Cyber-Therapy, Driving Therapy, and Cyberspace Counter-Culture:

The Power of Technology

Introduction: Boomin' Technology

When one has thoughts about technology advances, the first thing that may come to mind is computers, and the Internet. Technology advances so fast, that when one purchases the latest and fastest computer, an even faster one is on the market. The Internet is something that has brought the world closer together. An increasing number of people, throughout the world are communicating with each other via Internet. With the advance of this technology, comes innovative and helpful ideas. Watch your stocks grow, discover the latest sports scores, learn about a specific car before you buy one. Only recently I have discovered such documents on the Internet that promote therapy. Therapy, meaning the healing of mental health. It is quite astonishing in that one does not have to leave the home in order to receive therapy from a psychologist. Everything can be done convienietly in one's house. All you have to do is e-mail an online psychologist, and the session starts. With the advances of technology, in addition to helpful ideas, comes transgression. When I use the word transgression, I am not necessarily using it in a negative context. What I mean by transgression is going beyond the traditional ideas of society, or creating forces that seperate society.

In this document, you will discover how I feel about a couple of different online therapists. I will analyze their techniques and critique them. Two will be psychotherapist, while two will be driving therapist. Later in this document, one could find some information about the advances in technology and transgression. In this section, I will uncover how technology promotes transgression, and then link it to cyberspace counter culture.

Cyber-Therapy: Healing the Body and Mind

When considering cyber-therapy, I think that there are both pros and cons. In concerns to environment, I do not have a real opinion, since I have not experienced psychotherapy in real life, or online. I could only rationalize about the benefits of each type of therapy. Most of my classmates feel that therapy online would be less effective than "real life" therapy. In some ways, I agree with them. When one is face to face with a psychotherapist, one could probably feel the warmth and comfort of another human being. In addition, I feel that being face to face with a psychotherapist would be a more realistic experience. How do you know that the psychotherapist online is real? Besides that, I believe that it is easier to BS online than it is to one's face. But, I think that therapy online has its' advantages. I think that sometimes it is easier to write or type a problem out than telling it directly to another person. Especially if it is something that might embarrass the client. This way, problems that may hinder the session would likely be brought foward, instead of being hidden. Another thing, is that one does not have to make time for a session. At any given time, even at three in the morning, one could start a session by e-mailing the therapist.

When one measures the effectiveness of therapy one must consider the treatment. A big part of therapy is being able to communicate with someone and obtaining answers to solutions. So why can't we just talk problems over with friends or family? Well, I think that a person in need can be helped by a friend or family member, but only to an extent. Some questions can't be answered rationally by untrained professionals. I also feel that the credibility of a professional helps with the effectiveness of the client's treatment. With the invention of e-mail one could communicate with a therapist. This leads me to believe that therapy online could be nearly as effective as person to person therapy. Why I say nearly, is due to environmental factors that could affect the treatment (see the previous paragraph).

When I first stumbled over Emotional Fitness Online, I found it to be an interesting site. The psychotherapist, Dr. Tom Raymond claims that therapy online is, "more powerful than an advice column, and more timely and productive than the traditional 50 minute session. " I agree that it is more powerful than an advice column, in that specific problems and solutions can be addressed in private. But, one must consider that an advice column does not cost any money. I also agree with Dr. Raymond in that therapy online is more timely than the 50 minute session. If Dr. Raymond sticks to the 12 hour response time he advertises, it would be more timely in that one would not have to wait for an appointment date for therapy. All one has to do is e-mail and wait half a day. But, I disagree with the notion that his online therapy can be more productive than the traditional 50 minute session. For me, I can talk a lot faster than I can type. Therefore, it would lead me to believe that in a 50 minute session, one would be able to receive more information than if one were to have session online that took 50 minutes to compose.

Dr. Tom Raymond relies on something called the Participation Theory. This approach is supposed to be "the best" of traditional therapies without any nonsense. The Participation Theory is aimed towards problems that plague couples, families and individuals. I think that the key to the Participation Theory is that it helps one to use what they have already learned. Implying that we must learn aspects of relationships step by step. For example, the Participation Theory states, "getting along leads to love". Meaning that love does not come on a summer breeze. Instead, it must be learned.

