ONLINE COUNSELING AT THE TIME OF COVID-19

PANDEMIC: EXPLORING THE LIVED

EXPERIENCES OF SCHOOL
COUNSELORS

PSYCHOLOGY AND EDUCATION: A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL

Volume: 15
Pages: 429-437
Document ID: 2023PEMJ1375
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10230990
Manuscript Accepted: 2023-14-11
Psych Educ, 2023, 15(5): 429-437, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1375, doi:10.5281/zenodo.10230990, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article

Online Counseling at the Time of COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring

the Lived Experiences of School Counselors
Kristoffer Ryan T. Gidaya*, Rama Lo R. Amedo
For affiliations and correspondence, see the last page.
Abstract
An increase in demand for mental health services has been prominent in recent years,
and digital technology has been found to be beneficial in the delivery of mental health services. In
line with this, the current study explored the experiences of 10 registered guidance counselors who
integrated technology into their practice of online counseling. The main purpose of this study was to
explore the counselors’ experiences, feelings, challenges, coping mechanisms, and the meanings
they ascribed to their experiences. To achieve these, the researchers employed a qualitative
phenomenological approach using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The ten registered
guidance counselors who worked in school settings were residents of the province of Antique and
engaged in online counseling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were
selected through purposive and snowball sampling, and data were collected using a semi-
structured interview. Based on the transcripts of the participants, four major themes emerged,
namely: (i) perceived benefits of online counseling, (ii) ethical issues, (iii) challenges encountered
during online counseling, and (iv) ways of coping. Counselors reported online counseling to be
helpful, particularly because the integration of technology could facilitate greater accessibility to
services. However, due to technological disruptions and the potential blurring of professional
boundaries, online counseling may involve ethical considerations that negatively impact the
therapeutic relationship. The findings provide preliminary qualitative evidence that online therapy can
be a useful adjunct to traditional forms of face-to-face counseling. However, counselors require more
explicit training in implementing online counseling.

Keywords: registered guidance counselors, online counseling, lived experiences, interpretative

phenomenological analysis, COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction pandemic. Almost overnight, practitioners were forced

Although the COVID-19 crisis is, in the first instance,
a physical health crisis, it has the sources of a major
mental health crisis as well if action is not taken. Good
mental health is essential to the functioning of society
at the best of times. It must be the front of every
country’s response to and recovery from the
COVID-19 pandemic. The mental health and
wellbeing of whole societies have been severely
impacted by this crisis and are a priority to be
addressed urgently.
As a result, the delivery of mental health services
using technology became very beneficial, and online
counseling became an aid to the increasing risk of
mental health conditions in the country. Online
counseling was named the best way to offer counseling
services during the COVID-19 outbreak (Situmorang,
2020). However, results from a study conducted by
Barker and Barker (2022) indicated that the level of
preparation for online therapy is varied.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated
sudden and radical changes in mental health care
delivery, as strict social distancing and lockdown
measures were imposed in the early phases of the
to transfer their face-to-face care practice to online
means (Feijt et al., 2020).
Research in online counseling has been limited
especially in the province of Antique, yet the
researchers are still able to point out the major findings
on the available literature. Specifically, guidance
counselors’ experiences in online counseling had
advantages and disadvantages for themselves and the
clients they are engaging. The specific importance of
online counseling has also been determined. The
literature showed that school counselors had
difficulties engaging in online counseling and
suggested more training and proper interventions to
effectively deliver online counseling. Finally, students
as the major clients in online counseling have been
found since these individuals are prone to mental
health issues while engaging in the new normal set-up
of learning.Therefore, this study sought to explore the
lived experiences of guidance counselors in terms of
their experiences, feelings, challenges, coping
mechanisms, and ascribed meanings in using online
counseling to perform mental health services at the
time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gidaya & Amedo 429/437

