Based on one of the first empirical studies to
be conducted into how the therapeutic relationship is possible over the internet
via email and Internet Relay Chat, this lecture regards a model of online counselling
and psychotherapy.
The online therapeutic relationship is one that
has frequently been thought to be untenable by the profession due to the lack
of physical presence and therefore the subtlety that accompanies voice, body
language and congruence of the spoken word. Themes covered within this talk
include how online therapists and the online client perceive their relationship
as therapeutic, how they compensate for the lack of visual and auditory clues,
and whether the typed word can convey the sort of therapeutic intervention
that may be called counselling and pPsychotherapy.
Four main themes emerge as being essential to the
online relationship for it to be considered therapeutic: rapport via the client's
mental constructs of the world; presence – the perception that a mediated session
is non-meditated by technology; the openness (disinhibition) that takes place
when communicating over the internet; and the quality of the written communication
(use and understanding of 'netiquette').
The talk concludes with a look to the possible
future use of technology in therapy and the exciting challenges this presents
from an ethical stance for BACP.
Should we, just because we can? Therapeutic considerations in the
use of CCBT, how outreach-online addresses the challenges of CCBT
This workshop will provide an overview of the different ways in which technology
can be used to help deliver therapy. Due to the opportunities for communication
afforded by technological innovations, we have the capacity to deliver psychological
therapy 'at a distance'. Each of the different methods of delivery has differing
implications for the practice of therapy. A presentation and discussion will
be followed by a demonstration of Outreach-online, a system designed to support
the delivery of psychological therapy in clients own homes.
Overview
Technological advances bring opportunities to deliver psychological therapies
in creative and innovative ways.
Psychological therapy conducted 'at a distance' results
in challenges for practitioners, and for the models they employ.
Research suggests computerised cognitive behaviour therapy in particular
can be effective for common mental health problems.
However, simply because something can be done by computer, does not mean
that it should. To what extent can we use computers in psychological therapy,
and to what end?
This session will examine the impact of eLearning
on counselling and psychotherapy training by focusing on the way that online
relationships develop and function, and the differences between online and
face-to-face relationships. The issues will be illustrated with examples taken
from a large cohort of psychotherapy trainees on a European-wide eLearning
project (www.septimus.info).
Our experience is that online relationships and interactions seem to facilitate
an intimacy and directness not equalled in face-to-face training, which leads
to some profound and poignant explorations. Electronic elements of training
are a good complement to face-to-face training and will achieve some aspects
of learning that face-to-face training alone would not achieve. eLearning in
psychotherapy training may be particularly appropriate for students who would
otherwise find it difficult to disclose certain feelings and experiences and
who in this mode of relating find an outlet for otherwise suppressed experiences,
reactions and reflections and this needs further exploration and research.
It has also been found to widen accessibility to training for those who are
geographically isolated or who have work/family commitments. The best educational
approach may therefore be a combination or 'blend' of eLearning and face-to-face
learning.
Biographies
Kate Anthony
Kate Anthony trains practitioners both online and
offline to use the Internet to facilitate the therapeutic relationship via
text. She developed and co-authored the first and second editions of BACP's Guidelines
for online counselling and psychotherapy, including guidelines for online supervisio.
She is co-editor with Dr Stephen Goss of Technology in counselling and psychotherapy – a
practitioner's guide. She is President of the International Society for
Mental Health Online (www.ismho.org)
and is currently working on her doctorate in psychotherapy on the use and role
of technology in therapy. She also works with adult survivors of sexual abuse
with the charity Family Matters.
Steve Cottrell
Steve Cottrell is a consultant nurse specialising in psychotherapy. He has
worked in the NHS for the past 20 years. Especially interested in the
extent to which technological advances can either support or impede psychological
therapy, Steve has developed a web based psychological therapy system called 'Outreach-online'.
Integrating web-based resources with interpersonal support, Outreach-online
is currently undergoing clinical trials. Steve lives in rural North Wales with his wife and three children.
Professor Emmy van Deurzen
Prof. Emmy van Deurzen has long experience of counselling
and psychotherapy training and has developed and managed courses in this field
since 1979, including at Regent's College and the New School of Psychotherapy
and Counselling (http://www.nspc.org.uk) where she is Director.
She has been chair of the UKCP and the UCPA. Emmy was elected a Fellow of the
BPS in 2000, and of the BACP in 2001. She is Co-Director of the Centre for
the Study of Conflict and Reconciliation at the University of Sheffield (http://www.shef.ac.uk/scharr/sections/mh/cscr),
and in 2002 established SEPTIMUS, an online psychotherapy training course available
across Europe (www.septimus.info). She has written extensively
on the application of philosophical ideas to working with individuals, couples,
groups and organisations and she founded the Society for Existential Analysis
in 1988.
Professor Digby Tantam
Prof. Digby Tantam set up one of the first distance
learning training courses in psychotherapy in the UK at Sheffield University in 1991, pioneering the use of block training, telephone
counselling, and email learning support. With Emmy, he has developed the SEPTIMUS
training course. Digby has been chair of the UKCP and the UPCA. He is on the
specialist registers of the GMC for both general psychiatry and psychotherapy,
is an associate Fellow of the BPS and a psychotherapist registered with the
UKCP. He provides a national assessment service for people suspected of having
Asperger's syndrome and for adolescents and adults with autism. Digby has published
over 100 articles in scientific journals, many of them about Asperger's syndrome
or autism, and has been the author or editor of 8 books.
Chris Blackmore
Chris Blackmore is a research associate and counsellor
at the Centre for the Study of Conflict and Reconciliation at the University of Sheffield. He has helped to set up the SEPTIMUS training course and
is now tutor and course coordinator. He has an MA in psychiatry, philosophy
and society and is studying for a PhD looking at the impact of the internet
upon identity.
