Virtual Counseling

As campus psychologists go online, they reach more students, but may also risk lawsuits

By SCOTT CARLSON

Amy, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, thought something in her life had gone wrong, and she went to talk to a friend about it. The friend referred Amy not to a counseling center, but to a Web address that had been mentioned as part of a class orientation.

At the Web site, Amy found information about the university's counseling center, including pictures of the counselors and pamphlets about topics like homesickness and drug addiction. She quickly found an e-mail address at which she could reach a counselor, and she fired off a vague note.

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