c. 2000 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) In a wired-up world where soothsayers, “psychics” and sexually oriented chat rooms provide companionship for a fee, one Ohio firm is hoping there is also room for a cyberspace confessional.

The Barnabus Christian Counseling Network, a Warren, Ohio-based venture providing pastoral help over the Internet, connects Christians too shy or unable to get help in person with 50 counselors from Northeast Ohio to Australia.

Prospective clients can click on http:// http://www.barnabus.com and research the resumes of electronic counselors, all of whom are members of the American Association of Christian Counselors. After they make their choice, they can sign on for computer-assisted therapy with a pastoral counselor for $27.50 an hour or a clinical counselor at $35 an hour. There are also options for writing a journal entry, and, for $15 to $20, clients will receive a written response.

The Rev. Glenn Robitaille of Ashland, Ohio, network founder, said he got the idea for the service after noticing in his own work as a pastoral counselor an increase in addiction among Christians to pornography on the Internet.

The same people who would not think of walking into an adult bookstore or attending a pornographic movie would spend hours in Internet chat rooms or on Web sites devoted to sinful sexual activities, he said.

Why not use the same means to counteract the problem, Robitaille figured. People not wanting to be seen visiting a counselor may seek pastoral help privately on the Internet, he said.

“If anonymity is the spoon that stirs the sauce, then anonymity is the soap that cleans the spoon,” he said.

Since the service began in August, Robitaille said about 270 people, some from as far away as Saudi Arabia, Israel and Trinidad, have signed up for counseling. About 15 percent are regular clients, seeking help each week.

There are limits to online counseling, starting with the concern that one cannot notice the physical mannerisms and vocal inflections of computer clients. Medicine cannot be prescribed online, and some serious mental illnesses cannot be diagnosed over the computer. People having a psychotic episode are referred to doctors.

Dr. Ellen Rothchild, a Cleveland psychiatrist and past chairwoman of the American Psychiatric Association’s Committee on Telemedical Services, said there is a recognition the Internet is being used for counseling, but there is “a crying need” to determine what are the best applications, and to provide proper safeguards.

“It’s not an easy, yes-no, black-white” issue, she said.

Rothchild, who is not familiar with the Barnabus network, said the advantages include increasing access to counseling services and providing anonymity.

But even anonymity can be a liability, she said.

For example, she said, a counselor may not know whom to contact or get outside help to a client in an emergency. And the ability of the service to keep out hackers raises privacy issues.

Robitaille said the main advantage of the Internet service is reaching people with counseling help who may be self-conscious about visiting a counselor in person or who are in remote areas where regular visits are not possible.

“We are saying there is a certain segment of the population that will never go to a counselor’s office,” he said.

And the sense of privacy afforded by a computer does have other advantages, Robitaille said.

Robitaille said a large number of clients disclose traumatic incidents such as sexual abuse or incest in the first session, something they would be unlikely to reveal in face-to-face therapy for at least six sessions.

“The level of honesty goes up with the level of anonymity,” Robitaille said.

One man from Texas who signed up for online help shared his struggle with feelings of pedophilia, something he would never share in a church setting, Robitaille said.

What he wanted to know, and what many of what Robitaille calls “one time, spill-my-guts” clients want to know, is “Does God still love me?” To which Robitaille answers, “Oh yeah.”

Unfortunately, he says, the man has not come back for further counseling, but that is a risk run by face-to-face counselors as well. “Even if a person walked into your office, all you can do is give them a good reason to come back a second time,” Robitaille said. “The person has to want help.”

What counselors hope is that by helping people recognize they have aberrant feelings, even if sometimes it is only a single conversation, there is less chance of them acting on those impulses, according to Robitaille.

By experiencing the value of counseling through the safety of the computer, more people may be encouraged to seek personal help, he said.

“I believe in this. I believe it’s going to be a great resource for people.”

DEA END BRIGGS