We guard against the exposure of the SELF for very good reasons. When we are open, vulnerable and unprotected, we become...well...open, vulnerable and unprotected. That's frightening, so participation in this, as in most psychotherapies, requires some ability to tolerate the discomfort of intimate self-disclosure. 

       Stories that address painful issues from the past may stir up uncomfortable feelings related to those memories. While I am not a therapist who believes that healing comes from reliving trauma, any memory you recall in order to write about it is likely to result in some level of re-experiencing, along with attendant emotion. 

       You are encouraged to monitor your feelings closely as you write, and to take care of yourself in whatever way feels appropriate if feelings become too uncomfortable or unmanageable. Methods of dissipating emotion may include taking a break from writing, being with people or animals who care about you, surrounding yourself with beauty or engaging in physical activity.

         If you are presently in a situation where you are being battered or stalked, internet therapy bears the risk that your batterer or stalker may gain access to your therapeutic process (by accessing your words on a shared computer for instance), which may increase the degree of danger to you.

       As stated elsewhere on this web site, Cyber Story Therapy is not appropriate if you are in crisis, in the throes of active addiction, are suicidal or suffer from chronic and debilitating mental illness or personality disorders. 

       Psychotherapy is not a substitute for psychiatry or any other medical specialty.

       Although I will carefully guard all the communications between us, no computer based information can be guaranteed to be completely free of the risk to breaches in security. For example, someone could break into your house and steal the computer you have been using to write your stories. This is no different from the use of medical records in general, which may be accessed by unauthorized others, such as cleaning personnel or those who enter the building without the knowledge or consent of the health care provider. 

       Since we will not have access to one another's physical presence, there is a possibility for misunderstandings as a result of not having visual cues to rely on. I encourage you to tell me whenever you have feelings of anger, sadness, hurt or fear related to our communications, as I will not intentionally say things to evoke these emotions and your experiencing of them could be the result of miscommunication or misunderstanding.
 
       Technology can always fail, which might present the possibility of either of us being unable to send or access communication.
 
       I am required by law to notify the appropriate authorities if you tell me of your intention to hurt yourself or someone else, or if you tell me about your mistreatment of a child or elder person.

       In rare cases, I may be subpoenaed by a court to disclose records. 

       There may be other risks to engaging in Cyber Story Therapy of which I am not aware.