Agata Leśnicka

Psychoterapia on-line w polskim Internecie: przegląd witryn 73-82

On-line psychotherapy in Polish Internet: overview of websites 73-82

Streszczenie

Autorka opisuje nowe zjawiska w szerokim obszarze pomocy psychologicznej oferowanej poprzez upowszechnione komunikatory internetowe. Odwołując się do znajdowanych polskojęzycznych witryn i zawartych w nich anonsach omawia zalety i niebezpieczeństwa wynikające z tej formy pomocy.

Summary

On-line psychotherapy can be defined as a contact with mental health professional mediated by the Internet. It is a new form of help of unconfirmed validity but as its popularity grows it seems important to study this particular field. Aim. The aim of this report was to observe the available Polish websites offering on-line therapy as far as the ethical issues and crucial information for the potential client are concerned. I also wanted to verify whether certified therapists would have better sites that those not certified. Material and methods. Websites were checked according to 16 issues based on rules established by various associations gathering psychotherapists. Those sites were located in the Internet according to words: "e-terapia", "cyberterapia", "psychoterapia on-line", "psycholog online", "terapia przez internet". Results. In total, 36 websites were assessed. The average grade was 6.35 +/- 2.92 out of 16. Most of the on-line therapists were psychologists and most often they offered contact via e- mail but also via Skype, telephone or chat room. Certified therapists had better websites. Conclusions. There is a need for clear ethical outlines for e-therapy in Poland as well as further research into the efficiency of such form of treatment. Therapists seem to avoid informing potential patients about such aspects that may be discouraging from using this service.