Shewnarine+Amanda

WELCOME TO AMANDA SHEWNARINE'S WIKI!!

 For my Issue Analysis Website I will be analyzing the usefulness of self-help on the Internet

The journey to find oneself is not always an easy task. There are those who never go a day without questioning their purpose in life, but what about the rest of us? What assists in our process of self-formulation or reformulating one’s self-identity? Many would agree that this can be done by searching the World Wide Web for self-help websites and information. Of course, this can only be used to an extent, and one must understand its limitation, have realistic expectations, and of course be open to change. An individual in seek of some form of help online must know when self-help becomes inadequate, and professional help must be sought after.

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Ismael Luis Brosas 996980147
 * __Critical Analysis__**

Excellent job on organizing and displaying the information you found. It brings into perspetive the availability of self-help in comparison to the availability of professionals and the immediateness of the response attained. However, if self-help can be found online, yes it is available and very fast at its response time, but how credible is the help being attained if they come from individuals struggling with the same fate? It may provide temporary relief, but it may not hold the key to solving the probem. In retrospect, these self-help websites allow self-development in trying to solve an individual's problem. This leads to self-gratification and higher self-esteem. These improves the individual's morale and can lead to elimination of the problem. Also, these sef-help groups eliminate shyness and other group related problems while encouraging participation.Self-help onlie has increased in participation and can prove relatively useful for taking action towards the needs of many when so few are being accomodated in the professional world.

Dombeck, Mark, and Jolyn Wells-Moran. "Introduction to the Online Self-Help Book." MentalHelp.net. CentreSite, 3 july 2006. Web. 30 Mar 2010. <[]>.
 * Reference**

=**Critical Analysis: Self Help on the World Wide Web**= Author: Semira B. Fernandes Article available at: [] = = The issue analysis paper, titled, “Self Help on the World Wide Web:Prosperous or Harmful?” by Amanda Shewnarine, provides a excellent critical analysis of the idea of self-help on the Internet. Using web characteristics of the Internet, outlined in Weinberger’s book, such as time, space, knowledge and self, Shewnarine illustrates the pros and cons of self-help seeking on the web. Though this element adds value to the paper, the author failed to make important connections between the web characteristic of Time and self-help.

Shewnarine explains that self-help websites fits the web characteristic of time described by Weinberger, “Being able to post thoughts or feelings quickly …since they do not have to wait for "the next available appointment" …” (Shewnarine, 2010). However, this does not accurately describe how individuals save time by using the Internet for self-help. Since self-help deals with individuals helping themselves through researching information, rather than seeking help from a professional, the Internet provides individuals to attain knowledge from the comfort of their computer. Using online sources such as ebooks, scholary articles, and other web pages containing self-help information decreases the time spent seeking books from stores or libraries, versus waiting for an “appointment”.

Overall, the paper is clear and concise in stating the relation between the other web characteristics and self-help. Additionally, Shewnarine concludes, “Online support groups and networks are growing in number as more individuals recognize special benefits and conveniences.” Her argument is supported by current literature about the Internet and self-help. A British article found that Internet-based self-help programs resulted in greater reductions of depressive symptoms compared with activity in a discussion group only. Additionally, after a 6 months follow-up, improvement was maintained to a large extent (Andersson, Bergström, Holländare, Carlbring, Kaldo, Ekselius, 2005). Shewnarine effectively outlined the advantages and disadvantages of Internet self-help, properly applying aspects of CCT260 and by supporting her ideas with appropriate sources.

** __Work Cited__ **

Andersson, G., Bergström, J., Holländare, F., Carlbring, P., Kaldo, V., Ekselius, L. (2005). Internet-based self-help for depression: randomised controlled trial. // The British journal of psychiatry the journal of mental science. 187, // 456-461.

Shewnarine, A. (2010). // Self Help on the World Wide Web: Prosperous or Harmful?. // Retrieved from []