Counseling by Letters

How does email therapy stack up against tradition face-to-face counseling?

“I thought I was the super student as everyone else did – always getting high grades, good fun on a night out, a decent part-time job – but the ever-building exam pressure during my degree really took its toll. I developed an eating disorder halfway through my final year and had frequent panic attacks.”

Anna, a Geography graduate from a top London university, eventually sought help from the student support services weeks before her all-important exams. “I didn’t have the time to see a counsellor in person, so I was offered counselling by email. For me, it was the most convenient way to deal with my anxiety and eating problems.”

Anna’s treatment involved a seven-email exchange with a university counsellor. She was given practical strategies to cope with exam stress and an understanding of the thinking patterns associated with bulimia. “I couldn’t believe how accurately my counsellor could express how I was feeling in an email,” she says. “My eating hasn’t quite returned to normal yet, but the key thing was I was more relaxed going into the exams and came out with a degree.”

Hard Times

Anna’s story is among many of students experiencing mental health problems at college or university. An independent study by The Times in 2007 found that the number of students seeking counselling at Bristol University had increased by 29% in a five-year period, and that British universities are having to spend £30 million a year to treat a range of psychological issues, from substance misuse, depression and exam anxiety, to eating disorders and bullying.

Email counselling, as in Anna’s case, is emerging as an accessible and cost-effective alternative to traditional therapies. Several UK universities – including Sunderland, Warwick, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Portsmouth and Manchester – now offer counselling by email, sometimes free of charge, as part of their support services. For students unable or unwilling to access face-to-face services, the option to communicate via email with a psychologist is an attractive one.

“Students and young adults are naturally comfortable talking about their thoughts and feelings online, so it makes sense to offer email as a way to engage in counselling conversations,” says Professor Stephen Palmer, Chair of the online counselling working group. “It’s also an easier way to receive professional advice and support in between studying and socialising.”