One way consumers can verify a therapist's credentials is through Credential Check . Most people, however, don't bother to verify if a therapist is legitimate. Jenny found a list of therapists through AOL and contacted six of them without checking them out. A consumer that goes online to buy a lawnmower is in a much different risk category than someone who goes online to fight depression. One of the main characteristics of online therapy is that it takes place entirely through written text.
Many people feel more comfortable expressing themselves through writing.
In fact, the act of writing may be itself therapeutic. According to psychologist Donald Fava, who treats people online through Counseling Net, writing helps people compose their thoughts and feelings and allows them to vent. Some patients even ask him not to reply to their e-mails. It externalizes things people have internalized for a long time. The fact that cybertherapy relies on writing is often touted as one of its strengths, but it can also be a weakness.