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FactorsUnderlyingParticipants’GainsinOnlineSupportGroups
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alatertimeandsavedintheparticipants’computers.(3)Athirdmeansisthrough
aforum(“bulletinboard,”“discussionboard,”or“messageboard”),where,asin
anemaillist,communicationisasynchronous,butparticipantsarerequiredto
connecttoadedicatedwebsite,throughwhichspecialsoftwareenablesgroup
communication.Itseemsthatthisthirdoptioniscurrentlythemostpopular,asit
hasnumerousadvantagestobediscussedbelow.
Itisimportanttodifferentiatebetweenatherapygroupandasupportgroup
(whetheronlineoroffline).Inthiscontext,fivemajordistinctionsshouldbeem-
phasized:First,unlikestandardprocedureinatherapygroup,nopre-planned,
protocol-ortheory-drivenclinicalinterventionisinvolvedinasupportgroup.
Anyparticipant,orindeedthegroupmoderator,mayinitiateatopicatanypoint
intime,andalltopicsareconsideredlegitimateaslongastheyservethegroup’s
purposeinprovidingmutualsupportandmaintainingasupportiveenvironment.
Second,thebasicpurpose,anddeclaredgoal,ofsupportgroupsistoprovide
reliefandalleviationofbadfeelingsratherthancausinglong-term,therapeutic
changesinpersonality,behaviors,thoughtsorthoughtpatterns,oremotionsin
participants.Themainaimofsupportgroupsis,therefore,toeasehardshipand
nottotreat.Third,supportgroupsdonotdemandamoderatororanadministra-
torandmayoperateasfreelyasparticipantswish.Indeed,manysupportgroups
operatewithoutformal,pre-trained,orqualifiedmoderators;theymayinfor-
mallyassignoneparticipant(ormore)asgroupadministratororoperatewithout
anyadministration.Obviously,theymayoperateunderprofessionalleadership,
butthisisneitherarequirementnoranecessity.Therapygroups,incontrast,
musthaveprofessionalclinicianswholeadthemandwhoconducttherapeutic
interventions(regardlessofthespecifictherapeuticapproach).Fourth,asupport
groupisinpracticeusuallyanopenforum,whichparticipantscanjoinandleave
bychoice,whereasatherapygroupisusuallyclosedforjoiningafteritsonsetand
prematuredepartureisdiscouraged.Moreover,mostsupportgroupsdonotrequire
anentranceauthorizationandareopentoanyoneatwill.Fifth,supportgroups
usuallydonothavetimelimitsandtheoreticallymaycontinuepermanently,with
peoplejoiningandleavingatanytimeoftheirownchoosing,whetherforaone-
time(andreceiveornotreceivewhats/hewishedfor),orforaverylong-time
stay,whereastherapygroupsareusuallyofferedfortime-limitedinterventions.
Muchevidence–descriptiveclinicalcasestudies,aswellaslongitudinal
empiricalstudies,bothquantitativeandqualitative–existtosupportthesuccess
andeffectivenessofonlinesupportgroupsinreachingtheirgoals(e.g.,Tanis,
2008).Oneshouldbearinmind,however,thatthisgoalisbasicallyconcerned
withparticipants’emotionalreliefandfeelingsofpersonalempowermentand
well-being,andnotwiththerapeuticclinicalchanges(Barak,Boniel-Nissim,
