[Junerain]

wanted to help razzleberry, who is far from good counseling in person.......

[pegasus]

No, but this place is pretty good >>>>>>>>>>>>>

http://forums.psychcentral.com/

http://www.metanoia.org/imhs/

[Brian37]

id be pretty desperate to go online for counseling.....i mean the human to human contact is a hallmark of therapy

?

human to human contact happens by way of technology, too. people write letters and emails. talk to each other on phone or on skype. post on message boards for a human connection even...

[Razzleberry]

Thanks for posting this Junarian.

Does online therapy work? Anyone have a good experience?

I've been burned far too many times...I'm a little scared to get a bad apple again.

[Junerain]

My friend had a great experience with online counseling....I've emailed her to find out which website.....since you are in a remote location this might be the answer............

[free2beme]

I also live in a remote area and am seriously considering online therapy. My former T is an hour away and my Pdoc moved. I was left with a list of 3 doctors to contact. (I don't want to see any of these
- no good reports from patients) .

Does this really help?

[Razzleberry]

Dumb question, but I have been Googling and haven't come up with this yet - is it even possible to do DBT (dialectic) without being in a group, in-person setting?

I did find a center in Portland that does DBT....but that's like a 4 or 5 hour drive :-(

Part of the therapy is the relationship and what goes on between client and therapist in the therapy setting.

That being said, I believe that internet therapy is not really therapy, but life-coaching. The "internet therapist" can not see your body language, your silent tears, your shame.

I would personally continue to look for someone than try internet life-coaching. A good book can coach you.

PS: there has been a tremendous debate about the value of internet therapy amongst therapist. Most deny the value of it.

Your internet therapist could indeed see your body language if you used something with visual transmission (Skype has this, for example). Psychiatists conduct diagnostic interviews (including assessing such things as movement disorders) through teleconferencing equipment for some remote areas in the USA. While the process is limited by the speed of the transmission (and the rate of the tremor), it is indeed possible.

There are many ways to do internet therapy. There is real time chat by way of typing. There is audio (like telephone). There is audio and visual (like Skype). There is email therapy (not in real time). The possibilities are pretty broad...

Might find out what works best for you :-)

Shame is something that can come through with tone of voice. It is possible for these kinds of things to be picked up on and responded to appropriately. That being said, when the therapy isn't visual then both parties do need to be better at verbal communication. You can convey emotions etc via email - but you need to express them verbally rather than relying on the therapist seeing ones face and posture. Some people can do this, others can't.

It is (of course) important to get a qualified therapist for online therapy as it is important to get a qualified therapist for in person therapy. One needs to be more careful with therapists (or people who aren't therapists) misrepresenting themselves online.

In particular:

- They should be registered to practice in both the place they are located and in the place you are located.
- They should provide their registration number so you can check that they are in fact registered.
- They should provide a physical location / address and they should also require that from you
- Payment should be done by way of a secure transation (e.g, paypal)

The link I provided above talks about internet therapy and provides information such that one could assess whether it might work for you. It also provides some important safety and ethics information.

I can give people the name of a therapist who has experience with treating trauma etc via internet therapy. She is also involved with some society (I forget) that seeks to have appropriate ethical requirements on online therapists (there are a lot of cranks out there). Don't know if she would be taking on any new clients. Don't know how much she charges. I think she has had clients in both Canada and the US, however. You should be able to find her via google and she may be able to suggest someone suitable if she is full up:

http://www.kalimunro.com/

(She used to moderate a message board where I was a member. I have to say that she was very helpful and sympathetic. She also has a number of papers that she has written that are available online so one can see her theoretical perspective if that is of interest)