The Best of Both Worlds: An Online Self-Help Group Hosted by a Mental Health Professional

Abstract

Online mental health groups can be classified as autonomous self-help groups or support groups led by mental health professionals. An online self-help group hosted by a mental health professional, in which the mental health professional focuses on maintaining the supportive milieu and the members of the group focus on providing the support for each other, is hypothesized to combine the best of both worlds. Psycho-Babble, a group of this type hosted by the author (http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/) serves as an example. Between January and August 2000, 1,516 members posted 21,230 messages in 3,028 discussion threads. Forty-eight percent of posters posted just once. Thirteen percent of threads consisted of only the initial post. In July 2000, 534,219 Psycho-Babble pages were served. Samples of educational and supportive posts, misinformation, "Internet addiction", help-rejecting, limit-setting, and member feedback are given. The usage statistics and the anecdotal evidence of the posts themselves support the effectiveness of the group. The hypothesized key ingredients are discussed. The asynchronous online (message board) format is highly usable and makes the group accessible and safe. Drawbacks, however, are the potential for "multiple identities" and the technical difficulty of effectively preventing determined individuals from gaining at least temporary entry into the group. This hybrid type of group combines the best of the two worlds of self-help (empowerment)and leadership by a mental health professional (maintenance of the supportive milieu).