Information and Communication Technology in Education of Psychological Counselors in Training 1

Abstract

Article History: Received 28.02.2014 Received in revised form 14.03.2014 Accepted 01.04.2014 Available online 10.08.2014 Using information and communication technology (ICT) in psychological counseling and guidance field is a current issue with the developing technology. In Turkey, scientific research on this subject is quite limited. The aim of this research is to examine the thoughts of counselors in training about the ICT. This qualitative study was conducted with 7 senior female students taking Individual Psychological Counseling Practice course in Psychological Counseling and Guidance Undergraduate Program in Yeditepe University. Data were gathered with both a questionnaire consisting of openended questions and focus group discussion. As a result of content analysis, counselors in training were found to think that ICT is positive since it is fast and convenient as a part of the education. Besides, they stated that there are both advantages and disadvantages of online counseling process they conducted within this context. It was understood that being in an online client role is generally easy for counselors in training and this process increases the empathy towards the clients. However, they had difficulties in scenario building and artificial atmosphere. The advantage of conducting online counseling is that it provides enough time to react properly to the clients during sessions, an opportunity to read the conversation again and again, giving opportunity to the people who cannot take counseling service, suitability to people who have difficulty in self-disclosure during face-to-face sessions, and contribution to the counselors’ professional development. Disadvantages of the online counseling is that the clients and the counselors cannot communicate directly; that it is hard to build trust, that it is necessary to take additional precautions about confidentiality, and the differences in time management. © 2014 IOJES. All rights reserved