E-mail and Psychiatry: Some Psychotherapeutic and Psychoanalytic Perspectives.

In this paper, we consider the use of e-mail in psychotherapy and its impact on the experience of therapy for both patient and clinician. We discuss in detail the potential for boundary compromise by e-mail use and consider how e-mail may undermine the therapeutic alliance and the cultivation of empathy. Case studies illustrate the possible positive aspects of e-mail and elucidate several fundamental problems with any use of e-mail in psychodynamic treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]