World of Psychology

Cyber-Catharsis: Bloggers Use Web Sites as Therapy

By John M. Grohol, PsyD
Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Cyber-Catharsis: Bloggers Use Web Sites as Therapy

The Internet is now teeming with some 15 million blogs. Although the medium first drew mainstream attention with commentary on high-profile events such as the presidential election, many now use it to chronicle intensely personal experiences, venting confessions in front of millions of strangers who can write back.

Nearly half of bloggers consider it a form of therapy, according to a recent survey sponsored by America Online Inc. And although some psychologists question the use of the Internet for therapy, one hospital in High Point, N.C., started devoting space to patients’ blogs on its Web site, a practice Inova Fairfax Hospital is also considering.

The patients use only first names on their blogs. Mary, a patient at the High Point Regional Health System, started blogging about ups and downs following her mini-gastric bypass surgery in March.


Comments


View Comments / Leave a Comment

This post currently has 2 comments. You can read the comments or leave your own thoughts on our new comments page.

Trackbacks

No trackbacks yet to this post.


    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 14 Oct 2005
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Grohol, J. (2005). Cyber-Catharsis: Bloggers Use Web Sites as Therapy. Psych Central. Retrieved on May 25, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2005/10/14/cyber-catharsis-bloggers-use-web-sites-as-therapy/

 

Recent Comments
  • CandidFrank65: Interesting article. I have been living in Trinidad since 1965. The fact is that East Indians are much...
  • CARL: I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE SAID ABOUT INTIMACY (LOVE) NEEDS TRUST AND SAFETY. I TO HAVE STUDIED THIS...
  • Daisy: An article full of wisdom, I think! My husband and I have recently celebrated our 25th wedding...
  • Austin: To the author: “… the rest of the seminal fluid has more than 4 dozen other chemicals. One of...
  • Austin: It’s certainly worth a study, but there’s every reason not to assume an equivalent result. The...
Subscribe to Our Weekly Newsletter



Find a Therapist


Users Online: 3835
Join Us Now!