Online Therapy and Support Groups

by John Suler, Ph.D.

(Page 42 of 53)

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.”

Unique Groups in Cyberspace

The ability to access and filter through numerous potential relationships, as well as the stretching of spatial boundaries, has resulted in unique groups forming online that may never have existed in-person. The needs addressed by these online groups may be needs that traditional in-person organizations and institutions have been unable to address. Such groups may be a gold mine for social-psychological research. While some of these groups are potentially beneficial and healthy (self-help groups, special interest consumer and hobbyist groups, etc.), the value of others is questionable and in some cases obviously pathological. Nevertheless, even these pathological groups can be a source of valuable information for researchers who are attempting to understand and remedy important psychological and social problems. The various unique groups forming in cyberspace are a crystalization of the various hidden facets of the larger, in-person culture.

About the Author

John Suler, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychology at Rider University. This article comes from his online hypertext book The Psychology of Cyberspace which describes his ongoing research on how individuals and groups behave in cyberspace. His work has been reported by national and international media, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, the BBC, and CNN. www.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/