dysfunctional dysjunctions...

• What's up doc ?! by Dale R. Smith, 2/18/99
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    • e-mail dysfunctions by John, 3/19/99
      
      

Yes... I agree with you John as to the benefits gained in exploring empathic ruptures between client-therapist connexion. I suppose I was unprepared for the situation where I may have been offline for more than a few days. It is not similar to f2f practice where one can telephone or even send a letter to the client. It brought into focus the need for having contingency plans and a means of advising clients in the event of 'therapist immersion into black hole'. Another consideration of email therapy that differs from f2f is the client maintaining a written record of the conversations. No matter how the client cognitively 'reconstructs' our dialogue it is able to be referenced to the written word which equates to an 'immutable truth'. This is often able to be utilised by the client through enabling insight into distortion processes. It also creates a sense of equality as the client is just as able to challenge my constructions :) Although writing does remove one from the immediacy of the interpersonal relationship, it also correspondingly encourages depth and structure of personal reflection.

• e-mail records by John, 3/20/99