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Psych Central Enhances Social Networking in Mental Health

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HAVERHILL, Mass. - Feb. 26, 2007 - Psych Central® (www.PsychCentral.com) today announced the next generation of social networking in mental health through its free online community. The enhanced social networking features allow users to find one another with similar mental health issues or concerns or by certain demographic features. The enhanced social networking components are found in the Community section of Psych Central, http://psychcentral.com/

"We are proud to introduce the next generation of social networking in mental health online," said Dr. John M. Grohol, Psy.D., CEO and Publisher of Psych Central. "While we have had many of these features present on Psych Central for years, we successfully integrated and enhanced them to create more opportunities for people to find and connect with one another."

Psych Central's enhanced social networking features integrate many of the existing features and functionality from Psych Central's robust mental health community of over 25,000 members. Features include the ability to find "Others Like Me," a tool that helps an individual find others that have similar mental health concerns, such as depression or bipolar disorder. An enhanced profile page and mood indicator was also released. Existing features, such as being able to track one's mood over time and updating newsletter subscriptions, are now a part of the user's Profile dashboard.

"While we've seen a recent surge in 'me-too' social networking websites who have no background in healthcare, we're committed to finding the balance between exposing users online and protecting their privacy, given their unique and often-stigmatized concerns," Dr. Grohol added. "We understand that publishing health profiles isn't like publishing a MySpace of Facebook profile, because an individual's health concerns are far more personal."

Dr. Grohol, one of the pioneers in the field, will also be presenting on social networking in health and mental health at The 2nd Annual World Congress Leadership Summit on The Road to Interoperability - Innovative Public/Private Initiatives in Healthcare Information Exchange - RHIOs, EHRs and Consumer Portals in Boston in July 19-20, 2007.

About Psych Central

Psych Central, located at PsychCentral.com, is a leading mental health portal that features original, peer-reviewed editorial content, news, research briefs, clinical trials, ratings and reviews of medications and treatments, the popular World of Psychology blog, and a thriving online support community. Each month more than 600,000 people visit Psych Central's independent libraries and communities, contribute to their own blogs, take an interactive screening quiz, and track their progress over time. Founded in 1995, Psych Central is published by John M. Grohol, Psy.D., a pioneer and expert in online mental health. Dr. Grohol's leadership helped to break down the barriers of stigma often associated with mental health concerns, bringing trusted resources to the Internet.

Psych Central does not provide professional diagnosis or treatment.


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Last reviewed:
  On 26 Feb 2007
  By John M. Grohol, Psy.D.



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