Online Counseling: Article Critique

Brief Summary

The academic article, Online Counseling analyses the counseling services offered on the internet to young people. It reveals the reason why young people opt for online counseling and then goes ahead to speak about the experiences that young people get from it. Whereas traditional methods of counseling such as face-to-face counseling and counseling over the telephone are usually characterized by the high levels of confidentiality, adolescents are not very comfortable with the level of confidentiality they have. According to the article, young people believe that the traditional counseling methods are costly in terms of time and finances and may also involve traveling. The article points out that the main motif behind the use of online counseling is the need for more private environment which is also emotionally safe. The report also contains details of the different experiences that the young people have faced in the course of online counseling. These experiences have been explained in the article as those ranging from getting the needed privacy to the lack of personal appeal which leaves them with the feeling of not being valued. This paper provides a critique to the above mentioned article. Also, it critiques the theoretical coherence of the article and strength of the arguments. In addition, the paper provides recommendations on how arguments should be improved in the future and introduces constructive comments.

The Article’s Theoretical Coherence

The article on online counseling touches on the new developments that have come with online counseling (King et el., 2006). The presentation of the arguments that is put across in the article demonstrates a high level of theoretical coherence. In the introductory parts, the article briefly visits the traditional counseling methods of face-to-face counseling and counseling via telephone. Therefore, providing explanation of the advantages and disadvantages of online counseling, the article introduces a few comparisons with the traditional counseling methods. This comparison enables one to understand the direction being taken by the arguments. There is a clear flow of thoughts in the arguments as one gets to understand the traditional counseling methods and relate and/or compare them with the online counseling services which despite being relatively recently developed is picking up very fast among the young people.

As far as the theoretical coherence of the arguments in the article is concerned, the arguments have been articulated with precision. They go straight to the point to give the reason why the young people opt for online counseling and the experiences they get after it. The precision with which the arguments have been articulated also makes it easy for any one reading the article to get the points put across. The precision coupled with detailed information makes the arguments easier to follow. The arguments have also been explained repeatedly in the same article. This also makes it easy for the information to be remembered because of the repetitions.

The Strengths of the Arguments

As it has already been mentioned, the arguments about online counseling have been presented coherently. The arguments do not just explain what online counseling entails and the advantages and disadvantages that come with it, but they also slightly touch on traditional counseling methods. Therefore, one can tell whether the advantages and disadvantages make sense. Without a point of reference, it cannot be established whether online counseling has advantages or disadvantages. The articulation of arguments with such a flow enables one to make an informed choice on whether to support the arguments or to oppose them. Furthermore, the arguments have been clearly distinguished by putting them in different paragraphs. This has made it easy for each point that is being put across to be qualified with its own clear explanation. It would be hard if they were jumbled together.

The impartiality with which the arguments have been articulated is yet another strength of online counseling. The article compares online counseling with the traditional methods that make use of the telephone and the face-to-face approach (King et el., 2006). In doing so, the arguments reveal the advantages that come with the use of online counseling. The advantages argued out in the article are mainly weighed against the traditional counseling methods. However, the arguments also point out the disadvantages of online counseling by giving the negative experiences of young people in online counseling. By providing the two sides of online counseling, the arguments show lack of biasness. Besides, the impartiality depicted in the arguments of the article shows that the arguments were not meant to influence decisions in a specific direction.

The Weaknesses of the Arguments

Whereas the arguments have depicted high levels of impartiality they are not reliable. The arguments appear weak because they are not supported by data received from other studies of a similar nature. The lack of supporting evidence about the motives and experiences of online counseling renders the argument unreliable. Since the arguments are based on the results of a few cases that were observed, the results could have been influenced by other factors that were not being studied. Information from other studies that relate to online counseling should be provided so that a comparison is made. For instance, if the sample population was influenced by some external factors then the results could have been influenced as well. Therefore, arguments on this article about online counseling have been generalized. A small sample has been used to arrive at conclusions which have been argued out in the article.

The scope of the arguments put in the article depicts yet another weakness about the same arguments. The report is supposed to give details about what drives the young people into the use of online counseling and the experiences that they receive from it. However, it only focuses on a few aspects. For instance, on the issue on the motive behind the use of online counseling services, the arguments give a detailed report on the need for privacy. Although a lot of detail has been provided on the same, it is not enough because that is a very narrow scope (Kraus, Stricker & Speyer, 2010). The arguments should have explored other motives as well as they can help to strengthen the arguments. If any decision is to be made on the arguments that have a narrow scope, it would be rather hash to rule out traditional counseling methods as inadequate.

The arguments in the article also show a weakness in the way they bring out the motive behind the young people’s preference for online counseling. In a bid to put across the argument that online counseling ensures confidentiality, the arguments depict face-to-face counseling to be lacking confidentiality. The arguments make face-to-face and telephone counseling appear to lack professionalism. By doing so, the arguments show biasness because they fail to recognize that online counseling services can also face the problem of confidentiality (Kraus, Stricker & Speyer, 2010). There are cases that occurred in different parts of the world when hackers have gained access into web sites that are believed to be secure. Besides the incidents of hacking, those clients who use online counseling are not guaranteed of confidentiality because most of the time they contact parties whose identities are not known. The arguments ignore the fact that in most cases face-to-face counseling is done in an environment that ensures that confidentiality is guaranteed.

Recommendations on How the Arguments Can Be Improved

Judging from the information provided in the article about online counseling, one can easily conclude that the arguments are shallow. The article provides information on only a few aspects related to the motives and the experiences of the young in the use of online counseling. The arguments can be improved by widening their scope to cover a wide range of factors. In fact, even a wide scope is not enough. Even with a variety of aspects being explored, the arguments can also focus on comparing related aspects in the area of the motives and the experiences different young people may have as far as online counseling is concerned (Wilczenski & Coomey, 2006).

The arguments articulated in the article also deviate slightly from what they were supposed to cover. Although the article is said to focus on online counseling, it touches on face-to-face counseling and counseling by the use of telephones. The arguments can be improved by refraining from exposing the shortcomings of other methods of counseling. Although there is no offense in using the traditional counseling methods for purposes of comparison, when the comparison turns into exposing the flaws of the other side that is being compared, it appears to be guided by ill motives (Popoola, 2012). From the arguments, individuals who are not well informed can easily be misguided. Therefore, for the arguments to be improved there should be clear explanations as to what extent the side being compared against fails to address certain concerns.

Additional Comments and Conclusion

The article about online counseling provides information on the motive which drives young people to opt for online counseling services. It also seeks to bring to the limelight the experiences that the young people have following the use of online counseling services. The article tries to strike a balance between the motives that push the young people to settle for online counseling and the experiences that come with it. However, the arguments in the article tend to magnify the negative experiences that the young people have from online counseling. The arguments depict online counseling services as those that do not pay close attention to client satisfaction. However, this is not exactly the case because a good number of young people have benefited from online counseling services. The article on online counseling also depicts face-to-face counseling and counseling through the phone as lacking confidentiality. This conclusion is not entirely true because face-to-face counseling in particular is usually done with a high degree of professionalism. In fact, face-to-face counseling has registered success over the years.