Psych Educ, 2023, 15(5): 429-437, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1375, doi:10.5281/zenodo.10230990, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article
Research Questions
The main aim of this study was to explore the lived
experiences of guidance counselors in online
counseling.
Specifically, it sought answers to the following
questions:
1. What are the lived experiences of guidance
counselors in terms of:
1.1 their adjustments to online counseling;
1.2 their feelings on their online counseling
experiences;
1.3 their challenges encountered during online
counseling; and
1.4 their coping mechanisms to overcome challenges
in online counseling?
2. What are the meanings ascribed to their experiences
as guidance counselors giving online counseling?
Literature Review
Online counseling is defined as the communication
between a trained professional counselor and client to
give therapeutic interventions through cyberspace
where it is facilitated using computer-mediated
communication (CMC) technologies (Richards &
Vigano, 2012). It is an attempt to help the clients in a
therapeutic manner with the help of information
technology, computers, and the internet (Amalianita et
al., 2017). Online counseling has synonymous terms
including online or internet therapy, e-counseling, e-
therapy, cybertherapy, e-mail therapy, web counseling,
internet counseling, cyber counseling, synchronous
single-session counseling, and therapy-e-mail (Lau et
al., 2013).
Brown (2012) on the other hand, determined two main
methods in online counseling when interacting with
clients. These include asynchronous and synchronous
communication. Asynchronous modality encompasses
non-real-time interaction which uses emails, message
boards, and weblogs. On the other hand, synchronous
interactions have real-time communication which can
be a written or spoken dialogue with the use of a
computer and other related devices.
Furthermore, Ahmed and Firdous (2020) determined
three importance of online counseling amidst the
pandemic. First, online counseling can help ease the
increasing cases of depression due to uncertainty in
life. By providing counseling sessions, stress, anxiety,
and depression can be managed to some extent if not
completely removed. Second, disrupted or stopped
education resulted in almost twice the chance of
depression. So, it is important to acquaint students
Gidaya & Amedo
with the use of various software and applications used
in online education by providing guidance and
counseling services. Lastly, the pandemic has made
people stuck in such places. Thus, online counseling
must give hope by keeping people up to date with the
latest developments in education and job market.
Additionally, Amalianita et al. (2017) identified media
used in online counseling. First is the website, though
it may require substantial cost, online counseling has
been made available through the website address
anytime people feel the need for counseling. Second is
the use of telephone where the client and counselor
have synchronous communication to directly address
the needs of the client which is usually in audio. The
other is electronic mail (email) which allows the
sending of data, text files, digital photos, audio, and
video files from one computer to another. Finally,
video conferencing allows video data transfer from the
client to the counselor with real-time communication
of both audio and video output.
Also, Huang et al. (2020) established the advantages
and disadvantages of online counseling. The
advantages mainly include convenience, anonymity,
immediacy, autonomy, and cost-effectiveness.
Convenience was divided into two: the locality of the
clients wherein remote areas are also covered in online
counseling, and the data preservation which keeps and
tracks the clients’ records easier than traditional
counseling. Anonymity breaks the clients’ fear of
counseling and gives more trust to the counselor which
can lead to a good foundation for further treatment.
Immediacy provides an instant response if the situation
is crucial to the part of clients. Autonomy provides the
clients with greater freedom and decides when to take
the counseling as best. Lastly, cost-effectiveness refers
to the time and economic savings while conducting
online counseling as compared to traditional face-to-
face counseling.
In terms of disadvantages, seven variables are
mentioned. Firstly, the lack of privacy and security
deals with the lost or leaked data in an online space.
Second is ethical issues which consider dual
relationships and online boundaries. Third is the
immature technological development that points to
technical limitations like insufficient signal from
remote areas. Fourth, the quality of the consultant team
basically is uneven in online counseling. Fifth, weak
supervision which lacks legal provisions and
regulatory bodies to restrict counseling. Sixth, the lack
of non-verbal cues especially in tele-counseling omits
the possibility of observing behaviors. Finally, it is
difficult to maintain long-term counseling in such
430/437
Psych Educ, 2023, 15(5): 429-437, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1375, doi:10.5281/zenodo.10230990, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article
using email could lessen the continuity of the
counseling (Huang et al., 2020).
Mental health professionals in Western countries have
been the focus of researchers in terms of their
experiences with online counseling. To understand the
implications of the drastic change for mental health
care due to COVID-19, and to improve online care
offerings, an online qualitative survey was held among
mental health care professionals in Netherlands (n =
51). Findings indicated that technological and usability
problems pose a significant challenge, as do
difficulties in establishing rapport with clients.
Moreover, not all mental health issues and treatment
forms are equally amenable to online interaction. In
contrast, in many instances, practitioners were positive
about the effectiveness of treatment and reported
flexibility, a lower threshold for contact, and lack of
travel time as advantages. Their most prominent needs
concern better technological, organizational, and
logistical support. It is critical that these needs are
