Should Linden Lab require certification for these SL 'Therapists'?

Stickies are orange too.

And, Rha..........my thoughts exactly.

Replace the word 'therapist' with 'a child pretending to be an adult'. Linden Lab has taken a stance on that subject.

I did not know that anyone could claim to be a therapist. perhaps some states require licensing. But I guess if its not licensed in California then they will not worry about it.

And I do not have such a cavalier attitude toward people who seek therapists. I do not believe that they get what they deserve just because they seek help where they feel safe.

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I believe it varies from state to state. See http://www.op.nysed.gov/mftlic.htm for example.

however they still allow people to play as a child avatar
they took a stance on the totally immoral and illegal part of it

comparing that to therapy is like apples and oranges

Also the word therapist has many many uses.

Again... why worry about it, it is not like anyone is getting hurt (that we know of, and if they are, who is responsible? them for believing and trusting? LL for allowing?), and hopefully those who do seek out in world therapist are intelligent and mature enough to know what they could be getting.

It is not our fault or LL's if someone believes someone else when they say I am a _________.

For example I could say I am a Doctor, does that mean I am not one, or does it mean I am one? If I am a Doctor in SL and claim to be a Doctor in SL, whose business is it other than those who want to be my patient?
If I say I am a Doctor and someone asks me for RL credentials, and I refuse, that does not necessarily mean I am not a Doctor, it just means I do not wish to share RL info, so that person now has a choice to make, go along with what I claim, or back out now.

Same can be said for therapists and therapy clinics etc.


(boy this has a case of deja vu all of a sudden)

Thank you
this is something I was not aware of. Nice to know.

Well I believe some of the residents would be concerned about it. Real therapists and people that have sought therapy know what real damage untrained fakes can do to a person. I really just thought people aware of these things would respond to this thread.

You and Peggy have said 'who cares' for two pages now. I hope to have some more responses from people that do care.


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my who cares is not meant as a who gives a damn

it is more meant as
we are all supposed to be adults, and if we (general we) are going to blindly trust someone who claims to be a therapist, to put our woes and such in their hands, then the only one responsible is the "patient".
Not LL, not you, not me, the patient who were not smart enough, or cared enough, to know who or what they are dealing with.


I personally give people more credit than that, I like to think that the folks in SL are mature, and smart enough to not just blindly trust someone who claims to be something.

Oh and on my screen it is only one page so far heh

(so... peggy and I have said who cares, only for one page so far, from my point of view)

Are either of our points of view incorrect?
Nope, just two ways of seeing something.

Edited to add:

The thread title kept jumping out at me, until I realised I never really did answer the question... so that being said...

Title/question
"Should Linden Lab require certification for these SL 'Therapists'?"
My answer
No

I don't believe I said "who cares". I did put out my thought on what anyone who uses the internet should be aware of....and, unless that person is absolutely stupid, there is no reason whatsoever that they should not be aware of. The internet has been around for quite a few years......an adult on the internet these days should be very well versed on the dangers. If they are not, then there is nothing anyone can do to help them....you can lead a horse to water,but you cannot make him drink.

And, my doubts of the sincerity of the OP stem from the mere fact that he chose to post a thread asking a question that no one here can do a damned thing about. If, the OP had first contacted LL and then came here to tell us about it and the whys it was done, I'd have a lot more confidence in the motives. And, obviously, that did not happen. Hence my suggestion that it is a joke or for entertainment purposes only.

By the way, I still think a better way to handle anything like this is to require some proof that the user has a semblance of common sense.........and a rudamentry knowledge of internet safety. That would go a long way further than some type of certification for any "service" offered in a make believe world like Second Life.

Anyone claiming to be a RL therapist or whatever should also provide their RL details/credentials if asked, so you can check them out and satisfy yourself.
If you don't ask, well, your risk.

Don't forget builders, it's only a matter of time before an avatar is killed by shonky multistory plywood construction collapse or a skybox falling

either I am having one of those days, or deja vu is out to get me

for some reason this comment made me think, that a long time ago, someone complained about a picture falling off the wall and hitting an avatar... (or was it a dream)

blah now I am gonna have to search the forums, else it will be stuck in my head

Edit: grrr I just tried a search, and the search ignores the word hit because it is too small, so much for searching for a thread about an avatar being hit by a picture.

blech

Again Peggy, this is a conversation with the customer base. Under your strict guidelines - anyone that starts a poll on the forums should consult with LL first to see if they feel it is something they consider a issue. If LL is not concerned about it then we should clear our heads of it and just do what the orange text tells us to do.

