Delivering Imagery Rescripting via Telehealth: Clinical Concerns, Benefits, and Recommendations

Abstract

Purpose of the Review Delivery of psychological therapies via telehealth has increased with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therapists may be hesitant in moving to telehealth when delivering therapies targeting memories of traumatic experiences. This paper collates the clinical experiences of clinicians and clients who have delivered or received imagery rescripting, respectively, via telehealth across a range of clinical presentations, and describes key clinical considerations and recommendations. Recent Findings It is important to consider perceived and real safety; practical and technological issues; therapeutic alliance; depth of emotional processing; and dissociation. Summary There was support for the delivery of imagery rescripting via telehealth being no less effective than face-to-face delivery; however, telehealth delivery was not a viable option for many clients during COVID-19 lockdowns who were living in high density housing, old houses with thin walls, or with some complex disorders.

Healthcare professionals' experience of performing digital care visits - a scoping review

“…Insight into patient's home environment (35,39,46,47,58) More frequent visits (47,50,57) Continuity of care (46,47) More personal visits (51) Visits can be intimate (59) Better than phone call consultations (13,56) Technical qualities…”

“…(54) Johnsson et al and Paulik et al discovered that clinicians feel that administration and preparation for digital care visits takes a lot of time, because they must adapt certain treatment techniques to a new setting. (36,50) Other authors found that clinicians experience a lack of administrative support and they needed to schedule visits as well as do other tasks that a secretary or a nurse could take over instead of focusing on treating patients. (35,36,41)…”

“…(44,60) Mental health professionals expressed it was di cult to deal with emotional situations in digital care visits. (46,50,59,60) Mainly due to being unable to properly see patients' body language and facial expressions and inability to use certain con ict management techniques from a distance. (46,50,59,60) Another concern regarding patient-professional relationship was digital care visits being less personal than face-toface visits.…”

“…The fact that patients have different socioeconomic status was related to their access to technology such as smartphones, tablets and computers (57) meant not all patients got access to digital care visits as well as patients' lack of technological skills (46,57) or patients' lack of comfort to use technology (46,50,57,58) often prevented successful interaction via digital care visits.…”

“…(51) Being able to see patient's symptoms during the video consultation, allows health care professional to intervene in real time. (58) Some clinicians thought that caring for patients remotely made them focus more on what was the most important in the treatment (50,51).…”