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Therapists in SL?


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No, there aren't.

There might be people who work in RL as therapists for all sorts of things, but certainly for most SL is there free time, where they don't work....and on a more important note: There is no way anything here can be called "legit". People could claim to be everything here and you will not have a way to prove if they are lying or not.

If you need professional help, do not seek that help in Second Life.

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I can't vouch for "legit" or "good", but a quick search of Therapists came up with a few groups and people that you could consider talking to.

And in response to Syo, with all due respect, the anonimity of SL might be just the thing that someone needs to help get their RL problems off their back. I have spent many evenings venting to and being vented to about problems in RL that just talking about them, makes you feel better.

Good luck in your search...

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With all respect Tex, therapy (real therapy) is not just a buddy that lends you a shoulder to cry on. The OP was asking for verified real therapy and thats nothing anyone can offer on Second Life. Second Life might be suitable to organize self-helping groups, but its not a save place to seek a threapy.

I know many people do not respect the work of psychologiest or other professionals with the right educational background, but would you go on SL you ask someone who claims to be a doctor for their medical advice? Probably not and its not different for anything on a pyschological level.

Its a golden opportunity for scammers and wanna be professionals.

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I can not argue with your point, Syo. A true therapist is not a person who's shoulder you can cry on. But I disagree that it could not be offered in SL. Just as people who are attorneys, professors or medical professionals play SL..why couldn't someone who has the qualifications (legitimately) be playing as well? And why couldn't they set up a vitrual office in SL for their services? Seems like a possibility to me...

again..just my two cents and I do wish the OP the best in their search.

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Tex Monday wrote:

I can not argue with your point, Syo. A true therapist is not a person who's shoulder you can cry on. But I disagree that it could not be offered in SL. Just as people who are attorneys, professors or medical professionals play SL..why couldn't someone who has the qualifications (legitimately) be playing as well? And why couldn't they set up a vitrual office in SL for their services? Seems like a possibility to me...

again..just my two cents and I do wish the OP the best in their search.

They could, of course. But how to you know they are RL professionals? Its so easy to fake anything in SL. Hell, if I try hard enough I could push up the knowledge I got from one year of psychology classes I had while studying and pretend to be a legitimate therapist....nobody who wasn't any knowledge about this sort of stuff would be fooled.

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If you were able to find anyone "legitimate" it would probably be a researcher exploring the viability of Virtual Worlds for this purpose.  But more than likely they'd be working in the closed environ of one of the Educational Institutions in SL. 

Regardless, a licensed Therapist would be taking grave risks to get involved with someone that they do not also have RL contact with.

It is not what you would call an accepted practice yet.

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Tex Monday wrote:

I can not argue with your point, Syo. A true therapist is not a person who's shoulder you can cry on. But I disagree that it could not be offered in SL. Just as people who are attorneys, professors or medical professionals play SL..why couldn't someone who has the qualifications (legitimately) be playing as well? And why couldn't they set up a vitrual office in SL for their services? Seems like a possibility to me...

again..just my two cents and I do wish the OP the best in their search.

Have you ever been in therapy, Tex?  If not, then that might explain your naivety on the matter.  You see, the success of a therapeutic relationship is contingent upon the establishing of trust between a provider and their patient.  I have very seriously doubts that the level of trust required by such a relationship is achievable on a platform such as SL.  As such, I don't believe that any legitimate professional in their right mind would subject themselves to the moral and legal ramifications of practicing psychology in such an insecure environment.

I'm not saying that online therapy can't be beneficial, I'm just saying that SL is not the place to look for it.  In fact, I think the OP would be better off taking a walk down to the local watering hole and having a chat with their friendly bartender as opposed to trusting someone whose credentials, much less identity, can't be verified, with intimate details of their life... all without the protection of doctor/patient privilege.  Would you really want anyone at LL knowing you've had inappropriate thoughts about your own mother or how you wet the bed up until you were sixteen years of age?

...Dres

Edited for clarity.

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Syo Emerald wrote:


Tex Monday wrote:

I can not argue with your point, Syo. A true therapist is not a person who's shoulder you can cry on. But I disagree that it could not be offered in SL. Just as people who are attorneys, professors or medical professionals play SL..why couldn't someone who has the qualifications (legitimately) be playing as well? And why couldn't they set up a vitrual office in SL for their services? Seems like a possibility to me...

again..just my two cents and I do wish the OP the best in their search.

