
space, subsequently decreasing the requirement for travel,
169
appointment-related concerns, and overhead costs (Abney
& Cleborne, 2004; Cartreine et al., 2010; Green-Hamann
et al., 2011). Moreover, counselees/clients can look for
services in ways that allow for more prominent anonymity,
security, and privacy, thereby improving any potential nega-
tive paradigm related to seeing a pastoral/spiritual counsel-
or or psychologist (Barak et al., 2008; Cartreine et al., 2010;
McAdams & Wyatt, 2010). Anonymity, intangibility, and
more time to structure reactions were imperative to King
et al.’s (2006) young subjects. There is less risk of partiality,
since age, sex, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status
are frequently more difficult to perceive in a separate envi-
ronment (Barak et al., 2009; Miller & Gergen, 1998). At the
same time, there is much more to do with other people
who are geographically different in dealing with a problem
(Green-Hamann et al., 2011; Holmes & Foster, 2012).
Online/cyber counselees/clients frequently converse
more unreservedly when they feel they are in a secure,
non-judgmental environment and habitually make more
profound revelations to the pastoral/spiritual counselor or
psychologist, and disclose their problems sooner than they
might in a face-to-face session (King et al., 2006; Goss &
Anthony, 2004; Reynolds et al., 2006; Suler, 2004). Text-
based communication creates a composed record that pos-
sibly benefits both counselees/clients and pastoral/spiritual
counselors or psychologists (Kessler et al., 2009), and Goss
and Anthony (2004) found that counselees/clients had
improved control of the treatment session since they are
able to hang up, log off, or move away from the camera. In
truth, numerous counselees/clients of virtual stages cite the
capacity to be in control of their environment as one of the
reasons they take part in online/cyber counseling (Leibert
et al., 2006; Partala, 2011).
The Disadvantages of Online/Cyber
Counseling
In spite of the advantages of online counseling, pastoral/
spiritual counselors or psychologists have frequently been
hesitant to make use of technological advances, often with
good reason. Whereas pastoral/spiritual counselors or psy-
chologists can at present ignore geographical restrictions,
concerns over time-planning, jurisdictional licensure, and
restricted awareness of territorial standards and occur-
rences have surfaced (Green-Hamann et al., 2011; Holmes
& Foster, 2012; McAdams & Wyatt, 2010; West & Hanley,
2006). The need for satisfactory preparation, mechanical
information, adequate private computer access, and sup-
port for the uneducated have also been raised (American
Counseling Association (ACA), 2014; McAdams & Wyatt,
2010; Mallen & Vogel, 2005; Miller & Gergen, 1998). In the
USA, improvements including the Health Information
Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Health
Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health
170
Act (HITECH) have caused pastoral/spiritual counselors or
psychologist to carefully consider the utilization of electron-
ic communication (Kanani & Regehr, 2003).
At long last, the need for non-verbal data ordinarily
picked up from watching body language and other visual
and verbal prompts is changing the counseling dynamic
and has caused a few to address the viability of separate
counseling (Barak et al., 2009; Cartreine et al., 2010; Suler,
2004). As an illustration of this, the young people in
Bambling et al.’s (2008) and King et al.’s (2006) research
accepted that their pastoral/spiritual counselors or psychol-
ogists regularly confused the enthusiastic substance of their
messages. In addition, Situmorang (2018), Situmorang,
Mulawarman, and Wibowo (2018a, 2018b), and
Situmorang, Wibowo, and Mulawarman (2018) found that
if the counseling process uses music therapy, especially if the
counselor and counselee/client play music together online,
there will be a sound delay.
Skills, Characteristics, and Other
Considerations for Online/Cyber
Counseling
Pastoral/spiritual counselors or psychologists must consider
a few variables when committing to online/cyber counseling.
In this case, the pastoral/spiritual counselor or psychologist
must be able to understand the complex characteristics of
each counselee/client (Kanani & Regehr, 2003). At the same
time, they must have suitable specialized information and
have a certain level of familiarity with errors, miscommuni-
cation, and working with different societies (ACA, 2014).
