It's Just not Therapy
The Online delivery of mental health services remains a controversial area. John Grohol, Psy.D. is a psychologist who has been at the forefront of the debates over this issue. He is the past president of the International Society for Mental Health Online (ISMHO) and one of the sponsors of the Credential Check service which verifies the credentials of therapists who provide services over the Internet. His own live chat sessions have been helpful to hundreds of people by providing information to consumers free-of-charge. In a recent editorial he questioned the way that one Online mental health site presented their services, and he got attacked by their lawyers.
Justtherapy.com (unavailable 01/00) is a site that repeatedly states that they provide counseling, therapy, and psychoeducation over the Internet. The main page states:
Just-Therapy is an on-line counseling center providing direct psychological services to individuals and groups through counseling, psychotherapy, mentoring, consulting, coaching with a staff of licensed psychologists, therapists, and counselors. We provide direct, live, and real-time connection with a licensed professional.
(http://justtherapy.com/ 3/21/99)
There is nothing on the main page of their site (as it exists on 3/21/99) which discusses any of the limitations of the Online medium, and nothing which suggests that they merely provide "education of a general nature." If you view the colorful site you think you are going to be able to have real psychotherapy without leaving the comfort of your home.
When you click to "join" the service you are greeted by a stark black and white screen with a lengthy disclaimer. In addition to a long statement that begins "NO WARRANTY EXISTS OR IS IMPLIED FOR ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES CAUSED BY THE USE ....
" (https://justtherapy.com/Patient/disclaimer.asp 3/21/99)you can read that
Duke-Kimo, Inc. dba Just-Therapy provides topical information of a general nature through licensed professionals in the field of psychology. Our service is in no way intended to violate state laws or local regulations regarding practice. This site is provided by Just-Therapy solely to provide psychological information. It is not intended to, and does not, provide evaluation, diagnosis or treatment.
(http://justtherapy.com/Patient/disclaimer.asp 3/21/99)
Which is it? Are you getting live psychotherapy or are you getting general education?
Dr. Grohol's editorial was quite negative in tone, but was it libel? Where does free speech leave off and libel begin? Craig Childress, M.S., the president-elect of ISMHO, has written an open letter to the developers of the site questioning the way that they present their services, and their use of attorneys to solve problems.
Large sites often use their lawyers to intimidate smaller one-man operations. The American Psychological Association had their lawyers write me when I had a site called "netpsych.com." They stated that they had the trademark to anything with the phrase "psych" in it, and they were concerned that people would confuse netpsych.com with their Psychnet site. I solved the problem by changing the site name to NetPsychology, and it can now be reached by either http://netpsych.com or http://netpsychology.com. Buying a second domain was an additional expense for me, but it saved me from a court battle.
As mental health professionals become active online it is imperative that we are honest in describing the services that we provide. As a Miningco.com guide I am providing education about mental health and information about Online mental health resources. I do not provide any direct services to individuals. I do provide some direct services to individuals at another site, but I clearly describe what I offer and what I do not offer. Many other professionals offering online services do the same. If justtherapy.com changes their presentation and lets people know UP FRONT that they don't provide therapy I will consider including them among the sites that I recommend. Until that time I cannot recommend them.