Abstract
With the advent of the Internet and related Web resources and the integration thereof into our
everyday life has made it impossible for social work practitioners to ignore the possibilities
and challenges that would develop within practice conditions. Practitioners more and more
realise that changes due to technological advancement will continue to have a substantial
impact on the human services, since information is the key resource used in service delivery.
This article reports on some of the results of a PhD study which aimed to design, develop and
test an online counselling programme within a naturalised setting via Psychological Services
and Career Development (PsyCaD) at the University of Johannesburg. A developmental case
study research design, including both exploratory and applied dimensions, was employed and
the pilot intervention that ensued was coined the LATS WELL-BeING counselling
programme. It encompassed a four session asynchronous e-mail based service and
information regarding the experiences of both clients and practitioners were recorded via
direct questionnaires and online surveys. The study enabled the researcher to gather
information about the application of the online counselling programme and the interaction between the e-counsellors and actual clients within a naturalised setting.