Internet-mediated psychotherapy: Are we ready for the ethical challenges?

Abstract

Advances in information and communication technology have facilitated the development of online psychotherapy. This form of psychotherapy would provide the developing world with better access to professional mental healthcare services. At the same time, it is prudent to carefully consider the various ethical, legal and regulatory issues involved in online psychotherapy. This paper highlights the major ethical issues involved in the use of online psychotherapy, whether conducted via e-mail, chat rooms or interactive video, and identifies practical solutions for the ethical dilemmas that exist. Many authors and organisations have expressed their opinions on the subject, but no consensus has evolved. The advice offered to psychologists is mostly skewed and the scarcity of literature available to those considering expanding their practice to include online psychotherapy is certainly a source of vexation. While reviewing the existing literature, this paper seeks to describe and discuss the major ethical issues in this area, particularly in India, but many of these issues will be equally applicable to any developing world settings.

Ethical Issues in Online Psychotherapy: A Narrative Review

“…Online psychotherapy may lead to dehumanization of the therapeutic environment [see (89)] or of the patient if experienced as intrusive by someone who is already vulnerable [see (90)].…”

Family Therapy –Ethical Issues from an Indian Standpoint

“…There is also a lack of trained teachers and supervisors to impart knowledge in the subject. Therefore, lack of training and supervision are added shortcomings with a lack of infrastructure and resources for the same in a developing country like ours [12].…”

“…Apart from that, all the ethical issues that concern online psychotherapy are enveloped to play out in the situation where family therapy is involved. The ethical dilemmas of online psychotherapy as beyond the scope of this chapter, however, one can read more about the same, referring to the recommended reading section of this article [12].…”

Psychological support and psychotherapy via digital devices in Covid-19 emergency time: Some critical issues

“…In the current emergency, effective and ethical psychological support or online psychotherapy requires psychologists and therapists adequately trained both in clinical and therapeutic skills and in use of digital devices. 9,10 In Italy, the digital divide phenomenon concerns both potential online assistance users (penalising the most vulnerable people) and mental health professionals (digital professional divide). 8 In addition, many public mental health services do not have internet access.…”