Abstract
This book is a combination of a consumer guide to mental health resources on the Internet and a medical primer on telemedicine and the Worldwide Web. The book, all 320 pages of it in manuscript form, consists of 10 chapters, a comprehensive list of useful e-therapy/Internet mental health sites and a glossary of terms. Chapters cover the impact of health technologies on the treatment of mental health problems (chapter 1); the type of person likely to benefit from therapy on the net (with a quiz; chapter 2); hardware and technology (chapter 3); getting consultations and treatments on-line (chapters 4 and 5); how to select a teletherapist (with a quiz of 10 questions to assess your therapist; chapter 6); the nature of the e-therapeutic relationship (chapter 7); what makes a good teletherapist (chapter 8); telephobia and tele-addiction (chapter 9); and the future (chapter 10).
The book is easy to read, friendly, self-disclosing and interspersed with dialogue from consumers in chat groups or cyber-therapy. One of the best features of the book is the list of useful e-therapy sites. Although the book is written for mental health consumers, much of it is also directed at medical practitioners, psychiatrists and other interested professionals. Therefore, the audience for the book might be quite diverse, with medical practitioners attracted to detailed descriptions of telemedicine, and potential patients reading sections on Internet help.
The book does not provide information on types of treatment that have been found to be effective in the treatment of different types of mental problems. All therapeutic orientations (for example, cognitive–behavioural therapy, medication, dynamic psychotherapy) are discussed impartially. The reader is provided with Internet sources that might be of help in researching their mental health problems, including sources to clinical practice guidelines (http://www.guideline.com). However, it is up to the consumers to initiate their own research and discuss this with their therapists.
The book is not strongly evidence-based. For example, although it is stated (p.159) that e-therapy is effective, there is no systematic review of this evidence. A check-list is provided to assess the quality of sites on the Internet, all of which seem sensible (check credentials, contacts, web currency, balance, avoid links to commercial sites, the presence of a disclaimer). However, recent evidence suggests that not all these criteria predict the quality of site information [1]. Whether they predict the quality of the therapist is a question that could be evaluated by e-research!
While the book may lack a scientific perspective, it gets a big five-star rating (superb) from those who have posted their feedback about the book on the Fatbrain website! There is no doubt that this is a unique book, being the first to address e-therapy comprehensively. It is likely to be of interest and use to (i) patients and consumers with Internet confidence; (ii) researchers with an interest in mental health on the Internet; and (iii) medical practitioners wishing to establish a web presence.