Web Sites Provide Access To Mental-Health Counselors; Missing the Visual Cues

Instant messaging, favored by chatting teens and office gossips, is now a growing tool for therapists counseling people on everything from quitting smoking to sexual-abuse trauma.

Proponents say the text-based conversations are appealing because they're fast and anonymous -- users can log onto a number of online services and connect with therapists who know them only by screen names. But many in the mental-health community say the format is too impersonal for effective treatment and should only be an adjunct to face-to-face counseling.

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(This article also appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, Arizona Republic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, St. Paul Pioneer Press and [Rochester, Minn.] Post-Bulletin.)