acted upon by institutions and governments. In
addition, current results inform future research on the
improvement of e-mental health technologies (Feijt et
al., 2020).
De Witte (2021) investigated the uptake of online
consultations provided by mental health professionals
during lockdown measures in the first wave of the
COVID-19 pandemic in the participating countries,
with a specific focus on professionals' motivations and
perceived barriers regarding online consultations. An
online survey on the use of online consultations was
set up in March 2020. The Unified Theory of
Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) guided
the deductive qualitative analysis of the results. In
total, 2082 mental health professionals from Austria,
Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Italy, Lebanon,
Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain,
and Sweden were included. The results showed a high
uptake of online consultations during the COVID-19
pandemic but limited previous training on this topic
undergone by mental health professionals. Most
professionals reported positive experiences with online
consultations but concerns about the performance of
online consultations in a mental health context (e.g., in
terms of relational aspects) and practical
considerations (e.g., relating to privacy and security of
software) appear to be major barriers that hinder
implementation. This study provided an overview of
the mental health professionals' actual needs and
concerns regarding the use of online consultations in
order to highlight areas of possible intervention and
allow the implementation of necessary governmental,
educational, and instrumental support so that online
Gidaya & Amedo
consultations can become a feasible and stable option
in mental healthcare.
Furthermore, a study by Gullslett et al. (2021)
evaluated therapists’ experiences of using video
consultation (VC) in specialized mental health services
in the early phase of COVID-19 restrictions. The
study employed a qualitative approach based on
an abductive strategy and h erm en eutic-
phenomenological methodology. Therapists and
managers in mental health departments in a hospital
were interviewed via Skype for Business from March
to May 2020, using a thematic interview guide that
aimed to encourage reflections on the use of VC
during COVID-19 restrictions. Therapists included in
this study experienced advantages in using VC under
circumstances that did not permit face-to-face
consultations. The continuity that VC offered the
service users was seen as a valuable asset. Various
negative aspects concerning the therapeutic
environment such as lack of safety for the most
vulnerable service users and topics deemed unsuitable
for VC lowered the therapists’ overall impression of
the service. The themes that arose in the data analysis
have been categorized in the following main topics: (1)
VC— “it’s better than nothing”; (2) VC affects
therapists’ work situation—opportunities and
challenges in working conditions; and (3) challenges
of VC when performing professional assessment and
therapy on the screen.
Navarro et al. (2020) aimed to explore and confirm e-
mental health professional’s perspectives about
various domains and themes related to young service
users’ (YSUs) motivations for accessing text-based
online counseling (TBOC) services and factors related
to higher and lower effectiveness on these modalities.
Participants were 9 e-mental health professionals who
were interviewed individually and in focus groups
using a semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis
of qualitative themes from interview transcripts was
examined. A total of 4 domains and various sub
themes were confirmed and identified to be related to
YSUs’ characteristics, motivations for accessing
TBOC, and moderators of service effectiveness: user
characteristics (ie, prior negative help-seeking
experience, mental health syndrome, limited social
support, and perceived social difficulties), selection
factors (ie, safety, avoidance motivation, accessibility,
and expectation), and factors perceived to increase
effectiveness (ie, general therapeutic benefits, positive
service-modality factors, and persisting with
counseling despite substantial benefit) and decrease
effectiveness (ie, negative service-modality factors).
Participants perceived YSUs to have polarized
431/437
Psych Educ, 2023, 15(5): 429-437, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1375, doi:10.5281/zenodo.10230990, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article
expectations of TBOC effectiveness and be motivated
by service accessibility and safety, in response to
several help-seeking concerns. Factors increasing
TBOC effectiveness were using text-based
communication, the online counselor’s interpersonal
skills and use of self-management and crisis-support
strategies, and working with less complex presenting
problems or facilitating access to more intensive
support. Factors decreasing TBOC effectiveness were
working with more complex problems owing to
challenges with assessment, the slow pace of text
communication, lack of nonverbal conversational cues,
and environmental and connectivity issues. Other
factors were using ineffective techniques (eg, poor
goal setting, focusing, and post-counseling direction)
that produced only short-term outcomes, poor
timeliness in responding to service requests, rupture in
rapport from managing service boundaries, and low
YSU readiness and motivation.
Cipolletta and Mocellin (2018) investigated the
attitudes of Italian psychologists towards different
aspects of online counseling provided via email, chat,
forums, and videoconference. Method: An online
questionnaire was administered to a sample of 289
licensed psychologists in the Veneto Region (Italy) in
order to collect opinions, preferences, and intentions to
use online modalities, along with prior knowledge and
practice experiences.Only 18.3% of the respondents
had previous experience with online counseling.
Overall, the majority of psychologists (62.6%) were
favorable towards online counseling, but they also had
several reservations about the provision of online
diagnosis and therapeutic interventions. Results
showed a consistent lack of clarity regarding ethical
