The Future Is Bright

Abstract

For this discussion, we have been asked to use the original articles as a “springboard for further discussion,” and indeed, the articles include a wealth of information and ideas stimulating even for readers already familiar with the domain. The areas covered include aspects related to the field’s technical possibilities and problems in general and the use of online therapy for counseling psychology in particular. The latter represents a justification for the articles in this volume, given that articles in several major journals have recently been dedicated to the issue of technical applications in the clinical field. As the articles we discuss here complement each other well and partly overlap from a content as well as an author perspective, and to avoid wasting space by always specifying what article we are referring to, we often refer to “the authors” as all authors of the three articles. Together, they give an excellent introduction, research overview, and practical introduction, as underlined by the very illustrative case example. A special feature of these articles is that they use counseling psychology concepts to evaluate online therapy. An advantage to this is clearly the particular aid given to counseling psychologists who, ultimately, need not only general knowledge and attitudes toward online counseling and therapy but also reflection based on a counseling psychology background and rules on how to deal with the new possibilities integrated into their existing body of professional knowledge and skills. Once the computer is introduced as a communication tool, we should not miss the chance to consider how its power can be used beyond traditional counseling psychology. As far as research is concerned, the electronic representation of all information opens new possibilities for computer-supported evaluations related to diverse topics of interest, not only to online counseling– related issues. As far as practice is concerned, computers could be used to analyze the typed-in material online to give hints to psychologists. These could include advice such as what topics to cover or avoid, which information related to the demographic or psychopathological background of the cli-