An Online Support Group Turns in a Member
05/04/98

Online support groups, like face-to-face support groups, usually have rules of confidentiality. When should those rules be broken? Mental health professionals have codes of ethics which state that information revealed in therapy sessions is confidential. Most states in the United States set some limits on this confidentiality. In Virginia, for example, I must report suspected child abuse and I have a duty to protect the life of the patient and to protect a person who the patient poses a serious threat to. Would I be required to report a murder? Not if the information was revealed to me in a therapy session (although this issue is controversial among some psychologists). The most commonly-held point-of-view is that I am violating my professional ethics if I report a past crime, even a murder. 

Support group members are not bound by professional ethics in the way that professionals are. Confidentiality is critical however, for these groups to function. Would you open-up in a group if you thought that other members would repeat what you said?

Does it matter that this confession occured Online?  Similar issues have been raised when confessions have taken place in face-to-face groups.  Online support groups do differ from face-to-face groups in some important ways. Our behavior in these groups may be different than in face-to-face groups.

• Online support groups usually do not involve any face-to-face contact. A person sitting alone with their computer will often type things that they would be hesitant to say in person. Would Larry Froistad have confessed to a murder in a face-to-face alcohol support group such as AA? Would other members have turned him in?
• Online support groups are often spread throughout the world. Many members will never have the chance to meet each other.
• Online support groups usually leave a detailed record of all interactions. Email can be saved to hard drives, and chat room discussions can be logged. This information can be copied and spread all over the world with little effort.

Larry Froistad seems to have become caught-up in the intimate feel of these groups, and tripped-up by the detailed record of the interactions. He was probably sitting alone with his computer when he typed his confession. The news stories state that he had read messages from other group members who were confessing to various transgressions. When confronted with other peoples' confessions we are all more likely to confess to things ourselves. In the intimate atmosphere of a support group the risks of such confessions seem minimal. It is easy to become completely out-of touch with the fact that we are actually sending email halfway around the world. Any one of the people receiving it can forward our message to anybody they want to - including law enforcement officials.