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Online Support Groups and Therapy

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Self-Help in Mental Health

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Abstract

A large segment of the population does not receive needed psychiatric services. The reasons for this unfortunate situation are manifold and include (1) restricted access to psychiatric services for rural communities or prison populations, (2) an over-burdened mental health care system, (3) social stigma, (4) financial constraints, (5) time constraints, (6) educational deficits with respect to treatment options and pathological symptoms, and (7) a general tendency to resist entering therapy inherent in some diagnostic categories (e.g., social phobia).

For individuals suffering from severe forms of depression, anxiety, or other functionally impairing psychiatric diagnoses, the lion’s share of the Internet-based interventions discussed in this chapter may be best viewed as an adjunct to therapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL, 60185, USA

    T. Mark Harwood (Director of Clinical Training, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology)

  2. Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, 33 Gilmer Street, Atlanta, GA, 30303-3082, USA

    Luciano L’Abate

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Harwood, T.M., L’Abate, L. (2010). Online Support Groups and Therapy. In: Self-Help in Mental Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1099-8_5

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