.

Hello Everyone,

I am happy to announce that the first group chat for readers of the Discussing Dissociation blog will be held tomorrow night, Saturday June 6 at 7 PM Central Standard Time, with Daylight Savings.

To participate in this group chat, you will need to sign up through www.AbuseConsultants.com using the $5 email consultation form.  Click the $5 email icon on the home page of AbuseConsultants.com.  That will take you to the Business Office / Services page.  Click the Consultation Email link on the left, click the Order Here link, and follow the procedures for ordering a $5 email consultation.

I have been doing online therapy since 2001.  The risks and benefits on online therapy consultations are explained on the AbuseConsultants.com website.  The legalities of having therapeutic interaction with me are also detailed on the AbuseConsultants website.  Please refer there for additional information, especially in the Business Office pages of the site.

The chat will last a minimum of one hour, and could last up to two hours, depending on how many people participate in the chat.

Here are some guidelines to follow:

Have a specific and private MSN messenger screen name ahead of time.  DO NOT USE YOUR REAL NAME when signing up for this MSN screen name.  Be sure to use a nickname, preferably something similar to your screen name that you post with at this blog.   It is best that you do not use the MSN screen name that you use with your friends and family members.  It is much better to have a brand new screen name that is not associated with anyone else in your personal life.  This new and anonymous screen name will help to protect your privacy – that is very important.

Yes, by signing up through AbuseConsultants.com, I will see the name / address from your credit card.  I will not see any of your banking information.  No one from the group will see your personal information and it is as equally private giving that information to me as it is when you give your name and address to your own therapist.

Please remember that I am a licensed mental health professional, and I am required by law to keep your personal information confidential.  I will keep your info confidential the same as I keep my other client’s information confidential.

The topic for this first group chat will be a question and answer format.  I would like each participant to prepare ahead of time at least five questions to have on hand that you would like to ask me about DID therapy and DID treatment issues.  Have your questions typed up and ready so that you can copy-paste your questions into the IM chat when it is your turn.

I cannot guarantee that there will be sufficient time to have all five questions answered in this group chat, but I will do my best!  Having a minimum of five questions prepared ahead of time will allow for duplicate questions (in case someone else wants to know some similar as to what you want to know), and it will keep you from having to figure things out “on the spot”.

This group chat will be geared towards adult parts.  Since this is the first group chat, it will be particularly important for you to stay adult for this chat.  You may ask questions on behalf of your child parts, but I really suggest that you do your best to stay as old as you can.  It is a matter of safety to not let your child parts out with a group of people that you do not know very well.  Let’s work on practicing safety first by keeping the littles tucked in for this initial chat.

This group chat is not designed as an appropriate place for crisis material.  If you are acutely suicidal or acutely struggling with self-injury, this group setting is not an appropriate place for you.  Contact your personal therapist or your local 911 emergency services.   This group chat is for educational purposes, for discussing dissociative disorders, and will not be used as a dumping ground for crisis work.

If someone pushes that boundary, your local 911 police will most likely be called.  I will be doing group work, so I will not be able to attend to your individual crisis.

During the chat, everyone will be expected to use proper social manners, including appropriate language.  Be sure to share the IM time with others, but please speak up comfortably when it is your turn.  I will lead the group discussion as effectively as I can, and if things get too hectic during the chat, I will ask everyone to stop and let me help get the group re-grounded again.  Please follow my lead.  It’s not as easy to get people to be quiet for a bit over an IM as it is in person, so please be sure to read what I type, and please respect my leadership.

I have led a lot of group chats with the members at SurvivorForum.com, and these group chats have been very helpful and positive.  However, the group chat is as beneficial as the group members will allow it to be.  Your positive, active, polite participation will make all the difference.

If you decide that you want to join the group chat scheduled for June 6 at 7 PM CST, please sign up now.  After you have submitted your $5 consultation fee, please add me to your contact list as KathyBfromAC at yahoo.com .

I’m looking forward to chatting with you soon!

Kathy

www.AbuseConsultants.com

www.SurvivorForum.com