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Cybercounselling - Level II

 

Instructors

Maureen Leyland, Mary MacDougall, Dan L Mitchell,
Lawrence Murphy, and Dr. Kate Collie

(meet the instructors)

"Cybercounselling - Level II" is a three module course designed for counselling practitioners who have completed Cybercounselling Level I and want to deepen and refine their cybercounselling expertise. Upon completion of Level II, participants are issued certificates provided jointly by the University of Toronto, Faculty of Social Work and Therapy Online.

Participants will improve their online counselling skills and professionalism. The course is highly interactive and personal with a low student/teacher ratio. Online group and dyadic processes are used so that the entire course is a forum to practise text-based communication skills. Participants from around the world will study and discuss assigned readings, learn about and use secure e-mail technology, practise a diverse range of therapeutic communication skills and tools, engage in role-play, and receive supervision.

Assignments are given on a weekly basis. Individuals complete their course work in an asynchronous manner. Because of this, participants can fit the course work into their individual schedules to complete each session's assignments within specified deadlines. Participants who have plans to travel while the course is underway will be able to continue their participation, as long as they have Internet access.

The full course (i.e.: all three modules) lasts 12 weeks and the work load involves approximately five to seven hours per week. Please carefully consider your ability to schedule these hours into each week.

Learning Goals and Expected Outcomes:

Participants will
 
  1. Orient themselves to the online learning environment.
  2. Use e-mail encryption technology in professional learning relationships (groups)
  3. Use the basic technological functions of the PrivacEmail Secure Administrative Interface at https://learning.privacemail.com
  4. Review essential topics from Level I, especially Skills in text-based communication
  5. Continually practise, by establishing and maintaining relationships with other participants, the use of counselling skills that are unique to text-only cyberspace
  6. Explore and begin to define a “practical model” of cybercounselling
  7. Establish and monitor their professional goals in the realm of cybercounselling.
  8. Explore and discuss the pros and cons, for cybercounselling, of commonly used Internet communication methods
  9. Practise and develop cybercounselling competency through role play, peer feedback, and practitioner research
  10. Develop awareness of and strategies for managing client emergencies
  11. Notice client misunderstandings and develop strategies to manage such situations
  12. Plan how to manage clients who may experience emotions that are deeper than they know how to manage
  13. Considering their target market, identify important screening factors and plan how to implement a screening process.
  14. Explore assessment issues in a text-only environment.
  15. Consider some of the unique legal issues and liability issues that may emerge in the field of cybercounselling
  16. Develop a vision/goals for the business aspect of their practice/agency
  17. Develop a marketing strategy for their target market
  18. Practise cybercounselling skills in online counselling relationships and receive eSupervision
  19. Become familiar with several eSupervision strategies
  20. Practise providing eSupervision to a fictitious cybercounsellor
  21. Receive instructor feedback for the eSupervision they provide
  22. Have opportunity to discuss troubling or unanswered questions/issues
  23. Summarize their model of cybercounselling, their vision, their personal direction in practice.

Course Prerequisites:

  • Completion of Cybercounselling Level I
  • A Master's degree in counselling or a related field;
  • 2 years of experience delivering in-person counselling;
    • (or an equivalent of the above);
  • Comfort with, and extensive experience using a computer with at least the last 2 years using e-mail and the internet.
  • Membership in a professional association and adherence to their ethical code.

    Minimum Hardware and Software Requirements:

    • Pentium 3 computer
    • with a 56k modem (faster is recommended)
    • Windows operating system
    • Internet Explorer 6.x
    • Microsoft Word97 or later version
    • Up to date anti-virus software

Tuition fees for Level II

(all amounts in Canadian Dollars):

Module 1 $399
Module 2 $399
Module 3 $399

  • To register you must already have completed Level 1. There are no exceptions.

  • If you are interested in taking the Level II training please e-mail Lawrence

 

Questions?

Please e-mail Lawrence Murphy

or call 519-831-9141 (Ontario)
or 1-888-437-2794 (toll free in North America).