and penal issues concerning online modalities. More
efforts must be directed to deepening the application of
new technologies in the field of psychology in order to
enable an ethical and professional practice of online
counseling in Italy.
Studies have been conducted in some Asian countries
as well. In Oman, the investigation into the
experiences of therapists and their clients in utilizing
video-based telemental health care during the
COVID-19 pandemic was conducted by Al-Mahrouqi
et al. (2022). A total of 19 semi-structured qualitative
interviews were individually conducted, it included 13
adult clients with mental health conditions who
received video-based tele-mental health care and six
clinical psychologists who provided video-based tele-
mental health care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The clients reported favorable experiences using tele-
mental health, with the primary benefits being
convenience, easy accessibility to subspecialized care,
Gidaya & Amedo
reduced absenteeism from work with commuting
costs, and alleviated mental health stigma. The
therapists also expressed experiencing benefits from
tele-mental health, such as reduced risk of intrahospital
infection, reduced healthcare costs, and the
achievement of work-life balance. Primary concerns
were related to the lack of public tele-mental health
services, lack of specified tele-mental health
guidelines, shortage of trained therapists, limited
access to high-speed Internet, electronic devices,
privacy, and concerns toward the security of telehealth
systems in general.
In the Philippines, there were studies exploring the
experiences of mental health professionals in terms of
online counseling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For instance, Ledesma and Fernandez (2021) focused
on the experiences of Filipino psychologists
conducting therapy with clients in distress during this
time. A qualitative approach was used to analyze the
narratives of eight Filipino psychologists who were
living in community quarantine while conducting
therapy from March to December 2020. The results
revealed four themes which include (1) ‘thrown up in
the air’, (2) struggling to find their footing,(3) gaining
stability and (4) ‘finding new rhythm’. It was found
that these psychologists suffered emotional distress
from the pandemic that many are experiencing around
the world. They needed to first regain stability in their
well-being before being able to become effective
helpers to their clients again. Moreover, they
eventually found a new purpose and growth in their
practice.
Methodology
Research Design
This study employed a qualitative research design.
This design has been adapted as it provides
opportunities for a more in-depth description of the
lived experiences of school counselors on online
counseling during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Specifically, the study used a phenomenological
approach to explore the occurrence of a phenomenon
and to answer the research questions of the study.
Participants
Ten registered guidance counselors who were working
in a school setting in the province of Antique and
engaged in online counseling during the COVID-19
pandemic. Three of the participants were males while
seven were females. Participants were 30 to 60 years
432/437
Psych Educ, 2023, 15(5): 429-437, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1375, doi:10.5281/zenodo.10230990, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article
old. Six of them were working in a state university and
four in a government high school.
Research Instrument
This study used an interview protocol to gather data.
The interview questions were given in the native
dialect of the interviewees and worded in the simplest
way possible to not limit their understanding and
responses to the questions. Participants were given the
liberty to share any experience with regard to online
counseling as long as it was related to the current
question. Depending on the responses of the
interviewee, probing questions were provided.
The selection of participants was done in coordination
with gatekeepers. A letter was sent to their respective
head of office to seek approval to conduct this study
among the counselors. The researchers then asked for
the approval of the school counselors and scheduled
the interview based on the convenience of each
participant.
Before the start of every interview, the participants
signed an informed consent regarding the
confidentiality and the objectives of the study and
permission to audio record the entire interview. After
gathering data, the researchers conducted member
checking to validate the responses of the participants.
Data Analysis
In analyzing data, the researchers carefully examined
the collected data through audio-recorded interviews.
Then, the researchers cautiously followed the process
of transcribing the recorded interview into the text of
an interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is a
method designed to understand people's lived
experiences and explore in detail how they make sense
of them in the context of their personal and social
worlds. IPA requires the researcher to collect detailed,
reflective, first-person accounts from research
p articip an ts. It p rov ides an estab lish ed ,
phenomenological -focused approach to the
interpretation of these accounts (Smith & Osborn,
2015). This study followed a six-step process, reading
and re-reading, initial noting, developing emergent
themes, searching for connections across emergent
themes, moving to the next case, and looking for
patterns across cases.
Gidaya & Amedo
Results
Four major themes emerged from the analysis of data
namely, (i) perceived benefits of online counseling, (ii)
ethical issues, (iii) challenges encountered during
online counseling, and (iv) ways of coping.
When participants were asked about their lived
experiences as guidance counselors, various benefits
of online counseling emerged. It was found that in this
category, two themes had arisen including immediacy
of response and accessibility. It was identified that any
time of the day if the client needs it and the counselor
is available, they have no hesitation and respond to it
immediately. Counselor 2 shared, “We can
communicate to the client, especially to the cases of
