I lead two "Discovering Normal" groups, one on Wednesdays (6:00-7:30 p.m.) and one on Thursdays (7:15-8:45 p.m.). A Saturday morning group will be forming soon. These groups are for women who grew up in families where the emphasis was on meeting the parents' needs rather than on meeting the children's needs, often because of the parents' alcoholism and/or chronic mental or physical illness. Each group meets in 12-week sessions, accepting new members in the first week of a new session.  

The Wednesday group will be open to new members on September 15th; the Thursday group will be open to new members on September 16th.  Please click here if you are interested in joining one of these groups.

Firewall Protection

If you are concerned about privacy, I encourage you to add a firewall to your system to prevent unauthorized external access to your computer.

 

Password Protection

If others have access to your computer, you can use a password to stop them from viewing your documents and other information that may be stored on your hard drive. I also recommend any session information or personal journaling stored on your hard drive be encrypted. Consider Cryptainer, free software that allows you to secure your data and ensure absolute privacy.

 

Workplace Computers/Email Privacy

Since employers usually have a legal right to view data on company computers, I advise you to protect your privacy by avoiding the use of workplace computers for online counseling.

 

Other Privacy Considerations

If you are in a relationship that is abusive or someone you live with does not respect your basic right to privacy, please be aware that the same programs employers use to view data on employee computers is available to individuals as well.  These programs record every keystroke made on the computer.  If you have reason to suspect someone of going to such extreme measures, then online counseling may not be a suitable option at this time.