Attitude of University Students towards Web-based Counselling

While the practise of counselling has traditionally involved face-to-face interaction between the counsellor and client, current practitioners are providing counselling services with the use of internet-based technology, as technology has altered the appearance and operations of numerous professions, including that of the counsellor. However, web-based counselling, a recent form of counselling, is a relatively recent phenomenon in Ghana. This chapter aims to measure the perspectives of students at the University of Cape Coast on the use of web-based counselling. The study was carried out using a sample of 600 undergraduates from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, a descriptive survey was conducted. The data was gathered using a questionnaire with a four-point Likert scale. Means and standard deviations provided answers to the two study research questions that guided the survey. Furthermore, the two hypotheses were tested using the independent samples t-test. Findings from the study indicated that respondents had either positive and negative attitudes or opinions regarding the use of web-based counselling. In addition, both males and females showed affinity to web-based counselling. Nevertheless, the males were somewhat hostile towards web-based counselling than females. It was recommended that counsellors increase their use of cyber therapy in their work with adolescents, as they have learned the skills and knowledge to utilise the internet and are comfortable with web-based counselling. In addition, university administrators were urged to obtain new equipment to facilitate web-based counselling.