Effectiveness
Some in the psychology community have argued that online therapy can never replace traditional face-to-face therapy. Research from G.S. Stofle and J. suggests that online counseling would benefit people functioning at a moderately high level. Severe situations such as suicidal ideation or a psychotic episode might be better served by traditional face-to-face methods. Although further research may prove otherwise.
Cohen and Kerr conducted a study on the effectiveness of online therapy for treatment of anxiety disorders in students and found that there was no difference in the level of change for the two modes as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.
As the main goal of counseling is to alleviate the distress, anxiety or concerns experienced by a client when he or she enters therapy, online counseling has strong efficacy under that definition. Client satisfaction surveys tend to demonstrate a high level of client satisfaction with online counseling, while the providers sometimes demonstrate lower satisfaction with distance methods. Researchers have suggested that counseling professionals themselves are more critical of newer technologies than their clients.
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