One thing that I found attractive about this site was the notion that, "Pretended agreements leads to conflict because people get confused and irritated." I found this idea to hold much truth. For example, when a relationship is going bad, a natural reaction might be for one to pretend that it is doing well. The other person in the relationship might feel that "everything is OK", and continue normal day to day conduct. The "pretender" then becomes irritated in that the problem is not accounted for, and feels that the partner should have been more sensitive to the problem. If the charade persists, then the irritation might come to a point where it is unbearable. End of relationship. Dr. Raymond believes that the solution to this problem is competence. I think that the solution to this type of problem is an open and truthful relationship.

The second idea that I found attractive is the last aspect of the Participation Theory, "Reality". In this section, Dr. Raymond claims that one must face certain realities in order to have a successful relationship. First of all, Dr. Raymond explains how many of us have the "illusion of constancy." With this idea in mind, we tend to believe that relationships are consistent. The fact is that relationships are like kaleidoscopes, in that they respond to the slightest turn. I agree with this, because people are unpredictable. Previous situations, the present situation, the mood, the environment, and the person, all contribute to the different possibilities in which one might react. So, if one has an ideal view of a relationship, they are sure to be disappointed.

One aspect that I did not find attractive in Dr. Raymond's document is the third paragraph, in the section Getting Along. In the end, it states, "Participation Theory helps us to appreciate the difficulty inherent in reaching consensus by drawing our attention to the thousands of consensual and dis-consensual encounters we experience from the moment we were born." He continues to explain that while we were babies our demands were either satisfied or not satisfied. This idea seems a bit ridiculous. I do not believe that things we experienced as babies would help us to get along with others. I feel that through the years in which we develop, we learn what works and what doesn't. I also feel that these skills and lessons stay with us throughout our entire lives. I do not think that we have to learn these skills all over again, like the Participation Theory suggests.

I explored another psychotherapy website called Cyber Psychologist, by Robert F. Sarmiento. His field of specialty included enhancing relationships, overcoming depression, stress management, career and work issues, and self management and recovery training. Throughout this document, I could not find a particular approach that was used, so I assume that Dr. Sarmiento uses traditional psychological methods. I found his methods to be somewhat different than Dr. Raymond's Participation Theory. I liked Dr. Sarmiento's methods of psychotherapy, because it was easier to understand than the Participation Theory. I also found this site to be more organized than Dr. Raymond's site.

In terms of relationships, Dr. Sarmiento tries to encourage healthy ones. He explains that relationships should be viewed as business deals, in which negotiation and communication as the key elements. As for depression, Dr. Sarmiento wrote about our chemical imbalances. He also provided links to solutions for depression. In another section, he wrote about stress, and solutions to stress. His approach to stress includes many relaxation techniques. Also included in the superdocument is career and work issues. He theorizes about career planning, self-marketing, office politics and performance problems. Besides that, Dr. Sarmiento created a document for substance abusers. This document explains about an organization that helps people to recover, and to learn to manage their own lives. Included is the address of the organization. The last document is called a no nonsense personality inventory. This document is purely for amusement.

One idea that I found attractive was the section called enhancing relationships. Dr. Sarmiento explains how most of us buy into fantasized love. Meaning that we try to compare our relationships with perfect examples such as "Cinderella". The relationship then looses excitement as our relationships seem only half as good as our ideal fairy tale. The fact is, there are no perfect relationships. And I agree with this. There is going to be a point in time in which disagreements arise and expectations are not met. Therefore, according to Dr. Sarmiento, we should treat relationships like a business deal. Thus, we negotiate, communicate, court and re-court. Making it an effective and exciting relationship.

Another idea that I found attractive was the section called stress management. In this section, Dr. Sarmiento explains how we have an "alarm system" that prepares us for "flight or fight" when we are faced with real, physical danger. He claims that many times we set of "false alarms" that puts wear and tear on our body, or what we know as stress. In this section he then explains two ways to manage stress; how one could turn off the "alarm system", and how to prevent a "false alarm" in the first place. Turning off the alarm system includes many relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, visualization, and muscular relaxation. Learning to not trigger "false alarms" include visualization; thinking of peaceful thoughts. I find this section attractive because it makes good sense. First of all, I agree with Dr. Sarmiento, with the sources of stress. I feel that people get too caught up in the future or in the past, and set off their "false alarms". Prior to reading this article, I used deep breathing and visualization to reduce stress. I found these techniques to be quite effective.

