Online spiritual counseling services: Advantages and disadvantages

In this thesis, it is aimed to examine online spiritual counseling services, to reveal the difference with face-to-face psychological counseling services, to determine their advantages and disadvantages, and to investigate whether they are applicable for our country. Therefore, the answer to the question of whether online spiritual counseling services are at least as effective and successful as face-to-face therapies has been sought. Consultants who do not have the opportunity to conduct face-to-face therapy with a spiritual consultant can alternatively benefit from online spiritual counseling services in a more economical way. This service is analyzed in a multifaceted way, where consultants can meet online with a spiritual consultant they want, regardless of the location. Depending on many complex variables, the mental well-being of a person may deteriorate and spiritual support may be needed. The hypothesis guiding the research is that online spiritual counseling services are at least as effective and successful as face-to-face consulting services. Comparative mixed methods and content analysis were used to test this hypothesis. As a result of the research, it was concluded that online spiritual counseling services are at least as successful as face-to-face spiritual counseling services. Although it violated the principle of face-to-face counseling, which is considered one of the basic principles of psychological counseling, online spiritual counseling services, which are always offered through a technological interface, have been found to be as successful as the psychological and spiritual counseling services performed face-to-face by bringing the counselor and the client face to face in a virtual environment. Considering these results, people who cannot go to a psychologist or spiritual counselor due to the limitation of material and spiritual opportunities can easily benefit from online spiritual counseling services. Digital Culture offers us a new opening of psychological and spiritual counseling. Spiritual counseling services, together with technological support, can be offered to users more effectively and more widely, moreover, as one of the psychological first aid techniques.