Sunday, April 23, 2006

the psychology of cyberspace

john suler of rider university on the psychology of cyberspace, with titallating topics like

cyberspace as psychological space
cyberspace as dream world
bringing online and offline living together



and of course it includes a (large!) section on online therapy. in the myths of online therapy, there are two interesting comments:

Many sexual abuse survivors report that they feel too frightened to see a therapist in person, at least in the initial stages of their healing. It is much less frightening for many such people to receive therapy online from the safety of their own home.

If a gay person has a high level of concern about confidentiality, receiving therapy online may be more confidential than walking into a therapy office where they can bump into acquaintances they know, or could be identified as gay simply by seeing a therapist who specializes in working with gay clients. Many lesbians, gay men, and child sexual and ritual abuse survivors find that there are no therapists in their area who understand their unique needs, or if there are, they are not accepting any more clients. For them, particularly those who live in rural areas or small cities, accessing therapy online may be a lifesaver.


this site is an amazing resource! thanks, john.

isabella mori
counselling in vancouver
www.moritherapy.com

1 comment:

Reputationist said...

I too believe that "cyberspace" psychology offers many advantages in terms of privacy and shyness. You should visit the shyness institute located on Stanford University site I can give you the url another time. But the larger question for me is "do you think that the skill set used in "cyberspace" is the same as when you are in the physical presence of the other person. You will notice that being face to face does not mean you are in the physically same space.