They could, of course. But how to you know they are RL professionals? Its so easy to fake anything in SL. Hell, if I try hard enough I could push up the knowledge I got from one year of psychology classes I had while studying and pretend to be a legitimate therapist....nobody who wasn't any knowledge about this sort of stuff would be fooled.

RL professionals should give out RL contact information (that can be verified), if they are using SL for a RL business there is no reason to hind behind an ALT. 

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Dresden Ceriano wrote:


.  Would you really want anyone at LL knowing you've had inappropriate thoughts about your own mother or how you wet the bed up until you were sixteen years of age?

...Dres

 

I thought that was what Roman Catholic Priests were for.

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I agree with those who have advised that seeking real therapy from a real therapist in SL would be dangerous. There are just too many ways someone relatively new to SL and/or virtual worlds can be taken advantage of.

There's one place you could check, though. There is within Second Life a (completely volunteer) organization called Virtual Ability, Inc. They were created to help people with RL physical disabilities use Second Life as a way to not only 'live' without their disability for a bit, but to actually engage in things that can eventually improve their condition/mental health/attitude in real life. I doubt they would direct to you a therapist, but if anyone has good answers to your question, it would be Virtual Abilities.

Treasure Ballinger is their main voice on the Forum. I would search both her and the organization inworld and see what they have to say.

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Derek Torvalar wrote:

Google 'online therapy'.

Be careful.

I considered suggesting this to the OP myself, but upon further consideration (and Googling it myself), it occurred to me that it just isn't that simple.  My skepticism may be getting the better of me, but I simply don't believe that finding a suitable therapist is as easy as using a search engine.  Only through due diligence can someone be assured that whatever website they pull up is legitimate... and those suffering from mental health issues are not necessarily known for their ability to apply due diligence.

I also have a strong belief that therapy should be done face to face.  I can't help but think that a therapist's inability to take into account non-verbal cues, such as body language, is detrimental to the entire process.  Though, I must admit, if the OP truly has no other option, then something would be better than nothing.  But that something should be done through legitimate channels and the fantasy world of SL is not one of them.

...Dres

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Dresden Ceriano wrote:


Derek Torvalar wrote:

Google 'online therapy'.

Be careful.

I considered suggesting this to the OP myself, but upon further consideration (and Googling it myself), it occurred to me that it just isn't that simple.  My skepticism may be getting the better of me, but I simply don't believe that finding a suitable therapist is as easy as using a search engine.  Only through due diligence can someone be assured that whatever website they pull up is legitimate... and those suffering from mental health issues are not necessarily known for their ability to apply due diligence.

I also have a strong belief that therapy should be done face to face.  I can't help but think that a therapist's inability to take into account non-verbal cues, such as body language, is detrimental to the entire process.  Though, I must admit, if the OP truly has no other option, then something would be better than nothing.  But that something should be done through legitimate channels and the fantasy world of SL is not one of them.

...Dres

I might suggest contacting a local hospital.  Many maintain lists of accredited services and reaching out through them the OP may be able to find someone willing to work with him/her, perhaps over the phone, etc.

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Perrie Juran wrote:


Dresden Ceriano wrote:


Derek Torvalar wrote:

Google 'online therapy'.

Be careful.

I considered suggesting this to the OP myself, but upon further consideration (and Googling it myself), it occurred to me that it just isn't that simple.  My skepticism may be getting the better of me, but I simply don't believe that finding a suitable therapist is as easy as using a search engine.  Only through due diligence can someone be assured that whatever website they pull up is legitimate... and those suffering from mental health issues are not necessarily known for their ability to apply due diligence.

I also have a strong belief that therapy should be done face to face.  I can't help but think that a therapist's inability to take into account non-verbal cues, such as body language, is detrimental to the entire process.  Though, I must admit, if the OP truly has no other option, then something would be better than nothing.  But that something should be done through legitimate channels and the fantasy world of SL is not one of them.

...Dres

I might suggest contacting a local hospital.  Many maintain lists of accredited services and reaching out through them the OP may be able to find someone willing to work with him/her, perhaps over the phone, etc.

Exactly... why didn't I think to say that?

...Dres

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Dresden Ceriano wrote:


Perrie Juran wrote:


Dresden Ceriano wrote:


Derek Torvalar wrote:

Google 'online therapy'.

Be careful.

