Using the Internet to provide cognitive behaviour therapy

A new treatment form has emerged that merges cognitive behaviour therapy with the Internet. By delivering treatment components, mainly in the form of texts presented via web pages, and provide ongoing support using e-mail promising outcomes can be achieved. The literature on this novel form of treatment has grown rapidly over recent years with several controlled trials in the field of anxiety disorders, mood disorders and behavioural medicine. For some of the conditions for which Internet-delivered CBT has been tested, independent replications have shown large effect sizes, for example in the treatment of social anxiety disorder. In some studies, Internet-delivered treatment can achieve similar outcomes as in face-to-face CBT, but the literature thus far is restricted mainly to efficacy trials. This article provides a brief summary of the evidence, comments on the role of the therapist and for which patient and therapist this is suitable. Areas of future research and exploration are identified.     

Using a metaperspective to clarify the structural-narrative debate in family therapy

The debate in family therapy between structural and narrative therapists often seems irreconcilable. Drawing from work in theoretical sociology that identifies the basic structure of existing social theory, a metaperspective is introduced to clarify a discussion between leading figures in the debate. Disparate views of family interactions are examined in terms of more fundamental disagreements about the center of attention in therapy. Narrative and structural modes of presentation are examined as separate traditions that could not be further apart conceptually. Efforts to identify common ground are discussed in terms of more significant differences that are minimized by drawing out similarities. This analysis provides a framework for standing outside entrenched arguments to see more clearly the unique contributions of each approach.     

Using psychodramatic techniques in structural family therapy

This article describes how psychodramatic techniques can be used in structural family therapy sessions. After a preliminary discussion of the therapist's spontaneity and role functions in both psychodrama and family therapy, specific action techniques are then discussed using case examples. Auxiliary Ego, Role Reversal, Double, Use of Space, Physicalization, Warm-up, Soliloquy, Surplus Reality, and Future Projection are illustrated.     

Using masks as therapeutic aids in family therapy

'Man is least himself when he talks in his own person, give him a mask and he will tell the truth' (Oscar Wilde).
This paper describes an innovative technique which uses masks as therapeutic aids in treating families in conflict. Structured within the framework of interpersonal perception, this technique uses play, humour, and the power and 'magic' of masks paradoxically to 'unmask' family members and facilitate reality-testing of perceptions distorted by the emotional masks individuals create and project onto each other. Mask usage is suggested as an adjunct to other therapeutic approaches currently used with families. Caveats and contradictions for the technique are presented. A case study illustrates the use of the technique with a reconstituted family.     

Using Minuchin's structural family therapy techniques with Italian-American families

Italian-American families have general characteristics about which family therapists should be informed in order to select appropriate and effective family therapy for this cultural group. The author identifies Minuchin's structural family therapy techniques as relevant for working with Italian-American families, adding a note of personal validation of the need and efficacy of the Minuchin approach.     

Gestalt approach to family therapy

Abstract

Gestalt psychotherapy is presented as a synthesis of a number of psychological traditions. Two particular techniques are described in detail: the empty chair technique which is a strategy that focuses on the parents' internalized object relations which are played out between themselves and with their children; and the Gestalt experiment which is a strategy that focuses on the contact boundaries between family members.     

Using the Internet to investigate consumer choice spaces

Traditional investigations of consumer choice processes include a matrix of alternatives described by attributes. The researcher-createdmatrix presents a product option space for the participant. In this article, we propose an alternative methodological approach to consumer choice processes. Specifically, we investigate choice processes when a participant creates his/her own product space. We describe a Web-based program and methodology used to collect data for three customizable products. Empirical results indicate that consumers are willing and able to make choices from their own product space. This research provides a new avenue for exploring choice processes.     

Using family therapy ideas with parenting groups in schools

The author describes his experience of using ideas from family therapy with groups of parents in two urban schools in the United States.     

Using the Internet to Enhance Testing in Counseling

This article reviews potential Internet applications in test selection, orientation, administration, scoring, and interpretation and explores inappropriate assessment use, relationship issues, ethics, credentialing, and training.     

