Archive for March, 2010

The Online Counselling and Therapy in Action (OCTIA – see www.octia.org.uk) conference (now in its second year), took place in Manchester, England  and online this March 2010  through chat rooms, live video and my own presentation taking place in Second Life with its own chat.

The photograph below shows me presenting to the room of delegates at the OCTIA conference venue, with my own laptop in front of me.  Behind me on the screen is the view from my laptop perspective into Second Life, where I was joined by colleagues from all over the world represented as avatars, who had their own chat facility with me via my laptop and the delegates in the room who were also in Second Life as avatars (hence the laptops in the audience).  The screen on the wall to my right is where I was shown live from the perspective of one of the other delegates in the room in Second Life, with the official OCTIA chatroom being scrolled to the right of the video, where I was also taking part via audio and my laptop via text.

If that description sounds confusing, the point is that I was present in five different realities simultaneously, presenting worldwide.  This groundbreaking event reached four continents – Europe, the USA/Canada, South America and Australia – bringing them together to discuss the use of virtual and mixed realities in counselling and psychotherapy experientially.  To ensure the delegates watching in the physical room and online were truly able to understand what working in mixed realities is like, I wore the same clothes that my avatar is based upon, clearer in the photograph below (with my virtual self centre-front of the screen (from my perspective, hence the back view)).

You can also view a video by John Wilson of OnlinEvents and pics of the event. Jokay, founder of Jokaydia where our OTI office and conference center is located,  took some great pics while inworld. We are ever so grateful for her design expertise and professional support.

The Islands of jokaydia is a virtual worlds community of practice facilitated by Jo Kay aka jokay Wollongong. We are exploring the use of virtual worlds and games for education, arts and social change. You can find us in Second Life, Reaction Grid and our new virtual worlds presence – the jokaydia Grid!

We hope you will visit us inworld! If you’d like to check out Online Therapy Square, and the OTI Headquarters visit: http://slurl.com/secondlife/jokaydia%20II/110/68/24.

Ada Lovelace Day March 24th: An international day of blogging to raise awareness of the achievements of women in technology and science- I found this out today! So I thought I would add the OTI blog to the celebration!  As women co-founders of the Online Therapy Institute we are all about technology and how technology has impacted the field of mental health.

So who is Ada Lovelace? Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace, was born August Ada Byron on December 10, 1815  and is the daughter of the illustrious poet, Lord Byron.

When inspired Ada could be very focused and a mathematical taskmaster. Ada suggested writing a plan for how the engine might calculate Bernoulli numbers. This plan, is now regarded as the first “computer program.” A software language developed by the U.S. Department of Defense was named “Ada” in her honor in 1979.  Read more…

Let’s celebrate women who embrace science and technology!

Thanks for your contribution, Ada! ~ perfect timing too since it is Women’s History Month! Check out more blog posts about Ada’s influence at BlogHer.

Please join Kate Anthony and colleagues for an hour in Second Life!

Kate is presenting at the Online Counselling and Therapy in Action (OCTIA) conference on the 20^th March 2010 at 4.10pm (GMT).  Kate will conduct a live tour of professional, therapeutic and educational environments in Second Life, and discuss some of the benefits and pitfalls

of conducting therapy in virtual environments.  Environments will include the offices of the Online Therapy Institute (offices, conference centre, breakout rooms and skybox for therapeutic sessions – www.onlinetherapyinstitute.com) and OnlineEvents.com 9the technical arm of OCTIA).

The location is http://slurl.com/secondlife/jokaydia%20II/147/45/24

Participation in this workshop is free.  Tickets for the main conference (online and offline) are available from http://www.octia.org.uk/OCTIA/Home.html

Hi Everyone!

I invite you to join me and over 10 other expert speakers for a complementary Therapist Resource Telesummit. Over three days, you will have access to some incredible information on how to create an authentic and profitable therapy business, helping many more clients. I will be discussing online therapy and I am thrilled to be joining such a dynamic group of speakers!

See details here:
Therapists Resource FREE Telesummit March 12 – 14

You’ll discover:

* How to stop giving your money away to insurance companies and the biggest mistakes therapists make in building a successful fee-for-service therapy business

* How to help your potential clients TALK THEMSELVES into working with you and what you’ll need to know to attract way more clients without compromising your values

* The mindset shift and business model change you need to learn so you can easily double your current income

* How to use coaching to build a fee-for-service practice making six to seven figures a year

* The reason why you may be procrastinating in your business and the biggest gift you can offer your clients

* The marketing approach that helps your community, while growing your practice at the same time

* How to expand your practice using text-based therapy: what you need to know about using email and chat with your clients- everything from encryption, client screening, and cyber-cultural awareness

* How to create a signature presentation that leaves your potential clients asking for more

* Practical tools you can use to earn expert status and how to utilize technology and marketing strategies to engage clients, build credibility, and earn loyalty

* Specific ways social media improves your visibility online and how to use directories and google local business center to gain exposure and attract new clients

* How online networking sites and technology can bring therapists, students, and interested professional together in a global web community, maximizing your practice exposure

And so much more!

Join me!

March 12th, 13th and 14th, 2010
Register and see details here:
Therapists Resource FREE Telesummit March 12 – 14

Wishing everyone the best!

DeeAnna

Exciting development from the OCTIA organising team. On the Friday night of the conference (19th March) there will be a “meet the authors” session before dinner.

I will be there to discuss “Therapy Online [a practical guide] (Anthony and Nagel, 2010), and Dr. Stephen Goss will talk about the forthcoming title “The Use of Technology in Mental Health: Applications, Ethics and Practice” (Anthony, Nagel & Goss, 2010). We will also refer back to the original UK text on the topic “Technology in Counselling and Psychotherapy: A Practical Guide” (Goss & Anthony, 2003).

Anne Stokes and Gill Jones will consider their 2009 book “Online Counselling”, and Jane Evans will discuss “Online Counselling and Guidance Skills: A Practical Resource for Trainees and Practitioners” (2009).

Also great to welcome Jethro Adlington to talk about “Online Therapy – Reading Between The Lines – A practical NLP based guide to online counselling and therapy skills” (2009).

All these books and more are available from the OTI bookstore at http://www.onlinetherapyinstitute.com/bookstore/

Looking forward to it!

Kate

The Online Therapy Institute is delighted to offer our new course on Online Supervision – text-based strategies. Please check . http://www.onlinetherapyinstitute.com/introduction-to-supervision/ to register for this 5 hour course.

During this course, you will learn about how the supervisory relationship works online, and the importance of secure communication between supervisor and supervisee. We will cover the use of technology historically in supervision to give you grounding in what is available to you for use in practice and to illustrate the usefulness of verbatim transcripts in particular. We will consider the ethical nuances of online supervision, the importance of contract formation, and also some of the boundary issues when being an available online supervisor in practice, particularly with regard to social networking functions of the Internet. Lessons include:

Traditional Uses of Technology
Suitability of the Supervisor
Written Communication Skills for Supervision
Ethical Considerations for the Use of Technology in Supervision
Individual and Group Case Examples
Learning Outcomes:
Participants will be knowledgeable about traditional uses of technology in supervision.

Participants will be able to apply written skills to text-based supervision via chat and email.

Participants will be informed about the ethical considerations for the use of technology in supervision .