Ybarra & Eaton, 2005

• Web – used for intervention as well as prevention
• Cost-effective – fewer direct and indirect costs associated with intervention
• People who won’t access traditional services
  • Anonymity
  • Transportation
  • Health insurance
  • More severe impairments
• Flexible integrity – core program online will not change
  • Can be self-paced
• E-MH defined as all services on the net, from information to direct services
• Websites
  • Quality tends to be inconsistent – most people pick quality information
    • Journals, commercial, academic sites
  • Credibility
    • Professional design
    • Scientific language
    • Easy to use
    • Don’t usually access “about us”
  • Users – “a mix of savvy and naive” (p. 27)
  • Good for screening underserved populations
• Online self-help
  • Anonymous
  • More likely to disclose
  • Attractiveness, race not an issue
  • Groups tend to have the same dynamics
  • Outcomes – people report decreased isolation, increased information
  • Communicative acts – tend to be accepting, validating, and encouraging as opposed to therapeutic in nature
• Individual therapy
  • Can be supplementary or primary
  • Email – can help with real-time processing of currently occurring events
    • More self-disclosure
    • No nonverbal cues
  • Chat
    • Anonymous
    • 40% prefer in-person
    • Tend to be younger, more educated
• Need for ethical guidelines       
  • Informed consent, risk/benefit analysis
  • Therapist protections – forwarding, misinterpretation, expectations
• Can also be used for parent education
• Multimedia (e.g., CD-Rom) – mixed results
  • Games, video, audio
  • More exposure – greater results
  • Kiosks for Cd-Rom and digital divide?
• Critical analysis
  • Internet classified as passive and active
  • What people report they do might be different from what they actually do
  • Males are more likely to participate?
  • Staying power – less attrition?
  • Cognitive-behavioral, protocol-driven therapy reviewed
  • Seen as an alternative
  • Design of sites
    • Language
    • Literacy
    • Evidence-based
    • Professional Appearance
• No data on child mental health