An examination of the views of counsellors and clients towards online counselling

This study, employing Actor-Network Theory (ANT), aims to examine the experiences, perspectives, and suggestions of clients and counsellors regarding online counselling (OC). Participants selected by the criterion sampling method for the study were required to have had at least eight sessions of online videoconferencing counselling. Ten clients and ten counsellors participated in the study. Data was collected through online interviews using two similar semi-structured interview forms, one for counsellors and one for clients. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the data. The findings were categorised into common superordinate themes for both counsellors and clients: the pros and the cons of OC, online therapeutic process, preferences, and suggestions. One additional superordinate theme for counsellors was pushing the limits of creativity. The study includes a discussion of the findings obtained from the two participant groups in terms of the existing literature.