I considered suggesting this to the OP myself, but upon further consideration (and Googling it myself), it occurred to me that it just isn't that simple.  My skepticism may be getting the better of me, but I simply don't believe that finding a suitable therapist is as easy as using a search engine.  Only through due diligence can someone be assured that whatever website they pull up is legitimate... and those suffering from mental health issues are not necessarily known for their ability to apply due diligence.

I also have a strong belief that therapy should be done face to face.  I can't help but think that a therapist's inability to take into account non-verbal cues, such as body language, is detrimental to the entire process.  Though, I must admit, if the OP truly has no other option, then something would be better than nothing.  But that something should be done through legitimate channels and the fantasy world of SL is not one of them.

...Dres

I might suggest contacting a local hospital.  Many maintain lists of accredited services and reaching out through them the OP may be able to find someone willing to work with him/her, perhaps over the phone, etc.

Exactly... why didn't I think to say that?

...Dres

You were too busy fondling large things in another thread.  ;)

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Check with your local hospital. Even living a ways out of town, which I did for a while, many have office hours in smaller areas closer to you or might be willing to meet with you in a place closer to you. It might also be possible to set up webcam sessions as well. You have to ask. Most legitimate therapists want to see you face to face since part of the process is them reading your body language. They can't do that in a voice only or text environment. If your local hospital has an ask a nurse program, start there.

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I know someone who advertises as a therapist and she's not. She told me people come in and talk about suicde in real life,life. They come to her with serious issues. She took their money but on an ethical point, I don't think Linden should allow people advertising professional services unless it can be proved that they're really qualified. She didn't claim to be a real therapist, but nor did she claim she wasn't in her ambiquious but clever advertising. Some of the problems people brought to her, were just overwhelming and shouldn't have been "treated" by someone who makes up a sign and classified ads. It's my opinion, but she told me some of the stories, and I felt it was frightening and what she was doing was wrong.

She wasn't prepared for their issues... They didn't roll play. They wanted to talk about hard line issues in their RL..

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Faye Feldragonne wrote:

I don't think Linden should allow people advertising professional services unless it can be proved that they're really qualified.

I fail to see how they would go about accomplishing such a feat.  As it is, they've taken steps to absolve themselves of responsibility for TPVs which are on their official approved list... there's no way in hell they're going to take responsibility for the veracity of users who claim to be mental healthcare workers.

I seriously have to question the moral standing of someone who would even consider this type of RP, without taking steps to insure that those who participate know and are capable of comprehending that RP is all that it is.  Even then, I think your friend is just asking for trouble.

If this were my friend, I would strongly encourage her to cease and desist "practicing" immediately and come clean about her lack of qualifications, before I was forced to expose her myself.  What she's doing is potentially dangerous and a perfect example of why I believe "therapy" in SL is never a good idea, under any circumstance.  There's just too many ways that it could go terribly wrong.

...Dres

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I'm on vacation in RL so just now checking the forums and seeing this thread.  Thanks Dillon.  There are a lot of role playing people out there calling themselves just about everything in SL,  'because they can'.    OP, i do understand your reasoning, there are a lot of people living way out that don't have access to services;  talk to Gentle Heron of Virtual Ability.  Just IM her, and tell her you got her name from me.  She has people and services that are indeed RL verified.  She also has the largest list of suicide help hotlines, worldwide, really, that I've ever seen, and she knows  how to use it.   She knows who's verified, in RL.  In fact I think we have a list.  Give her a shout out.  Best of luck to you.

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You may run into someone in sl that has an MSW and works as a counselor in rl.  But verifying this would be almost impossible unless they wanted to give you personal rl contact info.  Depending on the regulations where they practice, it may preclude them from giving any meaningful guidance.

I'm an MD in rl working in my Trauma Residency.  Being an MD in rl, it would be very risky, even with the anonymity of sl, to give any medical advice beyond things that you may already find on a site like WebMD.  Personally, I would listen, possibly pass on what I know about a certain problem, then  refer you there for more info and to you regular Dr for further examination and consultation.

IMO, anything else would be irresponsible on my part.  So I seriously doubt you will find a legitimate PhD or MD Therapist that would do anymore than that in sl.  If for no other reasons than the possible attendant liability and risk of license.  It is such an iffy thing where liability is concerned I will not even rp as a Dr in sl.

If you feel you are in need, try contacting the Health Department in your jurisdiction.   They may be able to provide you with the names of bona fide therapists in your area who will work with you on the basis of what you can afford.  Or they may be able to point you to some support groups being supervised by a bona fide therapist.

Good luck, and if you genuinely feel you need help by all means continue to seek it.

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