12 June 2001

Face to Face in Cyberspace - mental health nurses meet on the 'net

For the past month, in an exciting development for mental health nursing, members of the psychiatric nursing Internet forum have been able to videoconference with each other via a web facility provided by Internet startup company GroupInterVisual™.

The nursing Internet has been humming as nurses engage with each other worldwide, many of them seeing and hearing each other for the first time after years of professional collaboration and shared experiences via e-mail. "It has a lot of possibilities in terms of collaborative work internationally," says forum member Denis Ryan (Nurse Tutor) in Ireland. "After all, an international call suddenly comes at local rates and you can see who you're talking with."

Being able to see and hear others has had a striking impact on participants, like Louisa De Coster (Student Nurse) in Eastbourne, England, who comments "with e-mails, you sort of fling your words into an unknown void. …my typed words might appear to have the wrong 'tone of voice' between their lines. In seeing movements and expressions, I can 'see' the effect of my words being received … it's made me feel more connected." According to Lori Hutchison, in Oregon, USA, videoconferencing has "added a new dimension" to e-mail discussion, and has a "surprisingly humanising effect" which will lead to forum members being more understanding of one another: "It is harder to hit the 'send' button on a scathing email if you have actually interacted with someone 'face to face'." For Graeme Chubb in Ballarat, Australia, "a whole new world of networking has opened up," and he predicts that it can "only grow" in popularity. His colleague Richard Lakeman in Cairnes, Australia, adds that through this medium "the potential for therapy and clinical supervision to occur over the Internet may more easily be realised."

A live 'instant chat' facility on the site means that it is not even necessary for both parties in a conference call to have a webcam or microphone. In addition, points out another member of the forum, "you can … quickly share files, and talk about the information you send right then and there," while seeing the person you are collaborating with. The psychiatric-nursing forum's videoconference site can be found and tried out for free at www.groupintervisual.net/hosting/psychiatric-nursing/ .

The psychiatric-nursing e-mail list was created in 1994 by Len Bowers, Professor of Psychiatric Nursing at St Bartholomew School of Nursing & Midwifery, UK, and has 700 members at present. It is a lively forum with a healthy level of dialogue and debate amongst professionals (and some service users), which reaches across national and cultural boundaries.

"Clinical staff rub shoulders with service managers, student nurses and leading academics in an international context that highlights differences as well as commonalities," explains Professor Bowers. "Several articles have been published about the group, debates started there have overflowed into professional journals and books, as well as practice innovation, and international friendships, even a marriage has been formed." Other members of the group report an unusual balance of cohesiveness and challenge as amongst the features of the forum that have contributed to its success, and have likened it to a 24 hour, 365 day-a-year international conference and party.

Further information about the forum, how to join, records of past discussions etc., can be found at www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psychiatric-nursing.html

Videoconferencing facilities for the forum are sponsored by GroupInterVisual™, a startup Internet venture founded by Ben Davidson, who up until recently led the User Employment Project at South West London and St. George's Mental Health NHS Trust, UK, for which he won in 1999 the prestigious NT/3M's Annual Nursing Award. Ben continues part time as a Visiting Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing at South Bank University, where he is conducting research into communication on the Internet, and he also works as a Group Analyst in private practice and at the South London and Maudsley Mental Health NHS Trust.

Says Ben, "Belonging over the past eight years to Len Bowers' psychiatric-nursing forum has made me realise that the Internet is not just about technical wizardry. It is about people, in groups, communicating. I have set up GroupInterVisual™ to bring together expertise in new Internet videoconferencing technology with an understanding of groups and communication." Further information on videoconferencing and GroupInterVisualTM can be found at www.groupintervisual.net

"GroupInterVisual are delighted to have played a part in enhancing what is already such a successful Internet community" concludes Ben, "and we are eager and ready to add videoconferencing enhancements to other Internet communities, forums and websites."

While the style of communication and the innovative technology at psychiatric-nursing@jiscmail.ac.uksets a high standard, it seems that GroupInterVisual™ is aiming to provide the means for other professional groups within nursing to develop a visible presence in cyberspace. The question is who will be next to follow the lead taken by Professor Len Bowers and Ben Davidson in facilitating professional development via Internet communication that includes video and audio elements, as well as the written word.

Notes for editors:


psychiatric-nursing@jiscmail.ac.uk is a publicly funded Internet discussion forum for all those interested in the public, international exchange of theory, experience, research, practice and innovation in psychiatric nursing. It enables professional networking, i.e. the sharing of best practice, news, ideas, information and sources of information. It offers solidarity, mutual support and challenge, while more generally facilitating the development of an international professional identity for psychiatric and mental health nursing. For further information about the psychiatric-nursing Internet forum contact Len Bowers on +44 (0)20 7505 5824 (L.Bowers@city.ac.uk), or go to www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/psychiatric-nursing.html, where you can search the archives and join.

GroupInterVisual™ offer individuals, families, businesses and other groups the facilities to see and hear each other as they communicate, via PC-based videoconferencing in private or public groups. It also offers the support and expertise necessary for the experience to work. Services include free one-to-one videoconferencing, subscription access group videoconferencing, website design (with embedded videoconferencing software), business solutions (intranets and extranets) and training and group facilitation for online groups. The founders of GroupInterVisual™ bring together three sources of expertise: professional qualifications in group analysis and mental health care; a wide range of management and consultancy experience; and proven skills in IT systems, e-business and media development. For further information on videoconferencing and GroupInterVisual™, contact Ben Davidson on +44 (0)20 8693 5830 (ben.davidson@groupintervisual.net) or visit www.groupintervisual.net .

JISCmail is a National Academic Mailing List Service, facilitating discussion, collaboration and communication within the UK Academic Community and beyond. It is commissioned by The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) of Higher Education institutions, promotes the innovative application and use of information systems and information technology in Higher and Further education across the UK. and is based at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, part of the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils (CLRC), Oxfordshire. For further information, contact Trevor Daniels on +44 (0)1235 445755 (t.daniels@rl.ac.uk) or visit www.jiscmail.ac.uk.