Worldwide wellness

Nancy, a 40-year-old college professor, had been battling clinical
depressionfor years when she discovered the depression message boards at
iVillage. She had been reluctant to talk about her disease with others
for fear that it might change their opinion of her or compromise her
career. Online, though, using a pseudonym, she felt completely free for
the first time to discuss anything she wanted. "You can talk about things
that you can't say to other people," she says. "We're constantly
educating ourselves and each other about what we've learned from doctors,
therapists and books."

Katelyn McKenna, Ph.D., a research scientist in the psychology
department at New York University, confirms, "a lot of people can find
relief in knowing that they're not alone in their situation." It's also
reassuring, she says, to find a community of people who understand what
you're going through and can offer advice on coping. "They can really
support one another in their attempts to change and grow."

Virtual support groups also have the advantage of being convenient.
Nancy can visit the message boards whenever she wants--usually at
midnight--right from her bedroom.

In spite of its growing popularity, online mental health care is no
substitute for a live professional. "I would never recommend that it be
the primary source for mental health information or mental health help,"
says John Krantz, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of psychology at
Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana. "If you have issues, you should
always seek out a mental health professional in your community."

Still, for people like Nancy, the Internet provides a
groundbreaking first step. Here, PSYCHOLOGY TODAY reviews choice sites
that can make your mental health help a virtual reality.

drkoop (www.drkoop.com)

SPEARHEADED BY THE FORMER surgeon general, C. Everett Koop, this
user-friendly site contains an impressive array of mental health
information, with hundreds of articles on concerns ranging from
compulsive gambling and stress to bipolar disorder and suicide. It also
boasts more than 130 daily chat support groups with topics such as
first-time fathers, addiction and recovery, aging, weight loss and
surviving panic attacks. For the latest news from the mental health
field, click on "Health News."

Mental Health Net (mentalhelp.net)

ONE OF THE LARGEST INTERNET SITES devoted exclusively to mental
health, Mental Health Net is a veritable self-help center. Here you can
read extensive articles on mental disorders and treatments, participate
in more than a dozen support groups, peruse multiple bulletin boards,
locate mental health organizations, consult online resources, check out
the latest book reviews, and even find a therapist. There are some
interactive tests, for Alzheimers disease, for instance, but you have to
dig to find them.

National Institute of Mental Health (www.nimh.nih.gov)

THIS GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED WEB site features the latest studies and
advances in research. Here you can look into participating in clinical
trials that have posted notices for volunteers, and review
straightforward descriptions of diseases and treatments, with a long list
of organizations to contact for more information. No printer? The site
lets you order free publications on topics such as "What to Do When A
Friend Is Depressed" and "A Consumer's Guide to Mental Health Services."
But since it's geared toward practitioners and researchers as well as the
public, this site ends up being less consumer-friendly than
others.

iVillage (www.ivillage.com)

A NEW ONLINE PSYCH TEST and Quiz Center make this women-focused
site truly participatory. Test yourself on everything from your emotional
intelligence to your compatibility with your mate. A mental health
section offers basic information on dozens of conditions including ADD,
eating disorders, post-partum depression, and trauma and abuse; daily
articles on topics such as "mourning for an ex-husband"; bulletin boards
posting readers' questions with answers from professionals; and multiple
chat opportunities.

PlanetRx (www.planetrx.com)

UNDER ITS "LEARN MORE" ICON, this site offers mental health
information in a well-organized format. On the same page as disease
descriptions and treatments are related conditions and drug information.
Most impressive is an alternative health roundup, which cites studies
that support efficacy claims for alternative medicines. Read more about
those remedies and consult a list of related books in the "Resources"
section.

HealthWorld Online (www.healthy.net)

ALTHOUGH THE SITE'S "DISEASES/CONDITIONS" search function will
yield a multitude of articles, its biggest draw is its "Wellness Center,"
which addresses issues of body, mind, spirit and health, and features
articles from heavy hitters in these fields such as Dr. Elisabeth
Kubler-Ross and Dr. Carolyn Myss. Read the practical "Mind/Body Health
Archive," with articles such as "Depression and Health Care" and "Halting
Time Pressure."

Rx.com (www.rx.com)

IN ITS "CONDITIONS A-Z," THIS ONLINE PHARMACY contains an
alphabetical listing of mental health conditions such as separation
anxiety disorder and schizophrenia. In addition to basic descriptions and
symptoms, it lists the tests and treatments you might expect to receive.
You can also get thorough, easy-to-understand information on different
medications through the site's drug factsheets. Skip the "Natural
Medicines" guides, however, which provide only limited
information.

iHerb (www.iherb.com)

IF IT'S ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT you seek for your mental health
needs, this site gives the scoop on mood-modifying herbs such as St.
John's wort, kava kava and Sam-e. For each herb you can read descriptions
written by doctors, links to informative articles from publications such
as Newsweek, and the opportunity to spend, spend, spend on the site's
herbal supplements and related books.

CVS/Pharmacy (www.cvs.com)

THIS SITE'S "PHARMACY COUNTER" is like a dictionary of medications,
listing uses, directions, precautions and more. With the "Drug
Doublecheck," you can enter the name of your prescription and learn of
any potential interactions.

Also check out:

helping.apa.org/index.html

www.psychologyinfo.com

www.nami.org

www.onlinepsych.com

www.mentalhealth.com

For additional listings, please see our regular department, "Web
Crawlers," on page 74.

ILLUSTRATIONS (COLOR)