ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the problem of computer therapy and human values or ethics in the broader context of general scientific and technological change and values. It focuses directly on ethical and value issues involved in computer therapy. The relationships between computer psychotherapy and values are complex. Strong interaction effects have marked relationships between science and values. During the course of civilization, science has been variously seen as threatening the centrality and uniqueness of human beings and as enhancing the quality of human life. The theories, inventions, and applications of science and technology have required the accommodation of human values. The ELIZA program was developed for the scientific purpose of studying communication between people and computers. In some respects similar to the ELIZA program, Colby, Watt, & Gilbert developed an interview program to study therapeutic communication between a human client and a computer therapist.
