People always have concerns about using the Internet regardless of whether it’s for a credit card transaction, or for meeting a potential partner. So it’s no surprise to us that those concerns have been brought to the fore once more when it comes to online support groups and meetings.

In this 5 part series, we address those concerns and show you how they are overcome.

Part 2. Competition with Traditional Methods of Support.

Many organisations worry that online support services may discourage their participants from availing of more traditional treatment, or that it may somehow alienate them from their therapist or other treatment provider*.

Findings from preliminary studies show that the opposite is true.

In the last blog we spoke about a depression online support study. In this case, 96 out of the 103 participants were in treatment for depression when they joined.

After 1 year of participation, users had not abandoned their treatment, and it may have even facilitated a better level of care. 71.8% of participants had discussed their use of the internet support group with their traditional care providers, and some reported that their involvement in the group had encouraged them to become more active in their health care by asking their provider a question or influencing a change in medication (Houston et al., 2002).

Thus the authors concluded that participants in this support group were using their online experience to supplement, not replace, their traditional health care.

*A note on mental health: It’s important to note that many people with mental health problems will never access traditional therapy. In the last blog we mentioned the bodywhysConnect study into the online support for people with Eating Disorders. It was found that 60% of those registering for bodywhysConnect were not receiving formal treatment, even though their clinical profile would suggest that they could benefit from it (Darcy & Dooley, 2007)