Ethical and Legal Considerations for Internet-Based Psychotherapy

Abstract

The provision of mental health services over the Internet is becoming increasingly commonplace as new technologies continue to develop. Evidence in support of the efficacy of many such interventions is accumulating. Given the potential global reach of Internet-based psychological services, the authors examine ethical issues relating to this growing area of practice through the lens of the Universal Declaration of Ethical Principles for Psychologists (International Union of Psychological Science, 2008). They also raise issues relating to potential liability risks and offer recommendations intended to guide mental health practitioners who are considering involvement in the provision of Internet-based services.

Establishing Guidelines for Executing and Reporting Internet Intervention Research

“…Here, members are encouraged to follow standards set by their particular professional society when incorporating web-based technology into their work, encompassing such issues as informed consent, confidentiality, research using the Internet, record keeping, and managing professional boundaries when using the web. In addition, several articles have been published discussing best practices and ethical and legal considerations for etherapy (Abbott, Klein, & Ciechomki, 2008;Dever Fitzgerald, Hunter, Hadjistavropoulos, & Koocher, 2010;Whitehead & Proudfoot, 2010), as well as Beacon (n.d.; www.beacon.anu.edu.au) which is an online portal providing quality ratings of health websites (Christensen, Murray, et al, 2010).…”

Developing a roadmap for the translation of e-mental health services for depression

“…For consumers, reluctance to use these services may stem from the stigma of depression (Gulliver et al, 2010), stigma of seeking help (Schomerus and Angermeyer, 2008), low mental health literacy and poor symptom recognition (Jorm et al, 2006), lack of awareness of existing evidence-based e-mental health programmes as an effective treatment source, scepticism regarding the performance of e-mental health services over traditional approaches (Kay-Lambkin et al, 2011) and a lack of established pathways to using e-mental health services in the community. For clinicians, resistance to e-mental health services may instead arise (Christensen et al, 2011;Dever Fitzgerald et al, 2010;Spurgeon and Wright, 2010) from a lack of awareness of e-mental health services, lack of training, resistance to changes in practice, concerns around efficacy, confidentiality and safety (indemnity), lack of the financial incentives that are currently available for face-to-face services, viewing e-mental health as a threat to face-to-face services, viewing e-mental health technologies as damaging or impeding the patient-clinician therapeutic relationship and lack of established pathways to provision of e-mental health services.…”

Psicoterapia Online: Demanda Crescente E Sugestões Para Regulamentação

“…Nele, o paciente deve ser conscientizado acerca das características e suscetibilidades próprias desse tipo de atendimento, como também deve conter informações sobre os procedimentos do processo via internet, o que pode ser esperado em termos de ajuda, alternativas de salvaguarda contra os riscos eventuais, vantagens e desvantagens (Cook & Doyle, 2002;Midkiff & Wyatt, 2008;Fitzgerald, Hunter, Hadjistavropoulos & Koocher, 2010). É uma espécie de "contrato" e que, preferencialmente, deve ser assinado e enviado ao psicoterapeuta, em vez de ser apenas tácito.…”