Some thoughts from an E-counselling client
I have recently finished my counselling with my e-counsellor and he asked me in our last communication if I would like to share with you in my own words, the value e-counselling has had for me.

I can't say that my problems and my need to contact your organization are unusual in any way. They are probably very typical of what you see everyday here, just in different forms.

I came here without knowing what to expect. All I knew is that I needed someone to talk to about myself and my problems. I couldn't afford to pay a professional locally and had a feeling I would not be totally honest with someone in a face-to-face situation. When my company sent out the information about the EAP, I knew right away that it was something I had to try, it was the only thing I felt comfortable enough trying.

Words have always come easy to me and I find I express myself better in writing, when I have time to sit down and think about exactly what I want to say. That way, it eliminates all the nonsense we say when trying to get to the real point. But my e-counsellor really challenged my ability to express myself by making me think about my life and about myself. I could be honest with him because I knew I wouldn't meet him in person, I knew he wouldn't judge me or make me feel ashamed of the things I said to him. It was an emotional roller coaster to dig through my life and face the demons of my past and open my eyes to how those demons have affected my life today. When I first wrote to the EAP, I thought I had a huge buffet worth of problems but my e-counsellor helped me to see that there aren't that many and that in a lot of ways they are all connected to one another. When this happened, I began feeling a calming in my being, a feeling I was so totally unfamiliar with.

My last correspondence with my e-counsellor was a week ago now. I have printed off every written word we shared and I can't tell you how many times I have gone back to those letters to re-read the words of my life in my eyes, and a realistic look at it when looked at from the perspective he helped me find. I carry them with me everywhere. They inspire me.

I will not tell you that life has been wonderful since my e-counselling but I will tell you that now I know I have the strength and resources to deal with whatever comes my way...it has always been with me, I just needed someone to show me how to find it.

I have never and probably will never meet my e-counsellor face-to-face but I feel a bond with him now that never seemed possible with an online relationship. This whole experience has been so much more than I expected it to be. It has been wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone who asked.