Mental Health Therapy Via the World Wide Web

An article entitled æOnline Mental Health Service: An Opportunity, or Alarm?Æ appeared in the April 22nd online edition The New York Times (Almer, 2000). The current paper will review this article, and include a discussion of the authorÆs point of view. A commentary on this perspective will also be included, as well as recommendation for future research studies to be conducted that would address concerns proposed by the current paperÆs author.

The article was thoughtful and compelling, for a variety of reasons. To begin, the article opened with an example of a mayor of a small town and his wife contemplating going to a marriage therapist. The couple were hesitant, out of fear of gossip. Consequently, they turned to the internet and found a psychologist willing to offer them online therapy, along with an occasional telephone conversation. They and other users of online therapy are charged for these services

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drafted by major professional organizations, this still does not eliminate the issue of how to interpret inter state license regulations into the internet, which has none of these boundaries. Other critics assert that the anonymity associated with the internet allows clients to misrepresent themselves. In addition, misunderstandings can and often do occur due to the lack of inflection in email communication. Another concern is that of privacy. Many mental health providers are dawdling when it comes to utilizing this new medium, or even in their recommending it to others because of their apprehensions regarding the lack of privacy on the internet. Unknown third-party computer hackers may be able to enter a chat room, and an individual who has access to anotherÆs computer can potentially read email saved on and/or incoming to that computer. As a result, both client and provider are not protected. This is a serious matter, since the content of most therapeutic sessions, online or not, tends to contain highly sensitive material. Even more seriously, skeptics of online therapy believe that it could be potentially dangerous, since the complete diagnosis that an in-office visit provides is unavailable. Truly effective treatme
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1816
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)