children who are suicidal since it requires immediate
response, and it can’t wait for tomorrow or the other
day. We have to take action as soon as possible. That’s
why online counseling is very helpful because of that.”
Moreover, Counselor 8 also claimed that “online is a
big help because you can directly respond to the
problems.”
The school counselors found that using online
counseling is accessible. It was seen that online
counseling could be used at anytime and anywhere.
Counselor 3 said “We can access immediately a
certain person at any time, and we can relay our
concerns. In addition, according to Counselor 4,
“anytime, anywhere, they don’t have to be here if they
need immediate help, we can provide it through online
platforms.”
The second theme that emerged is the ethical issues
confronting online counseling such as confidentiality,
the absence of non-verbal behavioral cues, and
counselor competence. Information relevant to
counseling has also been shown to have an issue with
confidentiality. The results revealed that
confidentiality in online counseling had been weaker
than in face-to-face counseling. Counselor 1 expressed
“You cannot trust online because your account can be
hacked or whatever you are using, so confidentiality
online is not safe compared to face-to-face.”
The absence of non-verbal behavioral cues became
part of the challenge as mentioned by the counselors.
This challenge leads to inaccurate assessments by
which the counselors question the sincerity and
accuracy of what their clients shared during the
counseling session. Counselor 1 revealed, “There are
limitations if only Messenger is being used because
you don’t know if the client is serious about what he or
she really feels, to confirm and to affirm how that
student or client or counselee really feels at the very
moment. That’s why you wanted to affirm since it’s
433/437
Psych Educ, 2023, 15(5): 429-437, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1375, doi:10.5281/zenodo.10230990, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article
different if you personally see the client. Counselor 10
also added, “You couldn’t see the client's face, his/her
gestures, their non-verbal cues, so it is possible that
your assessment of him would not be that true. Your
assessment might not be valid and cannot come up
with a better assessment because it lacks non-verbal
cues.”
Since the school counselors were only exposed to
online counseling during the COVID-19 pandemic,
counselor competence emerged from the transcripts of
the participants. It was revealed that counselors need
further training to enhance their knowledge and skills
in online counseling. As a response, counselors wanted
to equip and enhance their knowledge and skills
towards the use of technology and the ethical
considerations in online counseling. Counselor 1
disclosed that “I was like studying at first what are the
protocols that I need to practice, what are the steps,
what are the guidelines that I need to adhere to.
Alright, so I need to review that.” Counselor 2
explained that “... we could make something to
enhance our skills on conducting online counseling
most probably because we were used to face-to-face.”
Counselor 5 elaborated that “we have to equip
ourselves; we have to be exposed to modern
technology so that it will be easy for us.”
The third theme includes the challenges encountered in
online counseling. These are poor internet connectivity
and remote work distractions. School counselors
evidently experienced a challenge using an internet
connection in conducting online counseling. Counselor
9 would disclose that “the major challenge is the
internet connection, internet connectivity. Specifically,
on the part of the students because they would use
mobile data. So, they have limited internet connection.
I think that’s the major challenge – it’s really the
internet connection.” Counselor 6 also said that “the
consequence in online counseling is the signal
disruptions. You could not continue your counseling
session because of signal disruptions”.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic requires school
counselors to work remotely, there were factors that
distracted them during online counseling sessions such
as noise. Counselor 4 disclosed that “you have to be in
a place where the room should be private and there’s
no noise because it can interfere with distractions. Yes,
it can be distracting during the counseling process.”
Counselor 6 also shared that “...for example, in the
house, while conducting counseling, sometimes there
are some distractions, noise, so there must be an
appropriate place where you will conduct your online
counseling. No noise, no distraction.”
Gidaya & Amedo
Lastly, coping strategies also emerged as a theme.
According to the school counselors, in order for them
to cope with the challenges encountered during online
counseling, they reported that they use adaptability and
support systems. It was seen that a sense of
adaptability helped the counselors cope with the
challenges. Due to the progress brought by technology,
counselors were able to adapt to these changes and
were able to accept the demands of the client in online
counseling. Counselor 5 discussed “We adapt to
changes, especially the present generation, the Gen-Z
generation. So, as a guidance counselor, you also need
to adapt. You have to advance yourself in technology
because technology is one form that you will surely
use in conducting online counseling.” Counselor 7
mentioned that “we have to adjust ourselves likewise
we have to accept the situation. Yes, we must adapt,
time will come that there are children that you cannot
force to meet you personally.”
Learning through peers has also been helpful to the
school counselors. It was seen that having someone to
share ideas and possible solutions will lead to better
actions and coping with the challenges in online
counseling. Counselor 4 narrated, “We are talking and
exchanging ideas with my fellow counselors while we
are doing our reports, at least we can open up. But
that’s within us only. Sometimes you have to share
ideas and expertise on how to handle a certain
situation or case and also to seek their opinion – the
more ideas the better. Because you miss something in
