Online Counseling Encourages Openness to Help Individuals Dealing with Psychological Disorders

Abstract

Online counseling can be used to help individuals maintain their mental health. There is a need to test the feasibility and effectiveness of online counseling in treating individuals who experience psychological disorders. The research was carried out through one of the pre-experimental design models, i.e one group pretest-posttest. Participants were twelve individuals consisting of students and communities who were experiencing psychological distress in severe and chronic status who were willing to participate in online counseling programs. Online counseling is administrated through a synchronous and asynchronous format. Feasibility is statistically established based on data on the client’s comfort to express himself and his involvement in the counseling process. The technique used is a percentile with a percentile of 75 (P75) as a minimal condition. Data on convenience is measured quantitatively through scale and engagement data is measured quantitatively based on counseling documents. The effectiveness of counseling is statistically established on the basis of whether or not there is a significant decrease in the status of the client's psychological disorder. The statistical technique used is the t test for correlated samples. Psychological disorders are defined as stress, anxiety, and depression which is being experienced by the client and measured through DASS-21 (depression, anxiety, stress scale version 21 items) in Indonesian version. The study produced two main findings as follows.: (1) online counseling can strongly encourage self-exploration and client engagement; and (2) online counseling is significantly effective in lowering the status of the client's psychological disorders, although the rate of decline in this status is varied between clients.