The internet and online communities

One area of OT practice that appealed to me was Depression.  For this tutorial I will outline three different online communities that offer support, networking for people with a mental illness in the form of Depression.  Occupational therapist's working in practice may recommend websites or online support groups for people who suffer from this illness.  The purpose of online sites are  for individuals to write about their experiences, challenges, emotions that happen in their daily life who are suffering from illnesses. The three online communities that I have found for Depression are the following:  Aware, The Low Down and Depression Understood. All provide an insight in to what depression is, how each site is interactive with users and what features sites have to offer users.

The first site is Aware: Depression support, information, education. This site is designed for youth and adults with depression. It provides information on what depression is, offers online support groups, this works as it gives users a safe space where they can talk through their specific conditions, learn coping skills from others and explore the options available to them. Each session opens at a specified time, is facilitated by a trained Aware facilitator and is attended by up to 10 users of the service, sessions last approx 90 minutes.  Other supports that Aware offers are face to face depression support groups, email support service and a helpline that is available for 365 days of the year. Provides service for individuals who are experiencing mild to moderate depression, as well as friends/ family who are concerned for the loved one. This site is very easy to navigate your way through as how can we help is broken in to three subheadings: Support, information and education, with what the site has to offer listed below each heading. 

To access this site go to: http://www.aware.ie/

The Low down is a site that is designed specifically for youth with depression, to understand what they are experiencing and different ways/ strategies to cope with their condition. This site provides information about depression, contains a chat service and a knowledge forum, self tests and music to encourage user interaction. The user has a choice of five navigators to help guide the user through the site. The navigator vary from TV presenters to singers. When selecting a navigator the user has the option of having audio or non audio. On clicking on a navigator the user is introduced to the site and is given an insight onto their navigators  experience with depression, and users can contribute through the use of a chat tool bar. 

To access this site go to: http://www.thelowdown.co.nz/#/home/

Depression Understood, offers many ways in which like minded people can communicate with each other and offer peer support to one another if people are feeling low, depressed, anxious or experiencing moods. This website is easy to navigate your way around and access all the services offered. This website offers many ways for a person to communicate your feelings to others via a website. There is also the opportunity to talk to others via the live depression chat rooms which are open 24/7, the depression forum where they can leave messages for others to respond to, and they could even start writing their own blog. If the individual is more artistic inclined they can express their artwork using the media gallery. This website accommodates for all individuals as people have their own way of expressing themselves. On this website people can learn more about a specific health concern as there are articles available, communicating to others can offer a person an insight into why they feel as they do, and discover possible ways to change their life.

  
To access this site go to http://www.depression-understood.org/ 

In my opinion people choose to contribute to these different online communities to feel like they are not alone in their situation as it provides them with a chance to reach out to others who understand what they are going though, and ask questions knowing that will be answered truthfully, from an helpful source. Online sites for individuals are rapidly increasing as many sites are anonymous and therefore questions may be easier to ask online than face to face with a health professional. Online sites offer individuals a place to express feelings in an environment, that others can not judge them.
Information on these sites can be shared one way if information is presented in a way that the user cannot interact only read information and not voice their opinions or ask questions. This is more so common for sites where information is arranged in a way that is educational and informative, however does not provide any form of interaction. Discussion and chat forums are great as the user can contribute their opinions or experiences and will receive feedback. 

All these online communities address the concept of occupational justice Christiansen & Townsend (2010) refers to the resources that are available for one to satisfy personal needs and citizenship through occupation. It is through the use of these interactive sites that allows for users to express their feelings, needs and queries through discussion, online chat forums or helplines where they will be offered support and advice from others. Another concept that relates to these communities is occupational transition according to Christiansen & Townsend (2010) can be defined as a major change in the occupational repertoire of a person in which one or several occupations change or are replaced with others. An individual experiencing depression their life will have been turned upside down and unsure what to do and how to get through their day. Through the use of these sites it provides them with ways to cope, manage and get through depression. These sites also are aimed to help provide tips and mechanisms as an effective tool to encourage positive participation in occupations that are of interest to the user and to improve their mental health. 

Online communities have a number of benefits, however there may be ethical considerations to take into account when using and posting in the online communities. For websites such as the ones I have discussed some require users to make an account in order to post and be active. This is great in the sense that these sites are anonymous and the users name or personal details are not shown for other users to see as this is essential in ensuring users safety and provides security for users. There are negative aspects and ethical issues around online communities these include, individuals who decide to abuse the purpose of the online sites by posting inappropriate messages or irrelevant information that may be considered offensive to others. That is not the case as these sites are designed to monitor users and if any complaints or reports have arisen members can block them and this could result in their membership privileges being removed so they can no longer access the site.

I believe online communities are great as they are anonymous so you will not be judged on anything you post. They provide useful information and can be easily accessed anywhere in the world at just the click of a button. Within the online communities it gives you the option if you would like to join and become a regular and become active within the website, or you can just observe and take all the information in it really depends on the individual and that's the great thing about them they accommodate for all users. However in saying they are great they do have their downfalls as I mentioned before around inappropriate and irrelevant content shared could be untrustworthy or invalid.  For people using the sites there is the feeling of becoming too reliant on the online sites that an individual begins to isolate themselves from real life interactions and gets caught up in their own online world.

References:

Christiansen, C.H., & Townsend, E.A. (2010). Introduction to occupation: The art and

        science of living (2^nd ed.). New Jersey, Upper Saddle River. USA: Pearson

        Education, Inc.