the book.” Moreover, Counselor 6 said that “there
must be somebody to help you to provide those things
to be effective with the use of online counseling.”
Discussion
One of the major themes that came out as the result of
this study was the perceived benefits experienced by
school counselors in online counseling. First, it was
found out that counselors using online counseling, the
school counselor can give an immediate response to
the needs of the client. School counselors said that
they should be available 24 hours so that they can
really act immediately to the necessary concerns of
their clients.
These findings were congruent with the study of Hill
et. al. (2013) emphasizing that counselors should
initiate immediacy in online counseling even when
feared of the client’s situation. A study by Kasper et al.
(2022) also stated in their results how the immediacy
of response plays a vital role in the therapeutic
relationship, the immediate feelings, and the
434/437
Psych Educ, 2023, 15(5): 429-437, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1375, doi:10.5281/zenodo.10230990, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article
termination process in online counseling.
Another subtheme was accessibility. According to
them, online counseling can cater to more clients
anytime and anywhere and they could conduct
counseling from the comfort of their homes. This
result has been synonymous with the study of
Amanveremez et al. (2020) which shows that online
counseling offers excellent time and location
advantages. A study by Teh et al. (2014) would also
support these findings in which online counseling is
perceived as a convenient service whereby it can be
provided at any time of the day.
Results also revealed that school counselors gained a
sense of fulfillment as they conducted online
counseling. Counselors felt happy, an intrinsic reward
they received from their clients because they fulfilled
their job by providing counseling. This result is
consistent with the study of Zainudin et al. (2021)
which revealed that online counselors were more
satisfied with online counseling than with face-to-face
counseling and the study of Kotera et al. (2021) which
presented that counselors perceived online therapy
positively.
In terms of challenges, it was apparent that counselors
considered internet connection as a primary challenge
in conducting online counseling. School counselors
described how internet connection negatively
influenced the process of counseling. This result was
supported by a study of Huang et al. (2020) which
considered immature technological development
pointing to technical limitations like insufficient signal
from the remote areas as challenges to consider in
online counseling. Environmental and connectivity
issues have also been mentioned as a challenge in
online counseling in the study of Navarro et al. (2020).
In addition, poor internet connectivity was part of the
major obstacles to online counseling as enumerated in
the study of Amos et al. (2020).
Another challenge that was found is having remote
work distractions in conducting online counseling.
One counselor said that there must be an appropriate
place where counselors will conduct online counseling
with no noise and no distractions to interfere with the
session. This challenge had also been mentioned in a
study of Huang et al. (2020) which was themed as lack
of privacy. This claim had been considered a challenge
by the counselors as referring to the distractions. Lack
of privacy in such offices had also been a concern to
the counselors as presented in the study by Ruto et al.
(2017).
Ethical issues also emerged as one of the main themes.
Gidaya & Amedo
To mention, the participants had narrated that they
could not trust the technology in online counseling
because of confidentiality and it might be hacked. So,
confidentiality is not safe as compared to face-to-face.
This result is consistent with the study of Bacıoğlu and
Kocabıyık (2019) where it was found that
technological services nowadays are susceptible to
cyber-attacks, so as preventive-protective measures, it
is necessary to use software, passwords to protect
client confidentiality, encryption to confirm the
counselee’s identity, and backup communication
channels in case the counselee is offline or
experiencing a technical issue. Moreover, the study of
Ardi and Yendi (2013) noted that it is crucial that
clients feel secure knowing their information is secure.
Furthermore, this study revealed the issue of a lack of
non-verbal cues. The participants expressed that they
are not sure about the true feelings of the clients
because of missing non-verbal cues, and they might
misconstrue so they need to confirm and affirm how
that client really feels at every moment. The lack of
non-verbal cues was also mentioned in a study by
Amos et al. (2020) wherein researchers considered the
accuracy of assessments. In addition, a study by
Arrieta et al. (2021) has presented that online
counseling is challenging with a lot of limitations
including sincerity and establishing the real presence
of both parties in counseling. The absence of visual
clues is one issue that online treatment users regularly
raise.
It was also found that counselors had inadequate
knowledge and skills in online counseling so more
training should be done to resolve this issue. A
counselor mentioned that they need to equip and
expose themselves to modern technology so that it
would not be difficult to conduct online counseling.
This result has been consistent with the study of Aruta
and David (2018) where it is noted that it is crucial to
use dynamic and varied strategies for teaching
knowledge and skills that counselors need in the
practice of their profession. Also, training for guidance
counselors is said to be not sufficient for the
complexities of working in an urban environment. A
study by Meador (2021) also revealed that proper
training must include exposing counselors in training
on diverse ways of thinking, living, and contexts.
With the aforementioned challenges, the counselors
also found ways to cope with these issues. First is a
sense of adaptability where a study of The Chicago
School of Professional Psychology (2020) would agree
that embracing technology is part of the four key
