RoboCounsellor

It is standard practice for there to be an agreement negotiated betwen the client and counsellor before the counselling sessions start, so that there will be no surprises in the areas covered. This particular contract between the client and RoboCounsellor is a bit funky for obvious reasons, but let's see how we do with it.

Counsellor: RoboCounsellor, website created and maintained by Paul N. Adams, contact details here.

Client: Real name not required. Operates with a client-chosen User ID and a working email address.

Counselling venue: At client's choice, wherever there is a suitable computer and Internet connection available.

Review of fees: Much is free of charge. If the client wishes to become a subscriber, the cost is £9.99 (approx. $16.50 or €11.00) per month after one week's free trial, payable via PayPal. The client can cancel via PayPal at any time. The one monthly subscription covers unlimited personal use of all available modules both at RoboCounsellor and PaulsRobot.

Method of Payment: PayPal only. This is usually convenient for both parties, as credit/debit card details are only released to PayPal and not to the individual merchants.

Number of sessions: Up to the client.

Schedule of sessions: Up to the client. Robocounsellor is usually available 24/7.

Cancellations: Not a problem at all to RoboCounsellor. No advance notice or appointments needed either.

Referral: This is for when the counsellor feels that she can't really help the client for some reason, and helps the client transfer to a more suitable practitioner. RoboCounsellor has no automatic referral service, although it is highly recommended that a client make use of some of the alternative PaulsRobot modules if the RoboCounsellor ones are not working out well. Beyond that, neither RoboCounsellor nor Paul Adams at present run any kind of professional referral service.

Supervision: As far as is known, there is no-one else doing this kind of ground-breaking computer-delivered counselling. So there is no technical supervision of RoboCounsellor taking place. It is definitely a pioneer activity.

Membership of professional governing bodies: Like it says about RoboCounsellor in the FAQ, you're kidding, right? Still, it's pretty much free from the client's point of view, often for an excellent service, so it's not a bad deal at all.

Insurance: Likewise. You pays your money (or not) and you takes your chance.

Qualifications: RoboCounsellor has none. Paul Adams has none in the conventional counselling field, and whatever qualifications he has in his 35+ years in the alternative counselling field won't mean much to most people. If you are one of the few people who would understand them, they are only a click or two away via Google.

Record Keeping: In line with the Data Protection Act, etc. In reality, no personal information about a client is normally transmitted to RoboCounsellor at all beyond that email address. If you wish to publish personal info in a comment or forum post, that is your choice, on the understanding that it will be visible on the broad Internet and there can be no expectation of privacy about that at all. As is normal in the Internet world, every time you access a web site your browser automatically sends certain information(your IP address, browser type, operating system, etc., again nothing personally identifying) to the server hosting that website. This information is stored in server logs that are accessible to the website owner.

Health issues: It's all up to you. The counselling available here cannot be construed as medical treatment or advice at all.

Equal opportunities/diversity: RoboCounsellor is open to anyone with the necessary computer access and smarts to follow the instructions in English. One day this work will be available in other languages, but it isn't yet. The site is basically gender-neutral. Where "he" is used in relation to clients or users, "she" can be substituted. The current RoboCounsellor module(s) will only speak in my (Paul's) voice, and I am not gender-neutral at all, but there is no theoretical reason some other voice couldn't be used.

Right to opt out: You can leave at any time, even in the middle of a session. It is not recommended to walk away mid-session, but there is nothing this end to stop you doing that.

Confidentiality: You win big on this one. Not only is nothing personal transmitted to RoboCounsellor, nothing personal is transmitted to any human at all if you wish. So you can have beneficial sessions on any topic at all, however embarrassing or uncomfortable, and no-one else need know anything at all about it.

What is expected of you: The points you agree to in the Terms and Conditions when you open a free user account. But beyond those routine items, quite honestly, nothing at all is really expected or demanded from a user here, apart from the normal Internet social courtesies of when interacting with others in the forums, be polite and respectful. However, there are some things on my (Paul's) wish list. :)

• Most importantly, follow the session instructions! Don't assume that you innately know how this *should* go and your casual ideas are better than the ones in use. Or just because some Austrian authority-figure said _____ that anything to the contrary must be wrong. This is a pioneering field. Theoretical models that cover all this are *not* well-known at all, where they even exist.
• It would be nice if every now and then you filled out and submitted (online, just click where it says "submit") an after-session form. It is easy to find, as you just click on the "Next" button in the "End of session" screen. I enjoy hearing how people are doing with my creations, and I do listen to suggestions about how my automated interfaces could be improved.
• And lastly, if you find this stuff valuable, please tell others about it so they can share in the joy too.

  Thank you very much.

  Paul N. Adams

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