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1. 146 journal of employment counseling • December 2007 • Volume 44
•
© 2007 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved.
addressing career issues online:
perceptions of counselor education
professionals
Jacqueline Lewis
Diane Coursol
The Internet is the latest arena in which counseling services are available for a variety
of issues. This study surveyed counselor education professionals about their percep-
tions regarding the use of online counseling to address various mental health issues
including career counseling. It also examined their perceptions about 3 formats of
online counseling: e-mail, text-based chat, and videoconferencing. Results indicated
that counselor education professionals were open to the use of online counseling to
address career issues. The implications for the practice of online career counseling
and for the training of counselors are discussed.
The pervasiveness of technology as a medium for the delivery of career develop-
ment services continues to increase (Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2002; Pope, 2000;
Sampson, Kolodinsky, & Greeno, 1997). Its presence is evident from computer-aided
guidance systems (Harris-Bowlsbey & Sampson, 2005; Zunker, 2006) to online job
applications. Fueling this technological revolution is the development of the Internet
(Jones, Harbach, Coker, & Staples, 2002; Kirk, 2000; Stevens & Lundberg, 1998;
Zunker, 2006). The increasing sophistication of the Internet facilitates the immedi-
ate and easy dissemination of career information (Pope, 2000; Stevens & Lundberg,
1998), even allowing for the online administration of career assessments such as
the Strong Interest Inventory and the Self-Directed Search (O’Halloran, Fahr, &
Keller, 2002).
The Internet also provides the opportunity to make inexpensive online career coun-
seling services available (Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2002). This trend is predicted to
become more pervasive in the future (Andersen & Vandehey, 2006; Malone, Miller,
& Miller, 2004). In anticipation of this form of service delivery, the National Career
Development Association (NCDA) published the NCDA Guidelines for the Use of
the Internet for Provision of Career Information and Planning Services in 1997 that
Jacqueline Lewis and Diane Coursol, Department of Counseling and Student Personnel, Min-
nesota State University, Mankato. This study was funded by research grants from the North
Central Association of Counselor Education and Supervision and Minnesota State University,
Mankato. The authors wish to thank Barbara Skodje-Mack, Sherrie Sanders, and Wendy
Firven for their assistance with this study. Correspondence concerning this article should be
addressed to Jacqueline Lewis, Department of Counseling and Student Personnel, College
of Education, Minnesota State University, 107 Armstrong Hall, Mankato, MN 56002 (e-mail:
jacqueline.lewis@mnsu.edu).

2. journal of employment counseling • December 2007 • Volume 44 147
speciically addressed the issue of online career counseling. The NCDA clearly de-
ines career counseling as a process that involves a signiicant relationship between
the counselor and the client during which the issues addressed are more complex
than career planning alone.
If online career counseling becomes accessible, it is important to understand the
perceptions of counselor education professionals of this modality because they are
involved with the training of new counselors. As the individuals responsible for coun-
selor preparation, counselor educators’ perceptions of this form of service delivery
will determine if and how online career counseling is addressed in the curriculum
and the extent to which future counselors are knowledgeable about online counseling.
In fact, their perceptions of online career counseling will have a signiicant impact
on how it will evolve in the future. To date, there is no research that documents the
perceptions of counselor education professionals regarding the use of online coun-
seling for various mental health issues, including career counseling.
The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the perceptions of coun-
selor education professionals about the use of online counseling to address a variety
of issues including career concerns. The study also investigated the perceptions of
counselor education professionals about three formats of online counseling: e-mail,
text-based chat, and videoconferencing.
METHOD
Participants
A random sample of 400 counselor education professionals (200 men and 200
women) was obtained from the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision
(ACES). From this sample, 127 counselor education professionals returned surveys.
The inal sample included 121 respondents and consisted of 65 men and 56 women
who ranged in age from 27 to 75 years, with an average age of 51.75 years (SD =
11.08). The majority of the participants in the sample were White (87%). Most of the
participants had doctoral (76%) and master’s (13%) degrees and worked in higher
education settings (65%). Their work experience in the profession ranged from 1
to 55 years, with an average of 21 years. The majority of participants (69%) rated
their computer expertise at the intermediate level. Most participants had access to
computers (98%), to e-mail (98%), and to the Internet (97%).
Instruments
For this study, we used a demographic questionnaire and constructed the Survey
of Cybercounseling (SOC). The demographic questionnaire solicited the following
information from the participants: age, gender, ethnicity, educational qualiications,
counseling experience, and level of computer expertise.
The SOC was designed to identify the types of mental heath issues and additional
conditions, including career issues, that counselor education professionals considered

