Online therapy: Implications for problem gamblers and clinicians1

It is clear that clinicians working in the field of problem gambling cannot afford to ignore the Internet. Psychological advice, help and treatment for gamblers are no exceptions with both counselling and psychotherapy entering the computer age. Such help comes under a variety of guises including Internet counselling, online therapy, webcounselling, cybertherapy, E-therapy, and cybercounselling (all on this partial list tend to get used interchangeably). Although there is no official description of how to define this activity, a common component of all these methods is that people logging into these Internet services are receiving psychological advice and/or 'treatment' at hundreds of websites. Predictably, the subject of Internet counselling is causing wide debate (especially on the Internet itself!). This paper overviews the main issues in the area and briefly examines 'telehealth', online therapy (and the various types currently available), the relative advantages and disadvantages of online therapy, and the implications for the treatment of problem gamblers. The authors approach this discussion acknowledging that online therapy has to be incorporated within the overall framework of the need for clinical assistance.