Online Therapy and Support Groups
Of particular interest to clinical and social psychologists
are those groups with a therapeutic, remedial, or supportive aim. These
could include "formal" group therapy led by professionals, as well as
self-help organizations. Such groups can exist as mailing lists or newsgroups,
in which the meeting is asynchronous, or in conference/chat environments,
which involve synchronous communication. No doubt, the differences in
group dynamics are great depending on which format is used. Each format
also will have its advantages and disadvantages.
Mental health professionals are beginning
to experiment with online therapy groups, and some well-known self-help
groups have already extended into cyberspace. Many more are likely to
appear. One of the powerful advantages of cyberspace as compared to the
"real" world is that people with similar concerns easily can find each
other and form meetings. Geographical distance makes no difference. In
the tradition of in-person self-help organizations, these online groups
truly are a "grass roots" phenomenon.
Online communities - such as MUDs, MOOs and
the newer multimedia communities such as Palace
- also may be therapeutic for some people. Experimenting with one's online
identity and new ways of relating to others can result in insight and
may help people work through personal issues. Under ideal conditions,
those changes generalize to the face-to-face world. As one person once
told me, "This community is like training wheels... I try out new ways
of being, and then I apply it to my real life." Mental health workers
who participate in and act as consultants to such communities are developing
a type of "online community psychology."
See also in The Psychology of Cyberspace:
A Comparison of Online, E-Mail, and
In-Person Self-Help Groups Using Adult Children of Alcoholics as a Model.
Psychotherapy and Clinical Work in Cyberspace
The Clinical Psychologist in Online Groups and
Communities
back to the Psychology of Cyberspace home page
www.rider.edu/users/suler/psycyber/psycyber.html
