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NEWS ROUNDUP: Zosia Kmietowicz Beware online therapy, counselling association warns BMJ 2001; 322: 1509a [Full text]

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News to me

Peter Brooks   (22 June 2001)

Ethical Issues in Providing Online Psychotherapeutic Interventions

G Eysenbach   (24 June 2001)

Check Counsellor's Qualifications Before Contacting Them

Dick Underwood   (24 August 2001)

News to me 22 June 2001
Peter Brooks Send response to journal: Re: News to me	I am interested in two things: The article claims that psychotherapy is 'evidence based'. How then do conflicting schools of psychotherapy with mutually contradictory theories of how it might work continue to exist and be part of the Association? If psychotherapy is evidence based, as claimed, what is the evidence that any of the services offered on the Internet are, in fact, fraudulent and have caused any damage? Why is the reference to the research that shows this not quoted? Peter Brooks
Ethical Issues in Providing Online Psychotherapeutic Interventions 24 June 2001
G Eysenbach, Editor, J Med Internet Res Heidelberg Send response to journal: Re: Ethical Issues in Providing Online Psychotherapeutic Interventions	Just a hint to a reference which provides an excellent overview of the issue and cites several other guidelines: Childress CA. Ethical Issues in Providing Online Psychotherapeutic Interventions. Journal of Medical Internet Research 2000;2(1):e5 URL: http://www.jmir.org/2000/1/e5/
Check Counsellor's Qualifications Before Contacting Them 24 August 2001
Dick Underwood, General Secretary 'Counselling' - A Registered Charity Send response to journal: Re: Check Counsellor's Qualifications Before Contacting Them	I have a competing interest as I am the General Secretary of 'Counselling' a professional counselling body similar to, but newer, than the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. One of the important things that the article fails to mention is that it is possible to check whether a particular on-line counsellor works to a particular code of conduct, whether they are subject to an external complaints procedure, what qualifications they have been awarded, the name and location of the awarding college or university, the dates of their training, what professional bodies they belong to, and what charities (such as Relate, Cruse, etc) they have worked for. All this information is freely available at www.counsellingcharity.freeserve.co.uk the web site of 'Counselling' A quick scan of the information currently available on the site shows the qualifications of counsellors, some of whome are are also members of the General Medical Council and the UK Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting. I also note that some of the currently listed counsellors have been trained, or currently work for Childline, Cruse, Relate, Samaritans, and Victim Support. Patients should always check that counsellors are well trained, experienced, and work to a code of conduct that the patient can understand, and this applies whether the counselling is face-to-face, by phone, or over the internet. Provided these simple precautions are taken, then patients should have no fears about making contact with thecounsellor they have chosen.