As I searched through Dr. Sarmiento's site I did not find a concept that was unattractive. I thought all of his principals were easy to comprehend., and they seemed to make perfect sense. Besides that, I believe that they would be very helpful when applied. I also liked the organization of this site. I found it very easy to navigate through. One thing I did not like about this site was the No Nonsense Personality Inventory. I thought that this document was good for laughs. But, I think that it might discourage potential patients. When people read the Personality Inventory, they might not take Dr. Sarmiento seriously.

Driving Therapy: Learning Road Manners Online

During my first visit to Dr. Cohn, "Driving Therapist", I was educated with what he had to say. According to Dr. Cohn 70% of all traffic accidents are stress related. I guess I never really thought about the external factors that affects our lives. Everything that we are exposed to seems to affect how we view other things in life. For example, when my girlfriend comes home from a bad day at work, she may react negatively to the "little things" that I do. Whereas if she were to come home from a day a shopping, she may not even notice those "little things". The way we feel at a particular moment usually affects the way we react to the next encountered situation. So, if we are high in stress, anxiety, fear, or depression, our reactions will probably be negative to the next given situation. And this pretty much sums up Dr. Cohn's basic approach to better driving. He tries to eliminate all of the negative feelings that cause stress, and tries to instill more awareness. In a section including driving tips, he gives physical, psychological and behavioral signs one can search for in themselves. He claims that most anxiety and stress comes from thinking a lot about events that have already occured, or events that have yet to occur. What many people do not realize is that we can only control what is happening now. Not the past, nor the future.

What really surprised me is the claims of nutrition having an effect on our lives. I mean, I know that "junk food" can lead to physical ailments such as heart disease. What I did not know is that certain foods can increase anxiety, or cause extreme edginess. Some of these foods include coffee, soda, chocolate, sugar, flour, Aspirin and vinegar. And, according to Dr. Cohn, it is the anxiety and edginess that helps to provoke driving problems.

One thing that I liked about Dr. Cohn's site was the part about being more aware. He gives some instructions that almost seem like a meditation; concentrating on your breath and visualizing. I can relate to this, because I enrolled in Psychology 361, Transpersonal Psychology, two terms ago. In this class, I learned techniques of relaxation, and becoming more aware of life. I believe that Psychology 361 helped me to appreciate life more. Having experience in this field, I feel that one would be able to benefit from following this aspect of Dr. Cohn's instructions. Being aware helps one to focus on the present. This helps one to look out for themselves(prevent accidents), and to avoid potentially dangerous situations. In addition, when people are in the state of awareness, they may be able to rationalize situations before allowing their emotions to get the best of them.

What I did not like about Dr. Cohn's document is the fourth tip to "Handling Driving Stress and Improving Driving Skills". I guess I did not care for this tip, because I don't think that it applies to many people. This tip implies that one might become intimidated merging on to a freeway, and actually slow down. I don't really know of anyone who ever does this. It then says that 95% of the time it is safer to give more gas when getting on the freeway. Like, duh. Of course it is safer to accelerate when getting on the freeway. How else is one supposed to get up to highway speed?

Another tip I did not care for was the second one. It first states that one's car only goes where one is looking, and therefore other cars only go where their drivers are looking. I sort of agree with this part. But, when I drive, I am constantly observing my environment. Thus, my car is not literally going where I am looking. The next part says, "When you wonder what the other car is going to do, look at the driver, not at their car, and get eye to eye contact." This sounds pretty scary to me. If I am trying to look in the eyes of another driver, that means that my eyes are not on the road. Thus, exposing myself to a vulnerable situation. It becomes even crazier if another driver and I are coming towards each other. If I am trying to look at the eyes of the other driver, it might be too late by the time I become close enough to see the driver's eyes.

