Online shrinks effective?

Well.. I guess my clinical psych classmates will be doing even less therapy when they get out and a bit more research - at least they have something new to do research on - online therapy.

As for the counseling psych people...sorry. haha.... I guess this is why the 'psychology' section in the bookstore is all those horrible self-helf books - maybe they actually work.

Does looking at porn online count as sex therapy?

A yet-to-be-published study is making some startling claims about psychological treatment According to researchers at The Australian National University in Canberra, spending time on therapeutic and educational web sites can be just as effective as regular visits to the psychotherapist.

Researchers studied a group of patients who were referred to two web sites: The MoodGYM and education site BluePages. The MoodGYM is therapeutic in nature, a cognitive behavior therapy site dedicated to preventing depression by helping users to "identify and overcome problem emotions," showing them how to "develop good coping skills for the future" in order to enjoy good mental health. BluePages is a depression education site, providing information about the symptoms of and treatments for depression.

After 12 months, users of both web sites reported improvement. Interestingly enough, the educational site BluePages proved to be more effective than the behavior-therapy site. BluePages users "were less likely to use actions that did not have an evidence basis," researcher Helen Christensen said. "We don't know exactly why the Internet interventions are so effective in the longer term, but it may be that there is a reduction in use of ineffective and potentially damaging treatments."