Online Self-Help Therapy
The term self-help therapy conjures up a number of scenarios, some of
which are accurate and others that are not. While the term
appears to apply to therapy that will help only you, the user, most
self-help therapy involves groups of people who talk, share,
experience, and hope together, with the desired outcome being healing
for those in the group or the solving of a common problem.
Alcoholics Anonymous could probably be deemed the first self-help
therapy group, controlled by the members themselves, and has been the
model for many such groups that followed.
In this era, however, when nearly every family boasts a home computer
or two, self-help therapy has taken on a new dimension.
Online
self-help has grown in leaps and bounds over the last 5 years, with
groups available that address issues from grief counseling to
motivation to weight management and everything in between.
While mental health professionals prefer to call these groups “mutual
aid organizations,” they note that probably about 8 to 10 million
Americans participate in some sort of self-help therapy each week, many
of them via the internet.
There are a number of advantages to online therapy. Most site the
24-hour-a-day availability of such groups, especially advantageous to
those who work unusual schedules and are hard-pressed to find
face-to-face groups that fit their needs. Anonymity also plays a
huge role in the success of online self-help therapy. Many
individuals prefer not to identify themselves to others, and in an
online group, this is easily accomplished. There’s no threat of
embarrassment or other stumbling blocks that may keep someone from
participating in traditional self-help groups.
For those who are unable to leave their homes due to illness, lack of
transportation, or any other reason, this is the perfect way to join in
to receive support and empowerment by others who may be facing similar
situations.
Some traditional therapists, however, tout the dangers of online
self-help therapy, citing unhealthy addiction to the internet and the
presence of “lurkers”, who may be preying on unsuspecting self-help
therapy participants.
