I offer ‘Skype counselling’ wherever on planet Earth you may find yourself. Through ‘Skype counselling’ it is possible to provide services where this is otherwise simply not available. There are numerous countries without sufficient counsellors, psychologists or psychiatrists. And where these services do exist, they might be offered in an unfamiliar language. It is for these circumstances where ‘Skype counselling’ might be a worthwhile option.
Counselling for Humanitarian Workers and Journalists
I explicitly offer my distance counselling services to humanitarian workers and journalists because of my own in-depth experiences of both professions, during my long stay in various African countries. Between 1997 and 2016 I lived in Kenya, South Africa and South Sudan, and travelled through over thirty other countries on the continent. I know from my own experiences what it means to live and work in places that are seen to be dangerous, and where the pressures of work and circumstances pile up. It is not always easy to pay attention to the requirements of the mind, the heart or the soul when handling the crises occurring around you.
On top of that: it is possible that your work has confronted you with potentially traumatic experiences, with continued stress and maybe with burnout. Among journalists and humanitarian workers, levels of anxiety or depression are higher than among the general population. Depending on the severity of your complaints you and I can look at ways of improving your resilience and healthy methods of self-care and – if needed – pathways to healing.
Accredited Distance Counselor
As you will have noticed: I wrote ‘Skype counseling’ in parentheses. Skype is not a useful tool because it can be very easily hacked. Confidentiality is not guaranteed at all when speaking through that medium. I have instead chosen to work with a provider that guarantees confidentiality. All conversations are encrypted and our communication can go entirely via safe and encrypted servers, too.
Furthermore, I received my accreditation as a distance counsellor from the US-based NBCC.
A quick word on an acronym
The Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC) credential identifies those professional counselors who are uniquely trained in best practices for delivering traditional counseling through technological means. DCCs have met nationally established distance counseling criteria and adhere to the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) Code of Ethics and Policy Regarding the Provision of Distance Professional Services.