In addition to Dr. Cohn's site, I analyzed my instructor's Driving Therapy site (aka Dr. Driving). Prior to visiting Dr. Driving, I thought that it was going to be very similar to Dr. Cohn's site, in that are both driving therapy sites. In some respects, they are similar, but in others, they are quite different. First, and least obvious, one could say that Dr. Driving is a behaviorist, while Dr. Cohn is a therapist. In short, a therapist is one that heals the mental health problems of another. While a behaviorist is one that analyzes another's behavior, and tries to alter the unwanted behavior.

By looking at Dr. Driving's slogans, one could conclude that he takes a direct approach to driving problems. Dr. Driving specifically pinpoints unwanted driving behavior and gives solutions. This is quite different from Dr. Cohn's indirect approach to driving problems. To be specific, Dr. Cohen attributes driving problems to stress, anxiety, fears and a lowered self esteem. His solutions include "food watching", managing and controlling stress.

In some respects both of their approaches are similar. For example, when Dr. Driving explains about one's "driving dragon", it seems like he is talking about the stress and anxiety that Dr. Cohn's theory relies on. Besides that, both approaches focus on greater awareness of the driver. In the beginning of Dr. Driving's slogans he emphasizes on being conscious, and driving consciously. In one case, Dr. Driving explains his Three Step Program to regain control at the wheel; "(one)admit that you are out of control, (two)witness yourself being out of control, (three)modify you driving personality one step at a time". To me, it seems like one would have to be highly aware of themselves in order to follow this type of "exercise". As for Dr. Cohn, he has a type of ritual to follow before driving. It includes focusing on your breathing, visualizing, and imaging. Both of these techniques helps one to become aware of one's actions and environment. In my experience, I feel that both of these approaches would help one significantly in improving one's daily driving experience. People who often become angry often do not have the awareness to rationalize with themselves.

I think that these two approaches can help many to improve their driving habits. In fact, I believe that they would even help me greatly. Just reading and answering some of the questions in the beginning of each "driving document" gave me a hint of what type of driver I am. When I drive, it can be a negative experience. I practically do everything that Dr. Driving is against. I take up almost every challenge to race. I cut people off and exchange words with drivers that make me angry. And, I always have the uncontrollable need for speed.

Since I am in college, and not really enjoying it, I feel that I have a great amount of stress on my shoulders. Stress that Dr. Cohn can get rid of. Many times I find myself thinking about situations that have already occurred, and what I could have done. I also anticipate what will occur in the future. I think if I incorporated Dr. Cohn's relaxation techniques, I might be able to concentrate only on the present. Therefore, preventing other negative, or stressful situations from affecting my current situation. In addition, his techniques might help me to divert some of the stress that I endure. Incorporating his "food for thought" section might also help me. I rarely keep track of what I ingest during the course of the day. Being aware of what I eat, and keeping away from the "bad foods" might help me to enjoy a healthier body and lifestyle.

When I drive, my emotions usually get the best of me. In this respect, Dr. Driving could help me. Many times you could say that my "driving dragon" is getting the best of me. I think that learning to slay my "driving dragon", like Dr. Driving describes will help me a lot. In addition, I feel that following Dr. Driving's "three step program" would help me to modify my awful driving behavior. Through Dr. Driving's approach of creating a peaceful driver, I might be able to become a more friendly, and less agressive driver.

Cyberspace Counter-Culture: Side Effects of Technology

With the advancement in technology comes increased transgression. As I read the article, "Technology and Transgression", by Steve Mizrach, I realized how improvements in technology provoke transgression. Out of the eight categories available, I chose three to focus on; Computer Underground, Occult Technologies and Neuronauts.

The first, Computer Underground, includes cryptoanarchists, hackers, virologist, and phreakers. I believe that this category is very important, because it deals directly with the increasing technology of computers and the Internet. Cryptoanarchists are people who use cryptography to attain privacy from the government. Hackers are people who want total access to hardware, data, and software. I would figure that these types of people enjoy breaking codes and decoding encrypted documents so that they may access hardware, data, and software. Also included are phreakers, who's goals are total fundamental communication freedom. Virologist are people who create viruses for mischief. I guess one could compare these people to vandalist, in that they probably enjoy the thoughts of screwing up someone elses computer. When you think of it, viruses for computers seem to be some sort of form of artificial life. One could speculate if these viruses could mutate into different strains, like real viruses do. It is also pretty scary to think that one day, a virus may plague the entire Internet.

