Yalom's therapeutic factors virtually examined

Irvin Yalom described the therapeutic factors functioning in every psychotherapy group; these factors appear in any textbook about group psychotherapy. A combination of Yalom’s therapeutic factors, so important in small groups, exists on the Internet as well. Some of them are even intensified in Cyberspace communities and Internet forums. Others are less available on the Internet, depending on the participant’s and specific group’s ability to self-reflect. The relationship between Red Riding Hood and the wolf, appearing in this Internet version, includes sexual, aggressive, and dichotomous content, as a story distinguishing between good and bad creatures, aggressors and victims, and perhaps between a frightening male and a seemingly innocent girl. Having an access to an Internet forum allows the examination of the participants’ responses to the text, the relationship among the forum members, and even the relationship between the Ariel group and other youth movements to which they related in the forum.