Seeing a Virtual Shrink: More therapists are hanging out shingles online. But who are they? Who's logging on? And does it work?(online counseling, evaluation)(Brief Article)

Publication: Newsweek

Publication Date: 22-JAN-01

Bookmark this article Print this article Link to this article Email this article Digg It! Add to del.icio.us RSS

COPYRIGHT 2001 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse, distribution or alteration without express written permission of Newsweek is prohibited. For permission: www.newsweek.com

When Rita Lowitt, a Berkeley marriage and family therapist, isn't meeting clients in her office, she's treating them from home. Some nights, she might comfort a nervous new mom. Others, a stressed-out CEO or a fortysomething with a disappointing sex life. Her clients share their most private feelings, but Lowitt can't see their tears or hear their sighs. She may not even know what time zone they're in. Confused? Lowitt is counseling people online. "We're all more pressed for time, trying to avoid despair," she says. Internet counseling is "immediate, it's focused, it cuts to the chase."

It had to happen someday. Buy online. Date online. Visit the shrink online. Everything, it seems, is a virtual commodity--as long as you have a keyboard and credit card. Five years ago, only a handful of therapists offered e-mail counseling and interactive chats; now, there are...

Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.