3. 148 journal of employment counseling • December 2007 • Volume 44
appropriate for online counseling. Consisting of 41 items, the SOC was developed
by listing selected categories from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). We chose to
list the mental health issues and conditions as they were categorized in the DSM-IV
rather than develop a survey around one speciic issue or condition. The respondents
indicated whether they considered online counseling an appropriate treatment ap-
proach for the type of mental health issue or condition listed by checking either Yes
or No. In the event of an afirmative response, the respondents speciied which of
the formats listed (e-mail, text-based chat, or videoconferencing) they considered
appropriate.
Procedure
The initial mailing was sent to 400 counselor education professionals. Each packet con-
tained a cover letter explaining the nature and purpose of the study, an SOC, a handout
describing the three types of online counseling, a demographic questionnaire, and a
postage-paid return envelope. Counselor education professionals indicated their consent
for participating in the study by returning the survey. In an effort to increase the response
rate, two follow-up mailings were sent to nonrespondents at 3-week intervals.
RESULTS
The majority of counselor education professionals (83%) were open to addressing
career issues through online counseling (see Table 1). Counselor education profes-
sionals were also willing to use online counseling for economic problems (81%),
educational problems (80%), problems with access to health care services (79%),
housing problems (79%), problems related to the social environment (75%), other
TABLE 1
Mental Health Issues and Conditions Endorsed
for Online Counseling (N = 121)
Mental Health Issue
Occupational problems
Economic problems
Educational problems
Problems with access to health care services
Housing problems
Problems related to the social environment
Other psychosocial and environmental problems
Problems with primary support group
Adjustment disorders
Relational problems
Problems related to interaction with the legal system/crime
Sleep disorders
% Yes Responses
83
81
80
79
79
75
71
69
62
59
58
55
Note. Only issues endorsed by at least 50% of participants are included.

4. journal of employment counseling • December 2007 • Volume 44 149
psychosocial and environmental problems (71%), problems with primary support group
(69%), adjustment disorders (62%), relational problems (59%), problems related to
interaction with the legal system/crime (58%), and sleep disorders (55%).
Among the three formats of online counseling, counselor education professionals
selected videoconferencing more often than e-mail or text-based chat applications
as the format they considered appropriate. In fact, videoconferencing was chosen
over e-mail and text-based chat for use with 33 of the 41 counseling issues. Many
counselor education professionals endorsed the videoconferencing format for use
with occupational problems (76%), economic problems (71%), educational problems
(70%), housing problems (69%), problems related to the social environment (62%),
other psychosocial and environmental problems (62%), problems with primary sup-
port group (57%), adjustment disorders (55%), and relational problems (52%).
Counselor education professionals preferred text-based chat to e-mail for 38 of
the 41 counseling issues listed. Text-based chat was considered appropriate to use
for problems with access to health care services (68%), occupational problems
(67%), economic problems (66%), housing problems (63%), educational problems
(61%), problems related to the social environment (58%), and other psychosocial
and environmental problems (57%).
Counselor education professionals were more likely to consider e-mail appropriate for
issues such as housing problems (60%), problems with access to health care services
(60%), economic problems (59%), occupational problems (57%), other psychosocial
and environmental problems (53%), and educational problems (51%).
DISCUSSION
The results indicate that counselor education professionals in this study were receptive
to online career counseling. Such a perception supports the predictions that online
career counseling will become more commonly available in the future (Andersen &
Vandehey, 2006; Malone et al., 2004). These views are perhaps a relection of the
changing outlook in society where there is now a greater awareness of and comfort
with technology such as the Internet (Lewis, Coursol, Khan, & Wilson, 2000).
The willingness of counselor education professionals to endorse online career
counseling may also stem from the perception among counselors that career issues
are less complex than noncareer issues (Haverkamp & Moore, 1993). Accordingly,
counselors may be more comfortable addressing career issues than noncareer issues
over the Internet because career issues are less enduring and traditionally respond
well to counseling. However, it is also important to remember that clients who
initially seek career counseling may be experiencing other clinical issues, some of
which may not be appropriate for online counseling (Lewis, Coursol, & Wahl, 2004;
Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2002). Niles and Harris-Bowlsbey cautioned that online
career counseling, even through videoconferencing, is still in its infancy and there
are issues that must be resolved by the profession and through research.
Initial research into the online career experience provides valuable insights into
the perspectives of counselors and clients about this process. In a study that inves-

