Is online counseling considered volunteering?

[Guac&Chips]

Hello, I have been a volunteer counselor on the website 7cups.com. Can/should I use this experience in my medical school application?

Thanks in advance!

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[EM hope]

I would say it depends. Do you receive any training, supervision, or feedback on your counseling there? What differentiates it from counseling friends going through a hard time?

 

[Goro]

Hello, I have been a volunteer counselor on the website 7cups.com. Can/should I use this experience in my medical school application?

Thanks in advance!

It can, but I'd expect some proof to go with it.

 

[LizzyM]

Yes, but it is also a good idea to have some experience dealing with people face-to-face as that is expected of most physicians.

 

[zoelee]

Hi Lizzy, thanks for your reply. I also volunteer online and wonder how to use that experience for application, or should I at all.

I would love some in personal counseling experience. I need this mostly to assess if counseling is the job I enjoy doing and excel in. This is more important than applying for a graduate program. The reason being, I'm in my late 40s, and counseling would be a career change for me. I don't want to jump in without test driving it a little bit.

But what I learned was, you have to be either a counseling student, or a licensed counselor to volunteer at one of those mental health centers. Without those, they won't take you.

I would really appreciate it if someone could share experience landing volunteer gigs w/o being in a counseling program or a licensed counselor.

 

[LizzyM]

Hi Lizzy, thanks for your reply. I also volunteer online and wonder how to use that experience for application, or should I at all.

I would love some in personal counseling experience. I need this mostly to assess if counseling is the job I enjoy doing and excel in. This is more important than applying for a graduate program. The reason being, I'm in my late 40s, and counseling would be a career change for me. I don't want to jump in without test driving it a little bit.

But what I learned was, you have to be either a counseling student, or a licensed counselor to volunteer at one of those mental health centers. Without those, they won't take you.

I would really appreciate it if someone could share experience landing volunteer gigs w/o being in a counseling program or a licensed counselor.

Try Planned Parenthood or LGBT service centers. I've seen applications from people who have volunteered in those settings and provided counseling services around HIV testing and contraceptive options.