Using relational reflexivity as a resource in teaching family therapy

In this paper we talk about creating coherence and transparency in the relationships between teacher, model of adult learning and subject taught. We describe how we have made connections between adult learning theory and family therapy to generate resources for action in teaching on the qualifying level course at Northumbria University. Using a recent teaching session and the voices of trainees, we illustrate these connections with an example of teaching about relational reflexivity, using methods which enabled us to generate reflexive ‘flow’ in the learning context.     

Using the Internet to find offline sex partners.

We aimed to expand upon the demographic characteristics and gender differences among those who have met someone on the Internet who they later met offline and had sex with as well as any relationship with cybersex, sexually transmitted infections, and online sexual problems. We analyzed data collected through an online questionnaire in 2002 in Sweden including a total population of 1836 respondents of which 1458 used the Internet for sexual purposes. Of those, 35% men and 40% women reported to have met offline sex partners online. The majority reported an occurrence of one to two times, whereas 10% reported six or more times. The analysis suggested women aged 34-49 and 50-65 years, homo- and bisexual men, and singles more likely to have this experience. They were also more likely to have engaged in cybersex. No relationships were found with sexually transmitted infections or online sexual problems. The results suggest that using the Internet to find sex partners may be less hazardous for the general Internet users than pointed out by prior research about this behavior often focusing on specific sub groups of Internet users.     

Application of family therapy theory to complex social issues: using the WebQuest in family therapy training

This paper describes how the WebQuest is used to foster critical thinking and application of theory to complex social problems in a Master's level class on contemporary family therapy theories. The issue of child trafficking and prostitution is explored through the web‐based inquiry learning where scaffold learning is provided. Scaffolding includes resource links and guidance on cognitive and social skills, which are provided to facilitate the learner's development. The WebQuest design includes the task, the process and the evaluation rubrics. Student feedback on the WebQuest was positive and included increased motivation in learning, critical thinking and global awareness.     

Using developmental principles to assist preschoolers in developing numeracy and literacy

In a yoked control design, 4-yr.-olds (N = 39) in a Head Start program played numerous structured games involving either the oddity principle or letter identification and letter sounds. The children's mean age was 53.2 mo.; SD = 4.1 mo. Three were Middle Eastern, 14 were Latino, 7 were East African, and 15 were African American. Children showed better mastery of oddity after playing games directed at this concept, and numeracy scores on the Woodcock-Johnson III were better for children who had played this type of game. Woodcock-Johnson III Letter-Word scores for children who had played the oddity and seriation or letter games were equivalent. These results are consistent with other research indicating that the understanding of oddity relations may be a key transitional thinking which supports quantitative and verbal development at the preschool-kindergarten interface. The standardized test scores indicate that guided play directed at this aspect of cognitive growth or more narrowly directed at early literacy can produce equivalent knowledge of letters.     

Applying developmental previewing to the principles of family therapy

This paper discusses the application of principles of infant psychiatry to the diagnosis and treatment of multigenerational family conflict. Using a technique referred to as previewing, the therapist can focus on the interpersonal meaning that the infant's development precipitates in the family and determine how the parents' relationships with the infant replicate their relationships with their own families of origin. The therapist may then use these insights for overcoming conflict and for acclimating parents to new developmental skills in an optimal manner. Specific suggestions for how parents may promote more adaptive patterns of interaction with the infant using previewing are offered.     

A group analytic contribution to family therapy

This paper represents an attempt to add to the conceptual and technical repertoire of family therapy by drawing on experiences derived from group analytic practice. Despite many theoretical points of intersection, there are significant differences in technique dictated by an evolving experience with two fundamentally different types of group. This paper sets out the core concepts of group analysis, compares them with related concepts in family therapy and aims to achieve a synthesis of group analytic family therapy, which, though sharing matters of language and theory with many schools of family therapy, provides in its total conception a unique perspective on family therapy.