5. 150 journal of employment counseling • December 2007 • Volume 44
tigated the use of online counseling to address career issues, Lewis et al. (2004)
found that both the counselor and the client acknowledged that the online process
differed from face-to-face counseling. In fact, the client felt less intimidated and
more empowered during the online interaction. The study also noted that counselors
who engage in online counseling might require speciic training so that they can
adapt their counseling skills to cyberspace. In a study that involved vocational test
interpretation, Jones et al. (2002) found that clients reported no difference in session
depth between face-to-face and videoconferencing interactions. The authors concluded
that online career test interpretation was another potential technique through which
career counselors could provide services. These initial investigations, coupled with
the perceptions of the counselor education professionals in this study, suggest that
there are counseling professionals who are open to online career counseling.
With online career counseling predicted to become more prevalent (Andersen &
Vandehey, 2006; Malone et al., 2004), it is appropriate that the NCDA has developed
guidelines for the provision of this service. In addition to addressing fundamental
issues, the guidelines clearly distinguish between career counseling and career
planning. They also recognize that as technology evolves, online career counseling
is likely to increase, and that research is necessary to help counselors acquire a
better understanding of this process (NCDA, 1997).
The results of this study also provide several insights into the perceptions of
counselor education professionals about the format of online counseling. It was not
surprising that videoconferencing was endorsed most often in comparison with e-mail
or text-based chat given that videoconferencing is most analogous to face-to-face
counseling (Manhal-Baugus, 2001). Videoconferencing gives counselors access to
both audio and visual cues that allow them to obtain a more complete picture of
their clients’ issues than that acquired through e-mail or text-based chat (Lewis et
al., 2004). In an increasingly diverse society, the ability to see and hear clients can
increase counselors’ abilities to respond appropriately to cultural nuances, particularly
when counselors are working with clients who are not of the majority culture.
The perceptions of counselor education professionals about online career counsel-
ing have important implications for the career development profession especially
in relation to the training and preparation of career counselors. Recent textbooks
on career development now include online career counseling in their discussions
of the role of technology. Therefore, it is likely that online career counseling will
become more integrated into career development courses. This proactive approach
ensures that future counselors are made aware of the online career counseling process
and, most important, of the legal and ethical issues associated with it (Lewis et al.,
2004). Initiatives such as these also increase the likelihood that recent counseling
graduates may be more open to engaging in online career counseling.
Addressing online career counseling as part of counselor preparation will also
ensure that future counselors are aware that online counseling is a different type of
experience in comparison with face-to-face counseling and that counselors who engage
in this process may initially have to adjust their counseling skills to the cyberspace
format (Lewis et al., 2004; Murphy & Mitchell, 1998). Niles and Harris-Bowlsbey

6. journal of employment counseling • December 2007 • Volume 44 151
(2002) have also suggested that online career counseling probably requires a dif-
ferent type of training and attracts a certain type of counselor.
The results of this study provide added impetus for the profession of career
development to continue to address the issue of online career counseling. The
NCDA guidelines represent an initial effort to provide information about the pro-
cess. It is imperative, however, that the NCDA and other professional counseling
organizations such as the American Counseling Association regularly review and
update the guidelines for online counseling, for the preparation and training of
online counselors, and, most important, for the ethical and legal issues related to
online counseling.
In their discussion of online career counseling, Niles and Harris-Bowlsbey
(2002) have raised broader issues about online counseling that require the at-
tention of the counseling profession as a whole. One of the most pressing issues
for the profession is to identify the mental health concerns that are appropriate
for online counseling. The indings of this study provide some initial information
about the perceptions of counselor education professionals on this topic. Although
many of the counselor education professionals in this study endorse online career
counseling, they also indicate that they would consider the use of online counsel-
ing for other issues as well.
The data provide growing evidence of the changing perceptions of the role of
technology in counseling and indicate a willingness by some professionals to
consider the use of online counseling. Perhaps such perceptions can be regarded
as indicative of changing attitudes within the counseling profession, where online
counseling is increasingly seen not so much as a maverick endeavor but as another
way to provide inexpensive and easily accessible counseling services (Andersen
& Vandehey, 2006; Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2002). The counseling profession
needs to engage in a continuing discussion about online counseling within the
context of rapidly evolving technology and its greater affordability.
IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
It is clear that the career development profession must address the issue of online
counseling proactively. The dearth of research precludes the profession from devel-
oping guidelines and ethical codes that are empirically derived and from preparing
future counselors appropriately. To address this gap, it is imperative that the pro-
fession identiies online career counseling as one of its research priorities. Future
research can address such issues as the process of and effectiveness of online career
counseling. If online career counseling becomes increasingly widespread (Andersen
& Vandehey, 2006; Malone et al., 2004), it is essential to determine its impact on
clients, their expectations, and their satisfaction with the experience. Research
about the process of online career counseling and the experiences of clients and
counselors during the counseling interaction will also identify the skills required
for effective online career counseling (Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2002) and facilitate
the development of guidelines for the training of counselors.

7. 152 journal of employment counseling • December 2007 • Volume 44
CONCLUSION
In a technology-enriched environment of personal digital assistants (Savickas,
2003), iPods, podcasts, and nanotechnology (Jerome et al., 2000), the profession of
career development must continue to address the issue of online career counseling
proactively. As the results of this study indicate, counselor education professionals
are open to the use of online career counseling and such perceptions have important
implications for the career development profession and especially for the prepara-
tion of career counselors.
The Internet undoubtedly offers considerable opportunity to provide online career
counseling that is affordably priced (Niles & Harris-Bowlsbey, 2002), but there are
concerns that the profession must address. A proactive approach through support
for research concerning online career counseling will provide counselor education
professionals with the knowledge base to prepare future counselors with the skills
to work safely and ethically with clients. With online career counseling predicted to
become more readily available (Andersen & Vandehey, 2006; Malone et al., 2004),
the profession cannot afford to ignore the existence of this modality lest it evolve
outside the sphere of its inluence.
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