Counsellors at Box Hill Institute and CAE are all qualified and registered psychologists or social workers. Your details remain confidential except where a counsellor believes you are at high risk of harm to yourself or others. Under these circumstances counsellors have the option to trace your personal details and will do whatever is required to ensure safety.

You can choose to stop contact at any time and counsellors would appreciate you letting them know. We ask that you not share material from this service with others without our consent.

Counsellors may end your e-counselling if adequate help is not being provided, if there are time restraints on counselling, or in case of inappropriate online behaviour. In this case face-to-face counselling at Box Hill Institute or other services may be provided.

E-counselling is not for everyone. If you have doubts about using e-counselling, read 'Advantages' and 'Disadvantages' for further information.

To begin counselling, return to the Home page. Once you have read what you need to know click on the "I agree..." link at the bottom of the page. In the message box, type a brief description of what is concerning you, with any questions you may have and submit your message.

Once your enquiry has been received you will be allocated a counsellor. The counsellor will reply to you and remain as your counsellor while you need help. If your counsellor becomes unavailable, another will be allocated.

Please allow 2-3 working days for us to respond to your concerns. Check the e-counselling system regularly for responses. Alternatively, you have the option to be notified of replies via an email message which you can setup by turning on notifications. You can receive replies by logging onto StudentWeb and going into e-counselling the same way you did initially. Once you have accepted the conditions and entered into the e-counselling system, you can read your messages and send replies.

To date, outcome studies on the effectiveness of online counselling has been positive in showing that it can have a similar impact as face-to-face counselling interaction. This is an area with a growing body of knowledge and further research is still required to establish a better understanding of the variables that may impact the efficacy and effectiveness of online therapies. The biggest concerns with e-counselling are the lack of controls and standards, implementation and ethical issues. Box Hill Institute and CAE counsellors are trained and committed to ensuring ethical standards are met.

• If you are not capable of giving consent.
• If you suffer from a serious mental health disorder, such as a borderline personality disorder or a psychosis.
• If safety is an issue. This could include suicidal feelings or a domestic violence situation.
• If you need to speak to someone now, call one of these 24-hour numbers:

Students have to be residing in Australia to be able to use this e-counselling which can be accessed both on and off campus.

Remember that your counsellor cannot see you. Therefore, it is not easy for the counsellor to be aware of your feelings. The counsellor won't be able to tell if you are physically hurt, and may have difficulty reading your emotions. There can also be misunderstandings when using text.

It will be beneficial to tell your counsellor if:

• you have mental health issues or addictions
• you have been drinking or taking drugs
• you are in a domestic violence situation, or if you and your partner have heated arguments which become physical
• you are in a crisis or fear for your safety
• you don't understand something the counsellor is saying, or need clarification
• you have concerns about online counselling
• you have strong feelings, such as sadness or anger. Remember that your counsellor can't see you.

Once you have entered e-counselling, other StudentWeb users (both students and staff) will not be able to read the content of any messages. This is because messages are encrypted (or coded) in transmission. All records of messages remain encrypted.

eCounselling ("us", "we", or "our") uses cookies on the website (the "Service"). By using the Service, you consent to the use of cookies. When you use and access the Service, we may place a number of cookies files in your web browser. If you'd like to delete cookies or instruct your web browser to delete or refuse cookies, please visit the help pages of your web browser. However, if you delete cookies or refuse to accept them, you might not be able to use all of the features we offer, you may not be able to store your preferences, and some of our pages might not display properly.

Counsellors will prefer you to use your normal name. You will be also be given the option to choose a nickname if you prefer not to use your own name. Counsellors will need to know who you are if there is a threat of harm to yourself or others.

The content of all messages is kept strictly confidential. Information about sessions can only be released if:

• required by a court of law
• there is a clear risk of harm to yourself or others, in which case we may disclose minimal information to avert risk.

Each counsellor is a registered psychologist or a social worker with a commitment to following ethical and professional standards in relation to maintaining confidentiality and privacy. We aim to have one counsellor per client; however, messages may be read by more than one Box Hill Institute or CAE counsellor.

Transcripts of sessions are kept to refer to what has happened in previous counselling exchanges. Records are kept via encryption to ensure that only counselling staff can access them. Other Box Hill Institute or CAE staff, students, or outsiders will not be able to read them. As with face-to-face counselling we may keep notes in addition to the electronic messages. All notes will be kept in the same way as face-to-face counselling - in a secure, access restricted file.