In a sense, it seems like people included in the Computer Underground like to have control of everything in general. For example chryptoanarchist like to have their documents safely sent and received, without anyone else reading them. This is the same way that hackers like to have control of technology. In most of these cases, it seems like people are tired of paying for technology that advances day by day.

The second category I examined was Occult Technologies. This includes weird scientist, EVP researchers, UFOlogists, psychotronics, and Tesla enthusiasts. It seems like all of a sudden, people have become interested in the unknown and unexplained. When I was in preschool, it would have been insane to say that you saw a UFO. Today, that idea is a little more accepted among society. Currently, thousands of people claim that they have seen these saucers. Societies trend towards this type of material has been significant. Just think about how popular "Independence Day", "Unsolved Mysteries" and "The X-Files" have been. And more and more of these types of shows are starting to appear as entertainment.

It seems like these types of people are searching for answers. Since there are some things that just can't be explained some people turn to alternative answers. And all of theses answers are provoked with the help of technology. With technology, we have been able to satisfy our curiosity of oceans and land. With advancing technology, we are able to explore places beyond our atmosphere. Now, with even greater technology, we are able to discover fossils of living cells on other planets. This just provokes our curiosity about the possibilities that may exist. Provoking new answers to questions that can't be answered. Technology seems to be the medium upon which our ideas and concepts grow.

Lastly, I examined the category of Neuronauts. Neuronauts include VR(virtual reality) enthusiasts, brain/mind machine users, and synthetic drug users. These people seem to be interested in altered space and altered reality. Already, through the Internet, we experience virtual reality. But, I think that VR enthusiasts are aiming for a more advanced type of virtual reality that is not distinguishable from real life. With the advance of technology, the dream of virtual reality seems so much closer.

Given this information, I feel that humans are evolving into more sophisticated analyzers, because technology creates more information and more possibilities. As technology advances, people in the computer underground come up with more loopholes in the "structure". It is as though they have become more innovative through the advances in technology. So, I would say that their activity is directly proportional to the advances in technology. Ideas that seemed impossible before, are incorporated into reality as technology allows discoveries of new information that deceive our traditional frame of mind. The possibility of other life form are more accepted as NASA discovered fossils of living cells on another planet. Virtual reality was seen as a concept that was unattainable. But, as technology advances, virtual reality is starting to become a part of reality. With all of this in mind on could rationalize that technology is not only a force that leads society, but it is a force that separates us. Through these advances, people are presented with new ideas and new possibilities. Therefore, they make new assumptions about what is right, what is wrong, what exists and what does not exist. And through this they create subcultures among society.

All of this is related to cyberspace counter culture because the technology of the Internet has allowed far greater interaction and more freedom than we have ever imagined. Therefore, it allows people to share these new ideas. Such new ideas that one may not have possibly imagined. As people conform to these new ideas, they begin to create a community, or even a subculture. Just think about how many people are exposed to the Internet, and how many different subcultures have been created. Therefore, the Internet could be considered as a tool for transgression. Ultimately, it can be used as a tool to distribute new beliefs and seperate society. In this manner it is a negative force against our culture.

As I searched on the Internet, I found many sites that promote transgression. Just typing in the word "hacker", I found 180 listings of pages having to do with hacking, encryption, phreaking, and anarchy. And, all of this was found on only one search engine. Just looking at the description of these pages, they seem to offer ideas of anarchy, freeware, tools for hacking, tools for cracking, cable descramblers and tools for phreaking. At Phrights Archive, one could find programs for downloading that cracks programs. There are even programs that supposedly generate AT&T calling cards, and credit cards. There was another site that I found, that was unbelieveable. It was called Weasel's Utilities. This site contained tons of programs for downloading. Weasel's Utilities offers programs for cracking, phreaking, and networking. All of this includes encypters, decrypters, e-mail bombing tools, credit card creators, phone card creators, tools to take copyrights off certain programs, tools to remove passwords, and even a UNIX password file cracker. This site even contained a section where one could down load about 20 different computer viruses. With supplying all of this, the person who created this site stated that he only wants for information to be free.

