What's this about?

Tests, experiments and counselling services offering a therapeutic experience online.

Of course, the Internet is a support network par excellence for people dealing with either uncommon or socially isolating issues.

However, the efficacy of online counselling must be less than the face-to-face experience. The lack of non-verbal communication must hamper the client-therapist relationship.

The lack of clues from body language, dress, voice intonation, mannerisms, and the spontaneity of face-to-face dialogue - this must limit the therapists ability to spot when the client is being incongruent.

Still, potentially, online therapy has some pluses for the client:

Of course, there maybe several good therapeutic reasons why these "advantages" aren't really benefits at all.

Online Therapy

Samaritans
Free UK and Ireland volunteer-based counselling service offers e-mail counselling through its anonymous jo@samaritans.org service. See also its email counselling training scheme.
Email Counselling
Offered by CounsellingResource.com. See also the note of hints and tips of writing counselling emails.
Ways of doing Psychotherapy Online
Online practice form Walter Logeman. Interesting approaches include Art Therapy and Script Writing as an alternative to chair work.
Metanoia: The ABCs of Internet Therapy
US site covering examples of private practices, and practical issues of e-therapy (eg, is it confidential, is it legal, is it effective).
myRay.com
An innovative online treatment programme combining Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and relaxation techniques with questionnaire-based testing to provide feedback, and membership of an e-group to provide collective support. Aims to treat anxiety, depression, stress, panic and anger.

The developer, Dr Michael Benjamin, has a Weblog with thoughtful pieces on treatment options and effectiveness. Of interest is his white paper on e-Psychotherapy, and the short Test Yourself questionnaire. Less impressive is the Comparisons with other treatments, which is a bit disingenuous.
Eliza
This is a simple computer program that reflected back what you said and so gave the vague appearence of being a Rogerian counsellor - or maybe people in the 60s were a lot more in awe of computers.

Online Therapy Theory

ISMHO (International Society of Mental Health Online)
Carries interesting papers on best practice in e-therapy, and a range of web mental health related news stories.
Online Therapy Papers
Collected together by Dr Michael Fenichel. See also his papers on: Myths and Realities of Online Clinical Work, and Online Psychotherapy: Technical Difficulties, Formulations and Processes.

While The Here and Now of Cyberspace explores issues of intimacy between client and therapist.

He has also prepared the ISMHO Clinical Case Study Group: Half a Decade of Online Case Study.
Online Psychology Tests
List of personality tests, mental health tests, relationship tests, work-related psychology tests, and tests of your knowledge. From Eddy M. Elmer.
Online Psychological Help and Assistance
List of online counselling and support groups from psychnet-uk.com
Review of "Online Therapy"
From Psych Central. See Online Therapy by Kathleene Derrig-Palumbo and Foojan Zeine at Amazon.co.uk.