Parenting Skills Research

Limitations and Issues in E-mail Consultation

There are several important issues which need to be carefully evaluated when considering using e-mail consultation. One of the most significant involves issues of confidentiality. Confidentiality of E-mail The confidentiality of e-mail communication can be compromised at four different points: 1. Transmission Internet communication involves making multiple copies of messages as they are transferred from computer network to computer network. It is possible that persons along this line of transmission may be able to access messages being sent through the system. E-mail communication should NOT be considered confidential. In addition, it possible that e-mail communication may sometimes be re-routed by computers to inappropriate locations due to technical malfunctions. Therefore, e-mail communication should NOT be considered confidential. Furthermore, there have been occasions when persons have mistakenly sent e-mail to the wrong address, resulting in embarrassing situations. One must be very careful in addressing e-mail. In an effort to address these issues, this research is offering participants the option of using encrypted e-mail through hushmail.com. In order for participants' e-mail to be sent and received as encrypted, both participant and research investigator must communicate using the hushmail.com system. The research e-mail address at hushmail.com for encrypted e-mail is famconsult@hushmail.com Remember, in order for the e-mail you send to the investigator to be encrypted you must sign up for an account with hushmail.com and your e-mail must be sent from this account to the investigator's hushmail.com account (famconsult@hushmail.com). 2. Client-end Persons within the sender's family may also have access to e-mail which is sent from the home computer. The access of other family members to e-mail communication needs to be carefully considered before writing and sending e-mail. If e-mail is sent from a computer at work, employers may have a legal right to monitor and read e-mail which is sent from office computers. Many office computer systems make routine copies, separate from the sender's copy, of e-mail which is sent from office computers. In addition, even if material is erased from a computer, this only involves making the disk space formally occupied by the erased material available to be written over by new files. However, until such time as this disk space is reused, the erased material may still be recovered by persons knowledgeable about computers. However, the use of encrypted e-mail through hushmail.com may be used to limit access by other persons to e-mail transmissions. 3. Consultant-end Steps must be taken by online consultants to safeguard the privacy of e-mail records. Within this research project, all e-mail correspondence will be saved for research and clinical purposes on floppy disks in password protected files. These floppy disks will be stored in a locked file cabinet. No records of e-mail correspondence will be stored on a computer which has Internet access in order to prevent potential access by sophisticated computer hackers. These records of e-mail correspondence will be available only to members of the research team and as legally mandated for reporting of possible child abuse, elder abuse, or suicidal threat. These records may, however, also be subject to legal subpoena (see below). 4. Legal subpoena It is currently unclear whether online communication is protected by therapist-client privilege. Therefore, online communication may be subject to legal subpoena. This possibility should be carefully evaluated regarding the potential impact on divorce or child custody disputes. For more information on issues of confidentiality, John Grohol, Psy.D. offers a valuable discussion of online psychology and confidentiality at http://www.grohol.com/best. Online Consultation as a New Medium of Communication As a relatively new medium of communication, e-mail consultation is an experimental procedure and established research has yet to demonstrate its effectiveness for delivering therapeutic interventions. However, there is reason to anticipate that e-mail consultation can be effectively used to provide some types of therapeutic interventions and this current research involving e-mail consultation is one attempt to evaluate the potential therapeutic potential offered by this new communication medium. The Loss of Visual and Auditory Cues As a text-based communication medium, e-mail alters the traditional dynamics of face-to-face communication and may impact communication in ways seen and unforseen. For example, text communication often sounds harsher and more critical than face-to-face communication and without non-verbal cues such as body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions, it may be easier for misunderstandings and miscommunications to develop. It is therefore important that both parties in this current research, the consultant and the parent, check out with each other any communication which sounds harsh, cold or critical as this may not have been the intended meaning. Family Designs: The Behavior Management Program The Research Project: What Does Participation Involve Apply for Participation Return to Main Page

To ask questions about the research or your possible participation, please e-mail me, Craig Childress, M.A. at famconsult@aol.com

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