PsychAlive
PsychAlive is a nonprofit multimedia website offering
psychological information to the general public through articles, blogs,
videos, webinars, and workshops. Founded in 2004 by the Glendon Association,
PsychAlive focuses on issues of self, intimacy and parenting, drawing on the
contributions, research and theory of contemporary psychology experts.
PsychAlive was created with the goal of providing an online
avenue for people to take an active, introspective approach to their
psychological well-being, covering topics such as depression, anger, stress,
addiction, self-destructive thoughts and behaviors, parenting, intimacy and
general self-help. Psychologists and authors Dr. Lisa Firestone and Dr. Robert
Firestone are regular contributors to the site.
Format
The site is divided into three sections: Alive to Self,
Alive to Intimacy and Alive to Parenting. Each of these sections focuses on the
emotional issues that can arise as people strive to lead their lives as
successful individuals, partners and parents. The tools available on PsychAlive
are intended to help people understand the emotional dynamics that operate
within them and the limitations that restrict them in their daily lives.
PsychAlive additionally provides free workshops, which are multimedia
experiences involving step-by-step processes that help people to learn and
assimilate the psychological information offered on the site. The workshops
engage visitors in progressive reading and writing exercises that are modeled
after traditional psychotherapy techniques and processes. The sections of the
PsychAlive Workshop address some of the significant areas of life in which
people suffer emotionally: within themselves, in their intimate relationships
and with their children. PsychAlive offers additional support by providing a
secure, private online journal and supplementary information such as text,
guidance from experts, personal examples, video, podcasts, book
recommendations, movies, and music that relate to one’s specific stage in the
workshop process as well as a media library of video, audio, books and
reference materials.
The website features sections for student and guest bloggers
to share personal experiences, as well as free regular webinars, interviews and
video clips presented by mental health professionals. A newer addition to the
site is a separate page for continuing education or CE opportunities. Visitors
to the site may post their own CE workshops as well as find links to those
offered by PsychAlive.
RealAge
RealAge, Inc. is an American media corporation that provides
health information to consumers. The company’s stated mission is to encourage
consumers to maximize their health and wellness by making their
"RealAge" younger. It was founded by Michael Roizen, currently the
chief wellness officer at The Cleveland Clinic. RealAge.com serves as the
official online home for both Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz, coauthors of the
best-selling YOU Book series. On this website, users typically fill out a
questionnaire about their health history, which is then used to generate
personalized content, including highly targeted advertisements. Most revenue
comes from pharmaceutical companies paying to advertise their drugs to
individuals who have taken the website test and become members.
RealAge has fueled five New York Times #1 best-selling
books, including RealAge: Are You as Young as You Can Be?, which has been
promoted by Oprah Winfrey, .
RealAge is wholly owned by Hearst Magazines, which purchased
it for an estimated $60 million to $70 million in 2007, when the company had
$20 million in revenue. As of 2009, the company was profitable, making its
money from pharmaceutical companies for which it compiles test results of
RealAge members to whom it sends highly targeted marketing messages by e-mail.
The RealAge Test
The RealAge.com Web site features the patented RealAge Test,
reputedly taken by over 27 million people since 1999. The RealAge Test measures
what is referred to as the "real age" of the test taker’s body based
on a questionnaire pertaining to how well he or she maintains their physical
health. The RealAge concept suggests that what they call calendar age reflects
a consumer’s age since birth, while their RealAge Test gauges the physiological
age of the body and provides the true rate of an individual’s aging.
The RealAge Web site features a large number of
supplementary health-risk evaluations that generate sets of proposals for
individual users wellness regimes. Clients of the site are given access to
advice, articles, blogs, and their RealAge Plan, that are designed to modify
and change lifestyle choices and consumer habits.
