Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Although support groups can help people cope, only a small proportion of those who face a crisis choose to participate in such groups. Practical problems of getting to and from support groups as well as discomfort at formal meetings contribute to this low rate of involvement. Computer-mediated support groups have the potential to serve clients who are unable or unwilling to participate in traditional face-to-face support groups. This paper reviews the advantages and disadvantages of computer-mediated support groups, and describes how to set up this type of group. A computer support group set up by the authors for cancer patients is used as an example.
Weinberg et al. (Fri,) studied this question.