Parenting Daily

A couple of years ago, I attempted to start an online counseling practice. I loved the concept, I loved the idea of bringing in supplemental income, and I loved the idea of maybe someday being able to work full-time from home.

I do now work from home, but in a different capacity. The online counseling practice never took off. In the six months that I tried, I only had one paying customer, but several who I gave free introductory sessions to.

I still think there’s a market for online counseling. At the time I was trying to make a go of it, I just didn’t have the time to promote it and do what needed to be done. But this idea has been used successfully with a teenager.

The article is short but the main idea is that, in this technologically advanced day, there’s no reason not to embrace the technology that teens are already using.

I’ve said it before—teens are notorious for having little trust in adults. In an environment like a traditional counseling office, it can be difficult to get a teenager to open up. And let’s face it, some things are just hard to say when you’re looking directly at a person.

Enter email. If you have a teen that needs some counseling services but they’re hesitant to attend, present the email option. There are lots of services available online at different price points. If you’d rather go local, make some calls to local counselors/therapists/psychologists and see if any of them would be willing to do some non-traditional services via email. It’s worth a shot!

If any of you have experience with online counseling services, I’d love to hear about it!

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