ABSTRACT
Introduction Lucy had considered seeking psychological treatments for her stress problems for years, but the only time she had visited a psychologist he had not taken much interest in what troubled her the most − the stress she experienced in her life. She had been offered antidepressants from her GP but declined the offer, as she also did when it was suggested she go to a physiotherapist to learn relaxation. She felt she did not have the time for faceto-face therapy as it would not fit in well in her daily busy life with work, a dog and two children at school needing her assistance every day. She read an article in the newspaper about a stress management course on the Internet that had been found to be effective, and the researchers now were looking for research participants for a new study. She thought about it for a day and then registered on the web site. In the description of the study it said that she would have a personal guide throughout the program and that the stress management course was based on CBT. Following a set of questionnaires and a telephone interview, she was accepted for the trial and began working with the first treatment module, after instruction. Following the eight-week stress management course she felt much improved and in particular appreciated the weekly feedback from her online therapist. One thing she would have liked was to be in contact with other persons in the same situation on the web, which had not been part of the study.
