8/24/2023 0 Comments Virtual counseling games![]() The onset of COVID-19 had major effects on various aspects of people’s lives, especially where students are concerned. Various milestones, as well as events in history, have ignited the need for virtual methods, one of which is the outbreak of COVID-19. Such information would be necessary for the counseling community to be able to serve the students in the school. ![]() Youth might experience different challenges however, they might not seek help for different reasons ( Glasheen et al., 2013). ![]() Counseling programs should take into consideration how frequently students feel like contacting a counselor online, or whether or not they would prefer face-to-face counseling. There is slight information on using virtual counseling in the school setting. It has been given different labels, such as “cyber-therapy,” “e-therapy,” “virtual coach therapy,” and “cyber-counseling” to present virtual counseling ( Smith and Reynolds, 2002). The integration of the Internet and counseling is a new occurrence known as virtual counseling. Virtual counseling is defined as counseling where a qualified counselor uses tools of technology to provide behavioral and mental health services to counselees in different locations. Studies conducted have shown that the perceptions of counselors of the benefits and barriers reflect whether or not the counseling service will be successful. Virtual counseling has become an increased necessity as a result of the current pandemic and the need for methods that comply with continuous changes and advancements. There were early mentions and projects coordinated including the Career Guidance Center at the American University of Beirut in 1985 and that of the Hariri Foundation however, they neither yielded as many results nor were the efforts reflected in school programs ( Ayyash-Abdo et al., 2010). The counseling area’s advancements were slow to develop, and the developments that took place were mainly observed in career guidance ( Ayyash-Abdo et al., 2010). It is essential to identify the achievements in counseling corresponding to a timeline to identify domain gaps. While counseling has been established as a core aspect of school programs globally, this has not been the same case in Lebanon. The results showed that the new changes and the counselor’s experience, along with the personal attributes of counselors and students, all influenced the efficiency of the counseling sessions. The results showed that the main benefits have to do with time and method flexibility, and the main barriers were issues of privacy and change in workplace dynamics. Being that it is qualitative research, the interpretational analysis was carried out to assess the obtained data. The findings were discussed in relation to four main themes: (a) service delivery adaptation, (b) working with technology, (c) counselor’s practices in delivering virtual counseling, and (d) preparation and training for virtual counseling. Results showed that the benefits also have to do with time and method flexibility, the main barriers were issues of privacy, change in workplace dynamics, and lack of usage of tools. Counselors’ communication tools were also fine-tuned since they had to rely on unorthodox methods to understand students and deal with them better. The results showed that through these experiences, counselors were able to develop new methods with regard to technology and other practices to limit the effects of obstacles faced. Interpretational analysis was carried out to assess and analyze the obtained data. Seven in-depth semi-structured interviews and one focus group discussion (FGD) were carried out with the study participants. Both the schools and counselors were purposively chosen. Five private schools in the Beirut region were contacted as they were known to have virtual counseling programs. The study aimed to explore (a) the school counselor’s perceptions of the benefits and barriers they encounter when using virtual counseling, (b) the perceived differences between conducting virtual counseling and in-person counseling, and (c) whether participation in virtual counseling differs as a result of students’ characteristics in the perception of school counselors. This study is a descriptive research design following a qualitative approach. ![]() Virtual counseling has become an increased necessity as a result of the current pandemic as well as the need for methods that comply with the continuous changes and advancements.
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