October 19, 2009 Dear Therapists, Our names are Keely Kolmes and Dan Taube and we are licensed psychologists who would like to request your participation in our research on the effects of encountering client information on the Internet on practicing therapists. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of Alliant International University. As a participant, you will be asked to complete a brief online survey covering your basic demographic information and your experiences regarding seeking or accidentally discovering client information on the Internet, on both search engines and social networking sites. We expect the survey to take between 15 and 25 minutes to complete. Your input may help establish better guidelines for managing the effects of data obtained via Internet on the therapeutic relationship. It may help therapists gain more information about working in a world with increasing potential overlap with clients in an online environment. As no names or personal information will be linked to the study, your participation will be completely anonymous. If you should wish to contact the researchers directly, your participation may become confidential rather than anonymous, although your name will not be linked to any of the data you submit. To be eligible for the study, you must be: a) a practicing psychotherapist (Ed.D. LCSW, M.Ed. MD, MFT, MSW, Ph.D., Psy.D. or student intern) in any area of counseling, psychology, or psychotherapy who is b) also utilizing the Internet in either your professional or private life. If you meet the above criteria and are interested in participating in the study, you can access the survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=76AtQfNaOX7nbIibcVwl6Q_3d_3d If you do not qualify for the study but you know others who might be interested in participating, feel free to forward this url. Thank you for your interest and participation. Sincerely, Keely Kolmes, Psy.D. drkkolmes [at] gmail [dot] com Daniel Taube, Ph.D., J.D. dtaube [at] alliant [dot] edu * * * Keely Kolmes, Psy.D. CA License: PSY 21284 Psychotherapy for Individuals and Couples 2148 Market Street San Francisco, CA 94114 Tel: 415-501-9098 Fax: 415-520-5501 Email: drkkolmes@gmail.com Website: http://www.drkkolmes.com Twitter: Twitter: http://twitter.com/drkkolmes CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION This e-mail, and any attachments, is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named above and may contain privileged, private or confidential information. Any distribution, reading, copying or use of this communication and any attachments by anyone other than the addressee, is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this e-mail in error, please immediately notify me by e-mail at drkkolmes@gmail.com or telephone (415-501-9098), and permanently destroy or delete the original and any copies or printouts of this e-mail including any attachments. It is important that the addressee/s be aware that e-mail can be easily accessed by unauthorized people and hence can compromise the privacy and confidentiality of such communication. E-mails, in particular, are vulnerable to such unauthorized access, due to the fact that servers have unlimited and direct access to all e-mails that go through them. Non-encrypted e-mail, such as this, is even more vulnerable to unauthorized access. Please notify Dr. Kolmes if you decide to avoid or limit, in any way, the use of e-mail. Unless I hear from you otherwise, I will continue communicate with you via e-mail when necessary or appropriate. Please do not use e-mail for emergencies. If you are in a life threatening emergency, call 911 or go to your nearest Emergency Room.