![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Sarahmarie on May 13, 2002, at 21:34:01
I am just curious to see if anyone has had a therapist that allowed them to send e-mail messages. I was thinking of just intermittent messages during either a bad time or just as one is coming out of a really bad time. If so, did you suggest it to therapist? How was it received? Is it a good idea? SarahMarie
Posted by sid on May 13, 2002, at 21:42:34
In reply to E-Mail and Therapists--Has anyone ever, posted by Sarahmarie on May 13, 2002, at 21:34:01
Well, from what I know about therapy, time is an important issue (as in: our time is up). It serves to set boundaries and put some distance between the therapist and the client. Without distance, there cannot be objectivity - that's why we go to therapists and not to our mothers, for example. It seems to me that e-mail would be too easy. They usually give you a phone # in case of emergency, to reachthem, a colleague or a hospital, in case of dire need until the next appointment. If I were a therapist, I don't think I'd go the e-mail route. Some people could easily abuse it and write all the time for no good reason.
Any other insights?
Posted by NancyLee on May 13, 2002, at 21:55:38
In reply to Re: E-Mail and Therapists--Has anyone ever » Sarahmarie, posted by sid on May 13, 2002, at 21:42:34
I agree about therapist I dont think they would go the email route with patients
Posted by kiddo on May 13, 2002, at 22:01:40
In reply to E-Mail and Therapists--Has anyone ever, posted by Sarahmarie on May 13, 2002, at 21:34:01
Remember that anything you say in email can be intercepted too!
Kiddo
Posted by Chloe on May 13, 2002, at 22:04:48
In reply to Re: E-Mail and Therapists--Has anyone ever » Sarahmarie, posted by sid on May 13, 2002, at 21:42:34
I have worked with my pdoc for over a decade. Getting her to call me back can take days. I find if I need something ASAP, I email her. A quick update, followed by a refill request or requesting a dosage modification is a typical letter I would write. She usually promptly writes me back. I think she is so busy, because she often has some strange typos! But by far, FOR ME, this is the most effective way to communicate with my pdoc between appointments.
Keep in mind, many pdocs are not computer literate or hooked up to the www. The internet is relatively new. But if your pdoc lists an email address on their card, I would think email might be a good way of connecting.
Lastly, I think pdocs might expect that some patients would abuse the email "quota." But that is the beauty of email. A pdoc can skim or delete letters if it becomes overwhelming. And simply not write back. The boundary is set by it's design...
It's worth exploring...IMHO
Chloe
Posted by mair on May 14, 2002, at 6:54:18
In reply to Re: E-Mail and Therapists--Has anyone ever, posted by Chloe on May 13, 2002, at 22:04:48
I exclusively use email to communicate with my pdoc in between appointments. She can be difficult to reach and I have an aversion to communicating with people directly on things that are uncomfortable for me, so email suits me just fine. She's made it clear that she only checks it at night so it's not the fastest way to get to her, but nothing has ever been so much of an emergency that I needed a speedier response anyway.
OTOH, my therapist has never given me her email address although I know she uses it some since my pdoc has copied her on emails to me. In my case she probably wouldn't think I'd abuse it, but she's worked awfully hard to get me over my reticence about calling her when things are tough, and I think she'd find email a cop out.
I think if I were a therapist, I'd feel like I had to respond to emails but I wouldn't want to deal with sensitive or substantive matters that way. Emailing about an appointment change might be fine or a reminder about an issue you want to discuss, but I think if someone emailed me about their deteriorating mental state, for instance, I'd send a quick message back saying the person should either call or bring it up at the next appointment. The security issues are too great and so much more is probably communicated verbally or non-verbally in a face to face meeting or even over the phone.
Mair
Posted by judy1 on May 14, 2002, at 12:40:04
In reply to E-Mail and Therapists--Has anyone ever, posted by Sarahmarie on May 13, 2002, at 21:34:01
for all kinds of reasons- med questions, to keep track of mood changes, and to write something too difficult for me to say. It's worked well so far. Take care, Judy
Posted by Ted on May 14, 2002, at 14:57:41
In reply to E-Mail and Therapists--Has anyone ever, posted by Sarahmarie on May 13, 2002, at 21:34:01
Mine does not allow it (yet), but she has said she plans to in the near future.
There are some obvious problems with using email, however: privacy, liability, fees, etc.
Ted
> I am just curious to see if anyone has had a therapist that allowed them to send e-mail messages. I was thinking of just intermittent messages during either a bad time or just as one is coming out of a really bad time. If so, did you suggest it to therapist? How was it received? Is it a good idea? SarahMarie
Posted by paxvox on May 14, 2002, at 20:01:54
In reply to E-Mail and Therapists--Has anyone ever, posted by Sarahmarie on May 13, 2002, at 21:34:01
Gee, I thought that was what we were doing here? Only I thought we were getting some answers.
(sorry, I mean no offense by this)PAX
Posted by Sarahmarie on May 14, 2002, at 22:33:18
In reply to Re: E-Mail and Therapists--Has anyone ever » Sarahmarie, posted by paxvox on May 14, 2002, at 20:01:54
> Gee, I thought that was what we were doing here? Only I thought we were getting some answers.
> (sorry, I mean no offense by this)
>
> PAX
I don't take offense ... thanks for the little nudge. E-mailing each other is working quite well and I do think we get good answers. I was just curious as to whether or not people had an arrangement with either their PDoc or therapist so that they could send them e-mail messages. I realize from all of the comments received so far, that any such arrangement would have to come with a set of ground rules that if broken would immediately result in the loss of e-mail privileges. Well, I am going to talk about to my therapist and see what she says. SarahMarie
Posted by k9lover on May 15, 2002, at 8:52:06
In reply to Re: E-Mail and Therapists--Has anyone ever » paxvox, posted by Sarahmarie on May 14, 2002, at 22:33:18
I've emailed my therapist and have access to a consulting shrink when she's away. It's definitely not okay for me to be in crisis online - that requires a telephone call or trip to the ER. But as for reminders and the like, she's fine with that. I also do some research for her online, regarding depression - from our perspective. Setting boundaries really helped with this option.
Jan
Posted by KB on May 15, 2002, at 11:31:03
In reply to Re: E-Mail and Therapists--Has anyone ever, posted by k9lover on May 15, 2002, at 8:52:06
I don't see a substantive difference between email and after-hours phone calls in terms of boundary issues - seems like the same ground rules should apply to both.
My former therapist and
I email occasionally, but that's priarily since she moved away. My current therapist gave me her email address b/c she wanted me to send her digital photos of my art - we didn't discuss wat, if anything, else it could be used for but that may be because she knows I'm very hesitant about contacting people.I sometimes wish I could email my pdoc, esp. since my reluctance to make calls sometimes means I have gaps when I run out of meds and am procrastinating, but he hasn't offered that as an option - I think he prefers to talk to me so he can get a better feel for how I'm doing.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Social | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.