The Future of Health Care and Online Counseling

Publisher Summary This chapter presents some educated guesses regarding the direction of health care in the coming years, with a specific focus on mental health care online and online counseling. Private and government entities as well as professional organizations make it easy these days for customers to both locate and interact with professionals of their choice online. Consumers of health and mental health are no longer left in the dark when seeking to consult a professional they have never met or heard of before. Not only can modern clients find a qualified psychologist online, schedule a meeting, and connect with the professional of their choice; the service itself can be carried out online without ever leaving the home. Of all forms of online counseling, videoconferencing will probably become the most popular as the ability to see and hear each other will give both clinician and client the feeling that they are communicating f2f, as if in the office. Furthermore, the chapter discusses the future trends in online health care records, health insurance claims and payments, online education and training, and regulations for online counseling.