While searching through this topic, I also found something pretty interesting. What I found were two sites called web rings. Both web ring sites, Digital Anarchy and Fringe of the Web promotes the idea of transgression. I would consider these web rings as a subculture. In order to be included in these web rings, one has to create a home page, meeting certain requirements. Such requirements include promotion of hacking and anarchy. And to think, that millions of people have the ability to access this types of programs and information. This truly exemplifies the power of the Internet, and how it can promote transgression. All of these ideas and tools allow other people to join the "computer underground" subculture, and to go against traditional society values. It is so ironic, how the Internet can bring the world closer together, yet it can be used to seperate societies.

Final Considerations: Technology, Cyberspace and Beyond

In summerizing my first report, I feel that the mind is thoughts, feelings, emotions, and the process of thinking and analyzing that is influenced by both affective and cognitive behavior in non-space and time. In relation, cyberspace holds these same values. As one experiences a web page, he or she analyzes the page and thinks about it(cognitive). Eventually the person visiting the site, has feelings and thoughts about what they are viewing(affective). Lastly, they click on a link, respond, or leave the site(sensory motor). In the same respect, the creator of the site uses affective and cognitive behavior in creating the web page. With interaction between the two minds, virtual reality is created.

My conclusion of report one is related to this report, because it adresses the issue of virtual reality. When you think about it, when on visits an online therapist, it is like one is experiencing a therapist in virtual reality. Although one does not see the therapist both the cognitive and affective aspects of behavior are involved. In other words, the interaction that occurs online allows thoughts, feelings, and emotions to be exchanged between the patient and the therapist. This leads me to believe that therapy online can be quite effective.

These two reports have changed my view significantly about the cyberspace, virtual reality and their relation to mind. Prior to doing research and writing these two reports, I only knew that cyberspace something to do with the Internet. Now, I feel that I thouroughly understand the concepts of cyberspace. Cyberspace incorperates the minds of everyone who interacts the Internet, because through this interaction, cognitive and affective behavior is involved. Cognitive meaning the the analyzing and thinking that occurs. Affective meaning the thoughts and feelings that are encouraged. The interaction that occurs on the Internet can also be considered virtual reality. Just as if one were to go shopping on the Internet, it would require about the same amount of mind activity and interaction as one that went shopping physically. The only interaction that might be missing is the communication between you and the cashier.

In the future, I think that cyberspace will continue it's never ending growth. In the same respect, I feel that virtual reality will continue to increase in popularity. As long as there are future generations to come, and interest in the Internet continues to soar, cyberspace will grow. And, since cyberspace incorperates the concept of virtual reality, the idea of virtual reality will increase in popularity as well. But, I think in the future, virtual reality will take on more specific tasks. In addition, transgression will increase as the popularity of the Internet increases. In this section of my report, one would be able see and experience how the Internet promotes the seperation of society into various subcultures.

I don't think that a new type of human evolution is beginning due to these new developments. I believe that humans have been evolving ever since we existed. First, in the stone age, one created the tool. Ever since that first tool was made, technology continually improves. Every achievement surpasses the one before, the calculator, the computer, the Internet. Every generation has been developing higher standards in creating a more efficient and convenient lifestyle. Instead of walking, one can use the car. Instead of using the car, one can surf the Net. Pretty soon, one might not even have to leave the house to experience a decent life.

According to Dr. Leon's document about spirituality, cyberspace is related to spirit as well as mind. Leon states that, the spirit forms a permanent context for virtual reality in the afterlife. Earlier I explained that there is a relation between virtual reality, cyberspace and mind. Therefore, it can be assumed that the spirit is related to cyberspace and mind. Later in Dr. Leon's document he explains how the laws of virtual reality govern both cyberspace and spiritual geography. I think that he believes that the mind will exist after death, the same way the mind will continue to exist on the Internet, in cyberspace.

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