e-Therapy is the Trend

In telemedicine today, the doctor is in -- and online. The medical profession has been developing telehealth technology for more than 35 years; integration of classic telemedicine (using telecommunications to provide health information and services) and telehealth technologies was the next step.

Some experts say Web-based therapy is the wave and the way of the future. Every day a growing number of people depend on the Web for advice and emotional support. Some look to the Internet for convenience, others for anonymity. High costs and low company co-pays, send some people shopping for bargain fees online. Aside from the issues of legality and legitimacy, several questions remain. Can an online mental-health practitioner can get a true sense of person's real-life situation and then adequately render service? Should the mental health community look at the numbers of people who seek counseling online and work to find ways to improve it instead of getting caught up in an emotional debate over its nuances? Should practitioners concentrate on all innovative therapies in the hope of meeting the mental-health needs of the next generation?

A local professor, who recently sought online counseling and had a positive experience, describes it this way: You moped away your week at the lake, you haven't showered in days. If you sat with a therapist, you'd worry that you looked bad and sounded worse. Or maybe it's not a good day outside for crutches, a walker or a wheelchair. Or your big meeting starts in an hour and you feel panic rising up in your chest. Or your glorious romance of three years just disintegrated. Or lots of little things have built up, and you feel like you're about to implode. You know there's no danger of you doing something egregious, but your problems are still very real. You feel safe there at your computer. That's when the right therapy for you might be waiting online.