If you pour lemon juice on Peggy's posts, apply heat and hold them up to a mirror you see COMPLY WITH THE COMPANY (there is some forum humor for you).

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he?
shows how much I know, I always though the OP was a she LOL
(never met in world, only seen posts on here, not sure why I thought they were a she)

I think that the problem begins with the fact that someone who feels they need the attention of a therapist or psychologist is feeling vulnerable in the first place. How desperate is someone going to be if he or she is seeking help in SL? It almost goes without saying that they aren't in a strong position to be objective about their choices.

Aside from that, I would see the practice of psychology in SL at this point as going way too far: the potential for damage is enormous in the absence of a reliable system of accreditation.

As far as therapy goes, perhaps it would be more practical to invite a charitable organisation like the Samaritans to open a sim in SL? The medium seems to be a perfect extension of their RL telephone, internet and personal counselling services.

Supportforhealing is already available in world and they are an excellent source for those who are troubled. I've attended both their depression and bipolar groups. There is a facilitator to ensure the conversation goes smoothly, but noone who works on the island claims they are a therapist, etc.

Thank you Ephraim. I wasn't able to convey that properly.

Hopefully these real life therapy groups in SL will make themselves more visible (links to their website and telephone numbers to their real facilities) so people desperately seeking help get with trained professionals.


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therapy and psychology are not the same

therapy can just simply be a group of folks being together to help one another, no "shrink" involved.

Still not sure what the issue is.

I can think of this one for a start:
/118/88/309893/1.html

interesting

but still I think the onus lies on the ones seeking help, if they do not want to take the time to confirm creditability, then they did not do their homework

me, personally, I would take it all with a grain of salt, and if I felt the need to seek help such as that, I would seek it in RL, not in a game (for all intents and purposes, to me, SL is a game)

also the OP did not ask about psychologists, she/he asked about therapists and therapy groups, big difference

Someone desparately seeking help will not come to a make believe world for that help. Well, maybe they might, but then I refer back to the need for common internet sense. Requiring a real world license for anything in a make believe world is just plain silly (I'd say the real word that came to my mind but I'm afraid that would really get someone going).

And I did not know this was a poll. Had it been clearly identified as such with all the required credentials I would not have responded. I don't do polls, you see.

You'd be surprised. The number of people in SL who are agoraphobic is much larger than you would imagine. In addition, there are many depressed individuals who don't leave their homes or have other disabilities that restrict their movement. These individuals would be easy prey for some quack calling themselves a therapist. Having come from a family with a long list of mental disorders, including myself, I can assure you that the individual would not necessarily be at fault. There is such thing is desperation that can be easily manipulated.

Despite those facts, I would not want LL to be responsible for verifying credentials. I just don't want them that involved in our SLives.

I totally agree with you. But just as many intelligent and sensitive residents think quite differently to you and me on that issue of keeping RL and SL in separate boxes.

Add a touch of emotional or psychological derailment into the equation and I genuinely shudder to think what could happen if someone opened up to an untrained counselor or ersatz 'psychologist'.


There speaks the voice of experience.


I would disagree with you on this point: while I certainly wouldn't want a Big Brother policing of SL, the medium has far too much potential for good, positive use to simply let the matter slide. It would only take a little extra work and organisation for the Lindens to ensure that professionals offering health services within SL are properly checked out and fully disclose their identity and credentials.

Well I think Peggy taking what was posted - that therapists in SL that do post their real life credentials are the safest bet - is the most logical, safest path to take. I would not call people seeking help in SL silly. Many service providers are using SL to create a customer base - and that is what LL likes to boast about. If they promote corporate meeting tools and give thousands of dollars to real life educators I think safe mental health tools could also be an important business outlet in SL.

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And I say a make believe world in not the place to do that...........and Second Life is a make believe world. I also don't think the "mainstream" internet is a place to do that. Sure, advertise your service...........but provide that service in the real world. Not the make believe world. I don't even trust "Web MD". But, then I don't seek help from strangers........even so called "well documented" strangers such as participants on Web MD. Give me a way to have some physical contact and I might seek the help........otherwise it's all so much BS.

Suggesting LL requires proper certification for "therapy" or any other official service is silly. It's the same as suggesting everyone who plays WoW should go through proper weapons training and have a certificate to prove you've done so.

Oh wait..........WoW is a game and SL is not. Sorry for my mistake.

Damn right. SL is whatever folk choose to make of it, which means just about any issue can become somewhat complex.


So shall we just disregard your argument then?