Very anonymous, and a lot would have to be done in order for me to feel comfortable spilling out my guts online. I want to know that my identity is safe, as well as the website's integrity is intact.

I think that it would be a lot less formal than face to face therapy. It would be younger and more casual. Kind of drop in when you want to have a chat versus scheduled sessions. But maybe it could be both. The thing about having it be online is that you have access throughout the day and could fit in a session whenever and wherever you feel like. This also means that the mind set might be totally different... Someone at work chatting to a psychiatrist would be very different from being at home, a hotel or in the psychologist's office. What do you think?

I believe that the mode and pattern of interaction will be determined primarily by the particular market.  I believe there are two key market that could benefit from this service: i) people living in under-serviced, isolated rural communities; ii) time-poor urban professionals who find it difficult to make regular face-to-face meetings.

An interesting parallel for me is my relationship with my PhD supervisor.   We started with fortnightly face-to-face meetings- however, after about three months we started to use Skype video.  This works well, but I believe it is because we established a good face-to-face relationship before we went online.  Nardi (1998) talks about this as 'social scaffolding' whereby online interactions occur within the context of subtle and complex understandings of another person, acquired by being in the same physical location- such as touch, physical posture, manner, sharing physical objects, sharing food or drink etc.  When I meet my supervisor we have tradition of taking it in turns buying coffee- it is a small but important activity in maintaining a good relationship.

Meeting by Skype video with my supervisor provides greater flexibility when I travel, when my supervisor has other commitments, when we only need to have a short meeting or when either of us are just to busy to meet face-to-face. Even living in North Sydney there is a transaction cost of about an hour's travel time for a meeting that might be anywhere between 45mins and 2 hours. On the face of it that's not particularly efficient,but it's a matter of evaluating each time we meet how important the different aspects of the relationship are- how important is it to buy coffee and chew the fat, as opposed to just focusing of basic efficiency.

I can't imagine what it would be like.

Maybe because I don't think online communication quite cuts it right now. It is nowhere near as intimate and expressive as face to face.

Having said that, I can think of certain situations for which online sessions would be perfect. As Becky mentioned above, the context and use of the sessions would be different. I can imagine for example, someone who needs immediate help at an odd hour logging on and using the service.

and dekrazee1 - particularly people who need help if they travel a lot for work or live in the country with nowhere else to go.  Did you know psychs in the country areas are almost always completely booked out?

Hello?

lol  oops, sorry, new to this forum: OK, my take on Online Psychology...

Advantages: like mentioned above

- access anytime,

- and if they have access to internet in their home, cell, laptop, or other such as library, university etc, then the client could also be anywhere,  as well.

- it's definitely an alternative if the phone isn't working, or if the participant has limited mobility (ie: unable to walk, elderly shut-in, etc), or if there is lack of availability of a psychologist in their area.

- if I'm to understand correctly, this would be a free service?

Disadvantages:

- Some people need to sound of a comforting human voice, and typing (although better than no support at all) can be misinterpreted or for some who lack literacy, hard to comprehend.  The human voice can carry emotional cues that typing lacks, despite emoticons and such. Also it is a lot more time consuming depending on typing speed/education/cognitive ability/emotional stress.  For instance if someone's mind was so stressed out that all typing did was muddle up their thought process even worse, then perhaps a live phone call would be better... Mind you, what about VOIP, or those online systems that allow you to communicate online?  Would those be available?

- As was mentioned above, how could this or any other online site prove they will keep a client's information private?   Would there be some sort of certificate, or participant's testimonies, or something like a BBB stamp somewhere?  Would there be a terms & conditions/waiver to accept before signing in (I'm sure a forum or online agency would not wish to be sued by a participant or the participant's family if the participant/client logged off, didn't take the advice, got disconnected accidentally, or disposed of him/herself before someone finished typing a response). What are the legalities associated with the forum?

- Also, in relation to needing immediate assistance, is there another number or contact page that can be permanently posted somewhere if someone is seeking to commit suicide/harm themselves, or to harm someone else?

-Who would be on these forums to offer assistance to participants?  Would the people posting to assist participants show their credentials somewhere?  Some people don't care who they talk to, as long as it's someone, whereas others might prefer someone with an MA in Psychology or Certified PhD...

Anyway, some things to think about.  Hope this helps! Thanks for asking for me to participate J. Breezy  8)  See you on Facebook.

Breezy - I didn't know that... But that raises the question - are people in country areas comfortable using technology in the manner you suggest, and do they have access to the tools required to use your product?

I think JellyBean raises some excellent points. As a user, how do I know I can trust the site and the people giving me advice and the advice they're giving?

How would you go about creating that trust?

(I'm sure there's a certification system for psychologists, yes? Would that include online communication?)

Trust is critical on most websites, especially one like this!

Usability and a quality experience also contributes to high levels of trust on websites.  This is certainly the most important part of the design process here!

In addition, we will only allow registered psychologists with six years of education on the site.  6 years study is a standard for registration in many countries and will likely become a standard globally.

In the US there is a code for online therapy that was developed in 2004. I haven't seen one in Australia or other countries but psychologists will always be closely selected, educated and monitored. This is critical as there can be considerable litigation risk in providing some types of psychological services.

Did you know that all psychologists undergo very regular supervision as a part of their accreditation? 

I didn't know that.

I'm very interested to see how trust is conveyed via the site.

It doesn't sound very personal or professional to me. If every person had the same problem, solved by the same answer you could simply send out a nice little mail package to solve their woes.

"Drop by when you want?" "Chat to whoever happens to be on the other end of the keyboard? I'm not sure I'd recommend that experience, nor would I think any qualified "counsellor" find that it validates their expertise in any way either. but if you really think it is appropriate, you can already get that sort of experience  on tangler from some fairly intelligent people who know just as little about you as a counsellor you've never met - just a thought.

And I did think that in Australia, it took only 4 years to gain a psychologist's qualification ( and the first year or two are mostly stat's). There is a large educational difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist and no matter what country you happen to be in I think you'll find the law treats them and their clients in very different manners as well, even when it comes to a simple thing such as confidentiality.

Hey there again...

I don't want to totally knock the idea...  There is probably a way to offer some type of online assistance.  But maybe if you ask certain questions to make sure they qualify for online assistance instead of direct personal on-the-phone... Such as

"Are you going to harm yourself or someone else, or are you or is someone going to be harmed?  If so please call 911or 1-800-XXX-XXXX so you can immediately deal with this emergency situation.  This site, although it does have qualified psychologists and therapists, is not qualified or equipped to deal with events that need to be dealt with immediately."

You know something like that...