Posted by Dr. Bob on December 11, 2001, at 18:57:48
Hi, everyone,
I'd like to submit Psycho-Babble for an award for innovative educational programs. Here's (part of) what I came up with for their form. Any thoughts? I'd value your input...
Bob
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Brief description:
Psycho-Babble is an electronic self-help group. It is composed mostly of patients, but also includes friends and family members of patients as well as some health professionals. Members of the group use it to educate each other about psychiatric illness and therapeutic options, particularly medications. Interactions take place on an online message board.
Innovativeness:
Self-help groups that meet in person are well-recognized as important sources of education and support. Psycho-Babble extends that concept in two directions. First, it is online and therefore more accessible. Members don't need to be free at a particular time on a particular day. They don't need to live near each other. They don't even need to leave home. They may be disabled and not *able* to leave home. And they may be anonymous. The discussion is "asynchronous" (not in "real time"), so members may research topics or reflect on what they want to say or how to say it before they respond; "threaded" (consisting of multiple simultaneous exchanges on different topics), so more than one member may address an issue at the same time; and archived, so information that is provided may have an educational impact far beyond those members active at that time. Second, the supportiveness of the milieu is maintained by the psychiatrist host (Dr. Hsiung). People tend to feel safer online and therefore to be less inhibited. There is more sharing, but there can also be disruptive behavior. Setting limits is essential to keep the group supportive.
Educational issue:
Patients need to be informed about their illnesses and the therapeutic options available to them. An educated patient is an effective partner in the doctor-patient team. Psychiatrists can provide information as well as treatment, but some patients want information before even going to a psychiatrist; some patients feel uncomfortable asking questions of authority figures; some psychiatrists don't have the time to provide much information or as much information to provide as perhaps they might; and even if a patient is assertive and has a knowledgeable psychiatrist who spends time with him or her, the patient may appreciate having more than one source of information. Also, being told something by a psychiatrist isn't the same thing as being told something by someone else in your shoes, even if what they tell you is the same thing. Since Psycho-Babble is a self-help group, it is group members who do the educating. It is helpful for them to give as well as to receive. Finally, education is not everything. Having hope and not feeling alone are also important needs served by Psycho-Babble.
Self-evaluation:
Usage statistics are followed, and members often "post" (submit) unsolicited feedback on the site itself. The program is constantly being improved, both in response to feedback from members and at the initiative of Dr. Hsiung. Some of these improvements include: allowing messages to be previewed before being posted, highlighting new posts, giving members the option of being notified by e-mail of follow-ups to their posts, adding a search engine to the archive, offering translation into different languages, creating separate message boards for "just being social" and for administrative issues, enabling Internet-addicted members to limit their use of the site, expanding the Frequently Asked Questions to address self-medication and civility, instituting a secure registration system to facilitate limit-setting, and bringing in expert psychiatrists to respond to questions.
poster:Dr. Bob
thread:2438
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20010718/msgs/2438.html