elements of a counselor to consider in the transition to
435/437
Psych Educ, 2023, 15(5): 429-437, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1375, doi:10.5281/zenodo.10230990, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article
virtual learning. Also, a study by Smith and Gillon
(2021) reveals that guidance counselors claimed that
they dealt with risk-related anxiety by adhering to
rules and procedures to give themselves confidence
that what they were doing was enough. This study also
highlighted that "accepting" how counselors handled
risk-related circumstances was a necessary part of
being able to handle the challenging situation after
implementing risk management rules. In the study of
Rochlen et al. (2022), the result reveals that flexibility
and adaptability while utilizing therapeutic treatments
necessitate the development of a new skill, namely
evaluating the efficacy of therapy and changing the
process accordingly. This skill may be effectively
practiced online using the proper tools and techniques.
Moreover, learning through peers has also become part
of the guidance counselors coping mechanisms. This
claim can be supported by the introduced theoretical
framework of the study. The Kooth’s Theory of
Change mentioned peer support as part of the positive
virtual system. Thus, having peers and co-workers in
online counseling has been helpful in coping with the
demands of counseling.
Conclusion
The findings from this study uncover vital views of the
lived experiences of school counselors in online
counseling. Due to the continual demand for access to
mental health services, online counseling is expected
to continue to increase in the coming years. This study
reported the first-hand experience of online counseling
from the school counselors’ perspective, regarding the
advantages, challenges, ethical issues, and coping
strategies in dealing with challenges posed by online
counseling. While noting the small sample size, the
findings will help school counselors refine their future
practice by upgrading their training on online
counseling and enhancing their skill set to make online
counseling an effective alternative to the face-to-face
delivery of mental health services in helping people
who are mentally and psychologically challenged.
References
Amanveremez, Y., Duy, B., Erus, S. M., Genc, A. B., Yilmaz, M.
B., & Zeren, S. G. (2020). The effectiveness of online counseling for
university students in Turkey: A non-randomized controlled trial.
European Journal of Educational Research, 9(2), 825 - 834.
Amos, P. M., Bedu-Addo, P. K. A., & Antwi, T. (2020).
Experiences of online counseling among undergraduates in some
Ghanaian universities. SAGE Journals.
h t tp s :/ /d oi . o rg /1 0. 11 77 ./ 21 582 44 02 094 18 44
Gidaya & Amedo
Arrieta, G. S., Valeria, J. R., & Belen, V. R. (2021). Counseling
challenges in the new normal: inputs for quality guidance and
counseling program. Counsellia Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling,
11(1), 71.
Aruta, J. J. B., & David, A. P. (August 2018). One dance, different
moves: a qualitative study on Filipino counselor educator’s
pedagogy. ASTEN Journal of Teacher Education.
Bacıoğlu, S.D. & Kocabıyık, O.O. (2019). Counseling trainees’
views towards usage of online counseling in psychological services.
E u ro p e a n J o u rn a l of E d u c a t i o n St u d i e s , 5 (1 2 ),
2 01 9. ht tp s : // do i .o rg/ 10 .5 28 1/ ze n odo . 259 75 46
Barker G., & Edgar E. Barker (2022) Online therapy: lessons
learned from the COVID- 19 health crisis.
British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 50(1),
66-81.https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2021.1889462.
Cipolletta, S., & Mocellin, D. (2018) Online counseling: An
exploratory survey of Italian psychologists’ attitudes towards new
ways of interaction, Psychotherapy Research, 28(6,) 909-924, DOI:
10.1080/10503307.2016.1259533
Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design:
Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage
De Witte, N.A., Carlbring, P., Etzelmueller, A., Nordgreen, T.,
Karekla, M., Haddouk, L., Belmont, A., Øverland, S., Abi-Habib,
R., Bernaerts, S., Brugnera, A., Compare, A., Duque, A., Ebert,
D. D., Eimontas, J., Kassianos, A., Salgado, J., Schwerdtfeger, A.,
Tohme, P., Assche, E. V., & Daele, T. V. Online consultations in
mental healthcare during the COVID-19 outbreak: An international
survey study on professionals' motivations and perceived barriers.
Internet Interventions, 25.
h t tp s :/ /d oi . o rg /1 0. 10 16 /j . in ven t .2 021 . 100 40 5
Gullslett, M.K., Kristiansen, E., & Nilsen, E.R. (2021) Therapists’
experience of video consultation in specialized mental health
services during the COVID-19 pandemic: Qualitative interview
study. JMIR Hum Factors, 8 (3). doi: 10.2196/23150
Hill, C.E., Gelso, C.J., Chui, H., Spangler, P.T., Hummel, A.,
Huang, T., Jackson, J., Jones, R.A., Palma,B., Bhatia, A., Gupta, S.,
Ain, S., Klingaman, B., Lim, R., Liu, J., Hui, K., Jezzi, M.M. Miles,
J.R. (2013). To be or not to be immediate with clients: The use and
perceived effects of immediacy in psychodynamic/interpersonal
psychotherapy.https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2013.812262.
Huang X., Wang Q., & Zhong Z. (2020). The advantages and
disadvantages of online counseling under the rapid development of
information technology. 2nd International Conference on
Information Technology and Computer Application
(ITCA),725-728. https://doi.org/10.1109/ITCA52113.2020.00156
K a s p e r , L. ( 2 0 2 2 ) . O n l i n e T h e r a p y S e s s i o n s .
h t tp s :/ /h e al in gp oi nt co un s el i ng. c o m/ on li n e -Se rvice s
Kotera, Y., Kaluzeviciute, G., Lloyd, C., Edwards, A.M. & Ozaki,
A. (2021). Qualitative investigation into therapists’ experiences of
online therapy: Implications for working clients. Int. J. Environ. Res.
Public Health 2021, 18(19), 10295.
Ledesma, D. A. S., & Fernandez, K. T. G. (2021). ‘If I am not well,
I can’t do sessions well’: An analysis ofthe narratives of Filipino
therapists during the COVID◻19 pandemic. Counselling and
Psychotherapy R e s e a rc h , 10.1002/capr.12442.
436/437
Psych Educ, 2023, 15(5): 429-437, Document ID:2023 PEMJ1375, doi:10.5281/zenodo.10230990, ISSN 2822-4353
Research Article

