The Emerging Relationship of Psychology and the Internet: Proposed Guidelines for Conducting Internet Intervention Research

Abstract

The Internet is rapidly developing into an important medium of communication in modern society, and both psychological research and therapeutic interventions are being increasingly conducted using this new communication medium. As therapeutic interventions using the Internet are becoming more prevalent, it is becoming increasingly important to conduct research on psychotherapeutic Internet interventions to assist in the development of an appropriate standard of practice regarding interventions using this new medium. In this article, we examine the Internet and the current psychological uses which are being initiated using this medium. Ethical concerns related to the psychological use of the Internet are discussed, and guidelines are proposed for the conduct of Internet intervention research.

Making a Difference With Interactive Technology: Considerations in Using and Evaluating Computerized Aids for Diabetes Self-Management Education

“…Steps should include encrypting e-mail contact, advising participants if contacts are not encrypted, securing entry to Websites, 28 informing participants of how data will be used, and keeping data in secure files with limited access.…”

Terapia via internet e relação terapêutica

“…Portanto, sem as pesquisas, padrões de cuidado poderão desenvolver-se sem validação empírica suficiente (Childress & Asamen, 1998).…”

“…¢ Ausência de comunicação não verbal entre as partes (Binik et al, 1997;Childress & Asamen, 1998;Grohol, 1998);…”

“…Dificuldade de obtenção da identificação do cliente (Grohol, 1998;Sampson et al, 1997); ¡ Ausência de legislações aplicáveis à terapia via Internet (Binik et al, 1997;Sampson et al, 1997); ¡ Dificuldade de verificação do credenciamento do profissional (Sampson et al, 1997); ¢ Possível falta de conhecimento, por parte do terapeuta, de eventos políticos ou naturais da localidade que possam influenciar no tratamento (King, 1998;Sampson et al,1997); ¢ Dificuldade de avaliar e diagnosticar o cliente (Childress & Asamen, 1998;Grohol, 1998;King, 1998).…”

“…Possibilidade de ocorrer desentendimento ou interpretação equivocada das mensagens, já que essas podem parecer mais frias e impessoais do que o pretendido pelo autor (King & Poulos, 1998); ¢ Ausência de comunicação segura a qual, no entanto, pode ser minimizada com a criptografia das mensagens (Childress & Asamen, 1998;Grohol, 1998;Sampson et al, 1997);…”