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Professionals and consumers have joined psychiatric support groups on the Internet. This paper reports on a survey of members of an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) mailing list (OCD-L). Members, who were primarily patients with OCD, but included family members and professionals, were generally positive about the benefits of the list, finding it a useful source of information about treatment, and a helpful source of support. It is concluded that a useful component of the management of OCD may include Joining OCD–L or a similar Internet support group, as benefits seem to outweigh possible problems. Further study of other Internet psychiatric support groups, which may differ significantly from OCD–L, seems warranted.
Dan J. Stein (Sat,) studied this question.