Pastoral/spiritual counselors or psychologists ought to
screen out potential counselees/clients requiring high
levels of contact and those with serious pathology, hazard-
ous behaviors, and troubles with reality testing (Rochlen
et al., 2004; Suler, 2001). They must also evaluate the coun-
selee/client’s familiarity with technology and their expres-
sive abilities in the online/cyber counseling process. Barnett
(2005) and Fenichel et al. (2002) recommended that coun-
selees/clients with high levels of inspiration, excellent read-
ing and writing abilities, and the capacity to recognize and
clarify miscommunications may be most appropriate for
online/cyber counseling.
Moreover, pastoral/spiritual counselors or psychologists
utilizing online/cyber media ought to have the capacity to
sort rapidly, compose expressively, and be proficient at
online communication, encryption, and Web-browser
administration. Analysts have proposed utilizing more
unequivocal methods of communication when composing
is the most important modality (Allerman, 2002; Barak,
Klein, et al., 2009; Suler, 2004), including capitalization,
emoticons (utilizing written images such as smiley faces
for specific feelings), bold, italic, or colored type, and
other methods of complex accentuation. Portraying
Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling 74(3)
sentiments and body language may also help towards
more viable communication (Abney & Cleborne, 2004).
Cook and Doyle (2002) and Wang et al. (2014) found
that virtual meeting facilitators needed to be knowledgeable
about the stage being utilized and be able to multitask
between technical/logistical components and helping apti-
tudes. The capacity to move rapidly between separate
modalities and face-to-face counseling has, moreover,
become well known (Dowling & Rickwood, 2013; Fenichel
et al., 2002).
Counseling Themes Particularly Germane
to Pastoral/Spiritual Counseling Based on
the Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on
Mental Health
Nowadays, essential significance is given to the physical
wellbeing that incorporates treatments and treatment to
pneumonic indications. Furthermore, by paying attention
to the issue of mental problems that occurred during
COVID-19 outbreak resulting from the viral infection, iso-
lation, restricted social activities, disturbed sleep, lockdown,
and fake news; culminating in stress, anxiety, and episodes of
depressive reactions (Khan et al., 2020; Zarocostas, 2020).
Online/Cyber Counseling as the Best
Option During the COVID-19 Outbreak
For the first time in the world’s history, all cities around the
world are experiencing lockdown, marked by the increasing
fear displayed by the media during COVID-19 outbreak
(Hui et al., 2020; Yang et al., 2020). In addition to an increas-
ing number of deaths, fast transmission and intense grief are
increasing mental illness and uneasiness among people.
People in this world are under normal conditions which
will lead to less productive behavior. Individuals are fright-
ened of being contaminated by their colleagues and family
individuals; hence, they are inclined to stay separated and
locked down, and to overuse electronic gadgets. For non-
natives, the conditions are more extreme as nations have
begun repatriating some individuals because of the stress
caused by COVID-19 (Holmes & Foster, 2012). In this way,
an appropriate framework must be created to teach indi-
viduals through online/cyber counseling. In addition, they
ought to be given counseling treatments and mental
health help where required.
Implications for Pastoral/Spiritual
Counselor or Psychologist Educators and
Credentialing Bodies
To be successful in any setting, pastoral/spiritual counselors
or psychologists must be prepared, and special conditions
require specialized preparation (Jones, 2013). Pastoral/
Situmorang
spiritual counselors or psychologist teachers ought to start
introducing prospective pastoral/spiritual counselors or
psychologists to this new medium in order to extend the
knowledge and viability of these future specialists, whilst
also focusing on and encouraging specialized preparation
(Kehoe, 2016; Lau et al., 2013). While some preparation
and credentialing does exist (e.g., the Distance Pastoral/
Spiritual Counselor or Psychologist Credential in the US),
more ought to be done. There are also number of legiti-
mate and moral issues that are either conflictingly tended to
or not tended to at all.
