Fostering empowerment in online support groups

Recovery From Infidelity: Exploring Variables Related to the Healing Process

“…The use on-line support forums specifically designed for individuals dealing with infidelity may also be a useful suggestion for clients. Online support groups have been found to help people effectively cope with a variety of problems and foster well-being by promoting personal empowerment, improving understanding and knowledge, and developing social relationships (Barak, Boniel-Nissim, & Suler, 2008).…”

A Habermasian perspective on joint meaning making online: What does it offer and what are the difficulties?

“…The archiving of messages was seen as allowing for more reflective argumentation and a 'rhythm', which better supported deliberative consensus (see, for example, Anderson, 2004;Boyd, 1996;Cecez-Kecmanovic & Webb, 2000;Harasim, 2000;Mason & Kaye, 1989;McConnell, 2000). There were features of online environments, for example a removed audience and an absence of immediate feedback, which could lead to lessened inhibition but these could also support intimacy and group bonding as, for example Barak, Boniel-Nissim & Suler (2008) argue in the context of online support groups.…”

Online Learning in Divorce: How the Formation of a Community of Practice in a Divorce Support Website Enables and Inhibits Learning

“…There was evidence, however, that, despite the pain involved in participating in some of the more contested exchanges, people learned from them and were able to use the discussions to find different approaches to their own circumstances. Furthermore, the disinhibition effects of online communication (Barak et al, 2008), coupled with anonymity, had a positive aspect: it allowed people to open up to others about their emotions and fears, or to display ignorance without embarrassment (Ridings & Gefen, 2004;Madge & O'Connor, 2005;Barak et al, 2008). It was clear that, for many posters, this was a major factor in their continuing participation.…”

“…In some cases, this was very intense: three of those interviewed spoke of spending long periods, even all night, in the chat room. Overall, this emotional support both enabled members' learning with respect to coping with their distress (Barak et al, 2008) and calmed people down enough to enable them to learn about the practical and legal aspects of separation and divorce. As one person explained about the support he got in 2007:…”

“…In these exchanges, alternative positions, while put forward robustly by others, were summarily dismissed as wrong or irrelevant. Mutual engagement -in this case, among an assertive subset of members -acted to inhibit their learning through a collective refusal to consider alternative positions (Barak et al, 2008). Participation in what threatened to become small subcommunities, excluding all those who disagreed with their perspective, thus threatened to lead some people to consolidate maladaptive belief systems about, for example, the fairness of the legal process, and could thereby undermine their ability to learn better ways of dealing with emotionally charged situations.…”