Since online therapists do not have real-world interactions with clients, some ethical concerns become more difficult.Therapists should be sure to obtain informed consent from all e-clients and be cautious to respect professional limitations.


Informed consent is a legal procedure to ensure that a patient or client knows all of the risks and costs involved in a treatment.


The basics of informed consents include informing the client

• The nature of the treatment



• Possible substitute treatments



• The potential risks



• Benefits of the treatment.

In addition to informed consent, therapists have a legal duty to warn. Duty to warn refers to the duty of a counselor or therapist is to inform third parties or authorities if a client poses a risk to himself or herself or to another individual.

Legal duty to warn was established in the case of Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (1976) , where a therapist failed to inform a young woman and her parents of specific death threats made by a client. The young woman was later killed and her family sued the therapy provider.

Duty to warn can be particularly problematic online, because a therapist may not even know a client's real name or geographic position. It is also difficult for therapists to judge a client's potential for violence because of the lack of body language and vocal cue.

While therapists can treat clients from all over the globe,they should stick on to the laws and ethical guidelines of the state or country where they are put into practice.