It is additionally vital to recognize that lawful and moral
measures change from country to country. Authorizing
bodies must seriously consider the impact of the COVID-
19 pandemic, so as to create new and open types of serv-
ices (Green-Hamann et al., 2011). Organizational structures
(e.g., proficient organizations and credentialing and permit-
ting bodies) ought to begin to develop ways of addressing
modern methods of acquiring proficiency and skills, and
further investigation is required to advise on the best
practices.
Updating the Pastoral/Spiritual Counselor
or Psychologist Education Curriculum
During the COVID-19 Outbreak
Online/cyber counseling has been around for decades and is
not a new phenomenon. In truth, mental health services
have been available since 1982 through the utilization of
online/cyber self-help groups (Holmes & Foster, 2012;
Kanani & Regehr, 2003). The forerunner to online/cyber
counseling was established over a decade ago, in 1995,
when primary fee-based treatment was set up on the
Internet (Mallen & Vogel, 2005; Skinner & Zack, 2004).
Although innovation is progressing and new techniques
such as video chat are utilized, the concept of online treat-
ment is not new (McCrickard & Butler, 2005). Since this
kind of treatment is not a new phenomenon, why are our
graduate students not learning about it? Why is this not
included within education modules?
The ultimate suggestion for curriculum designers is that
there is clearly a need for instructive material within cur-
rent counseling education courses. In a standard program
there is no focus on online/cyber counseling within the
dialogs, courses, or materials. This also confirms research
findings, since less than 1% of dynamic pastoral/spiritual
counselors or psychologists report having had data dis-
played to them about online/cyber counseling (Abney &
Cleborne, 2004; McKenna & Bargh, 2000; Wells et al.,
2007). It appears that a clear shortage has been identified,
since this more youthful generation of upcoming pastoral/
spiritual counselors or psychologists shows itself to be
enthusiastic about memorizing more, whereas their educa-
tors show themselves to be lagging behind in providing
171
them with the required and wanted instruction, especially
during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The rise and the impact of information and communications
technology (ICT) have had a tremendous effect on the field
of pastoral/spiritual counseling, particularly Internet innova-
tion. Through the Internet today, especially during the
COVID-19 outbreak, everyone who works in the mental
health field can provide free online/cyber counseling serv-
ices by advertising it as a form of humanity towards others.
The history of computer and Web utilization in counseling
has added another level to the work of pastoral/spiritual
counselors or psychologists, especially during the COVID-
19 pandemic outbreak. Understanding the history of the
advancement and transformation of online/cyber counseling
can bring modern information to pastoral/spiritual counse-
lors or psychologists. For the longer-term discourse and
investigation, the issues and opportunities of online/cyber
counseling services can also be taken care of. This will
enhance information about modern treatments, as well as
giving the historical context for the increasing use of online/
cyber counseling.
Furthermore, pastoral/spiritual counseling education stu-
dents right now have had no formal instructive material on
this subject in their pastoral/spiritual counselor or psychol-
ogist education program. I propose that advance planning
should be conducted in order to examine their particular
requirements. Pastoral/spiritual counseling program chair-
persons, educational programs chiefs, and course engineers
ought to note this clear demand for current graduate
counseling students to discover information about online/
cyber counseling. The current pastoral/spiritual counseling
programs need to be upgraded to reflect the changes within
the counseling field and the requirements of students.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect
to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.
ORCID iD
Dominikus David Biondi Situmorang https://orcid.org/0000-
0002-6065-2022
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Dominikus David Biondi Situmorang is an assistant
professor in the Department of Guidance and Counseling
at Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia. He was
founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Creative
Counseling Center, Indonesia. He is a member of the
Asosiasi Bimbingan dan Konseling Indonesia (ABKIN). He
is an editorial board/reviewer for many reputable scientific
international and national journals, especially in the counsel-
ing, psychology, social science, and education fields. In addi-
tion, he is also a musician, songwriter, music counselor,
motivator, trainer, and influencer who has many
achievements.