Digitized interactions can never replace rich, face-to-face interactions (so long as humans possess DNA that evolved in an environment of face-to-face interactions). From what I gather, you share this belief (correct me if I’m wrong).

Thank you and keep the comments coming!

Your example is a great one, speaking to the power of collaboration and, dare I say, therapy, outside a traditional setting. Thanks for sharing that!

I like the idea of net interaction for any problem to be solved, but I think that one of the critical issues to be solved when dealing with psychological problems, is to be able to face your situation and have those difficult conversations in the traditional way, not hidden behind a computer.

Currently, a key issue is cross-jurisdictional services, where someone in one locale is delivering (virtually) a service to someone located in a place they aren’t licensed to work.

In a way, a simple idea like using Facebook chat to counsel someone (something I have done, but to a colleague in a problem-solving context), spins us off into issues like trade and mobility barriers across provinces (and States, although the legislative climate for mobility is different in the U.S. than in Canada.)

On a related note, I am an avid Flickr user and one day I noticed a post in a group I belong to. It started something like “How do you…” so I thought I’d check and see what kind of technical advice I could learn from. It continued (I’m paraphrasing here) with something like “How do you cope with depression? I know it’s off-topic but I take pictures to help me feel better. But lately it just isn’t working the same.” What ensued was one of the more supportive discussion threads I’ve seen in a long time. If you filtered out the outliers (as I think of them – all the “therapists suck” comments, all the “get over yourself and move on” comments – which were fewer than I expected) the net result was a) a sense that many people experienced depression in some form or another (expected given the base rate) and b) that many people did many interesting things to cope with it, and ultimately transcend it. So, in the end, looking for photo talk, I, as a psychologist, walked away with an informal survey of what people have found works in their everyday life. Which, of course, I added to my mental library of things to suggest for the next client I see who struggles with depression.

How very Wikinomical

Certainly. I agree that not all practitioners should “jump online” and counsel clients indiscriminately.

I think that the type of counselling that I mention in the post deserves very serious consideration as a feasible alternative/adjunct to traditional forms. More research is needed, but hopefully such research isn’t discouraged by practitioners who may be reluctant to see such innovative practices in use.

Thank you for your comment!

Jeff