Security and Privacy
The way we keep psychotherapy private has a social as well as a technical side. The technically possible leaks are often not the biggest worry. Simply leaving an email visible - printed or on the screen - may expose it in a way you would not like. Ordinary care and attention to privacy is needed, especially if you share a computer.
Here are some ideas you may wish to take up to enhance privacy and security.
Web Mail
A password protected email address in a service such as Hotmail keeps the correspondence online and off your own computer. Hotmail is not recommended as it is has some security problems, restrictions, is prone to spam and requires the use of a proprietary passport. I recommend Gmail which is free for the basic service and does a professional job. With web-based email you need to be online to see your material, this may be a drawback. You can, however, access the "therapy space" from any computer on the Net.
Simple Encryption
If you feel nervous about people seeing your words on the computer or being able to search through files for certain words this may help. It is the simplest encryption I know - and easy to break, but probably assists to offer some privacy.
Some email programs have the function built in. Or you can use this site:
Write your email in plain text. Cut and paste into the box on this site. Hit the button and copy the text back into the email. Delete it off the website. I'll know what to do with it.
If you would like my responses in ROT13 please let me know.
Strong EncryptionPGP is an option, let me know if you require this, there may be an additional fee.