h t tp s :/ /d oi . o rg /1 0. 10 02 /c a p r.12 44 2 analysis as a useful methodology for research on the lived

Navarro, P., Sheffield, J., Edirippulige, S. & Bambling, M. (2020).
exploring mental health professionals’ perspectives of text-based
online counseling effectiveness with young people: Mixed methods
pilot study. JMIR Ment Health, 7(1), 2020. https://
doi.org/10.2196/preprints.15564.
experience of pain. British Journal of Pain, 9(1) 41–42. DOI:
10.1177/2049463714541642
Teh, L.A., Acosta, A.C., Hechanova,7/8abiles, M.R. & Alianan, A.
(2014). Attitudes ofpsychology graduate students tow to-face and
online counseling. The Philippine journal of pediatrics, 47(2), 65-97.

Meador, J. A. (2021). Experiences of urban school counselors: an
interpretive phenomenological study. Dissertations.3703.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dissertations/3703.
Rochlen, A.B., Zack, J. & Speyer, C. (2022). J Clin Psychol., 60(3),
269-283. Online therapy: Review of relevant definitions, debates,
and current empirical support. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.10263.
Ruto, J., Manduku, J. & Kosgey, A. (2017). Determinants of
effective guidance and counselling programmes in public secondary
schools in Kericho Sub-County, Kenya. European Journal of
Education Studies, 3(11), 2017.
Situmorang, D. D. B. (2020). Online/cyber counseling services in
the COVID-19 outbreak: are they really new? Journal of Pastoral
Care & Counseling, 74
Zainudin, Z. N., Hassan, S. A., Ahmad, N. A., Yusop, Y. M.,
Othman, W. N. W. & Alias, B. S. (2021). A comparison of a client’s
satisfaction between online and face-to-face counselling in a school
setting. Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities,
2021(29), 135-153. https:// 10.47836/pjssh.29.s1.08.
Affiliations and Corresponding Information
Kristoffer Ryan T. Gidaya
University of Antique – Philippines
Rama Lo R. Amedo
University of Antique – Philippines

Smith, J. & Gillon, E. (2021). Therapists' experiences of providing

online counselling: A qualitative study.
h t tp s :/ /d oi . o rg /1 0. 10 02 /c a p r.12 40 8.

Smith, J., & Osborn, M. (2015). Interpretative phenomenological

Gidaya & Amedo 437/437