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

I initially had problems understanding this comment by Mr. Raymond. Once I looked deeper, I realized the problem was in the operational definitions of the terms used. The word "love", as I define it, include such qualities as closeness and camaraderie. In the 90's, we have come to an age where some relationships are based on familiarity and convenience. A love relationship, such as a marriage, takes much work and "maintenance". What may have started as a love relationship, may after time lose the closeness and camaraderie due to neglect. I define that to be "familiarity", not love. A love relationship, which has lost the closeness and camaraderie, is nothing more than getting used to the concept of the other being around.

The second part of this quote is that it is "more timely and productive than the traditional 50 minute session". How can Mr. Raymond make such a sweeping statement about therapy? Had he considered the various situations in which therapy is used? Therapy is not limited to giving guidance and counseling to simple problems. For these problems, Cyber-Therapy may serve as a very convenient, timesaving facility which may be quite effective. The fact of the matter is that the scope in which therapy is used is much greater. Therapy is used in very complex problem such as mental/personality disorders, coping with life threatening illnesses and injuries (such as cancer, AIDS, sever brain damage, etc.), drug and alcohol addiction, etc. In such cases, I believe that Cyber-Therapy would not be effective. There is not way to make sure that the clients stay committed to the therapy and even if they were, it is reliant on self-report. How can we make sure that they are not lying when they give their progress reports for a drug addiction program? Without the benefit of actually seeing the client, we cannot even see if they are improving physically from quitting drugs or alcohol or the relinquishment of stress.

This is could potentially be a big problem in Cyber-Therapy. As Mr. Maruya indicated in our class (Psychology 409a at the University of Hawaii at Manoa), in a group setting, the other members of the group hold each other accountable for sticking with the program. On the other hand, in this type of medium there is no way to make sure the client is committed to the therapy. There is no way to keep the client from simply turning off their computer or disconnecting their connection.

Dr. Leon James, our professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, states that nonverbal cues are often misinterpreted and that the absence of it is a positive factor. I tend to disagree, as does Dr. Ingram. Nonverbal communication is vitally important in conveying such things as dishonesty, nervousness, distresses, depression, etc. These things would not be conveyed through Cyber-Therapy unless it is implied to or stated overtly. From the use of certain words or expressions, one may be able to pick up on certain emotions but this would not be nearly as much as the information gained though observing a client's nonverbal actions while in therapy.

This idea piqued my interest because Dr. Ingram mentions the word "intimate". In our class, we also discussed these problems as well. Dr. James stated in this discussion that therapists are not supposed to be "intimate" with their clients. They are supposed to have a professional relationship with the client. I tend to agree with Dr. James on this one. I feel that intimacy is not necessary in therapy. However, I can see how conducting therapy under deceptive conditions is neither healthy nor ethical.

This idea I do not agree with. Now, it is true that those, which are "underserved, difficult to access, or otherwise relatively untapped populations", can be easily reached through the Internet, but who is going to provide the computers to these people? Those with disabilities may not be able to use a computer in order to have access to the Internet. Those who live in remote areas may not have the resources to be able to obtain a computer. So I suppose I can agree with Dr. Ingram's point if limitations caused by accessibility, or the lack of access, to computers were to be ignored.

This is a very good point. The Internet is still very uncontrolled by government. That is a big difference from psychotherapy in the "real" world. Instead of government officials setting guidelines and standards, which maybe influenced by other political factors, professionals in the field of psychology, whom are more knowledgeable about the topic and may be less apt to be influenced by outside factors.

Though this point may be true, I feel that if a client did not want to accept the therapy, they would not go through the trouble of searching throughout the web for the proper therapy, going to the proper web site, and completing the series of applications and questionnaires.