The Challenges of Online Counseling in a Developing Country

Information and communication technology has expanded the capacity for person-to-person communication and has created opportunities for man to expand knowledge and communicate such. Statistics has shown that the number of individuals having access to Internet is increasing and as such, every field of human knowledge is annexing the opportunity. These opportunities are, however, filled with challenges. The counseling field is not an exception. This chapter has, however, outlined that challenges such as technical know-how, counseling environment in terms of privacy and security, the problem of invisibility and anonymity, and the ethical issues of practice, may hinder online counseling in Nigeria. It is concluded that online counseling is a possibility in Nigeria and other developing countries if certain pertinent issues are addressed.