ABSTRACT
Online peer supervision and case study groups are an effective method for clinicians to share experiences and support each other in their work. This article describes some theoretical and practical ideas about how to set up and manage such a group using an e-mail list. It offers some suggests for helping members acclimate to the group, present their cases, and pace their responses to the case discussions. The unique group dynamics of online text communication are explored, as well as the important ethical issues that must be considered in these types of online groups. The article concludes by pointing out the importance of moving beyond text-talk in order to maximize the group's success.
Subject(s)
Internet , Mental Disorders/therapy , Professional-Patient Relations , Psychotherapy/methods , Computer Communication Networks , Ethics , Guidelines as Topic , HumansABSTRACT
One's passion for the Internet can be healthy, pathologically addictive, or somewhere inbetween. Where a person falls on that continuum is determined by the cluster of needs that are being fulfilled by his or her Internet use and how the internet addresses those needs. This article suggests eight factors that can help clarify the healthy or unhealthy qualities of one's commitment to cyberspace activities, as well the effect of those activities on the person's underlying needs. It then explores the types of needs addressed by internet use. The "integration principle" is proposed as a rule of thumb for assessing pathological and healthy Internet use.
ABSTRACT
Multiple regression analyses of interview data determined whether certain behavioral, personality, and social support variables were associated with maintenance of changes in exercise, weight loss, and smoking cessation for a group of postcoronary patients. The results indicate that the psychological reactions to success or failure at one health behavior change, especially smoking, may affect the ability to maintain changes in other health behaviors. Also, the affective psychological sequelae to heart attacks may disrupt attempts to change health habits or may themselves be alleviated once successful health changes are achieved.
