Practitioner use of and attitudes towards videoconferencing for the delivery of evidence-based telemental health interventions: A mixed methods study

Abstract

The implementation of evidence-based psychosocial interventions using video-conference delivery (VCD) has the potential to increase accessibility to effective treatments, although its use remains limited and understudied. This study employed a mixed methods approach in surveying mental health practitioners about their attitudes regarding VCD of interventions that are considered evidence-based (i.e., have been shown to improve targeted outcomes in rigorous research). One hundred and eleven practitioners were sampled from several national and regional U.S. practice organizations and were administered quantitative surveys about their use of and attitudes towards VCD of evidence-based interventions (EBI). We examined the relationship between practitioner-level technology access, experience, and training with technology fluency and acceptability of using VCD. Quantitative results indicated the most frequently used adaptation for VCD was Tailoring and that practitioner education predicted attitudes towards EBIs. A subset ( n = 20) of respondents were then purposively selected for qualitative interviews to further investigate accessibility, appropriateness, and feasibility of delivering EBIs via video conference. A conventional content analysis revealed that VCD was appropriate and acceptable for EBIs; however, many practitioners also described barriers related to feasibility of implementation. The results of this study have important implications for telemental health dissemination efforts which seek to extend services to populations not served well by traditional, in-person mental health services.

Acceptance of E-mental health interventions and its determinants among psychotherapists-in-training during the first phase of COVID-19

“…This study assessed the acceptance of EMH and its determinants among psychotherapists-in-training. Acceptance ratings were moderate and seems to be comparable to a mixed sample of health professionals ( Hennemann et al, 2017 ) and a recent study from Parisi et al (2021) investigating acceptance of psychotherapy by videocall in a diverse sample of practitioners. Moderate to rather positive attitudes towards EMH were also observed in two other studies with psychotherapists (Békés & Doorn, 2021) and healthcare practitioners ( Netter et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Earlier studies showed that different EMH modalities (e.g., unguided programs and psychotherapy by telephone) are perceived and accepted differently ( Klein and Cook, 2010 ; Wildauer and Apolinário-Hagen, 2018 ), thus showing websites being accepted the most and unguided programs accepted the least. In a recent study by Parisi et al (2021) that involved a diverse sample of practitioners consisting of clinical and counselling psychologists with a variety of theoretical orientations and professional backgrounds, the provision of evidence-based interventions by videoconferencing was rated as moderately acceptable. In times of COVID-19 where an increased usage of different EMH modalities is observed, it seems of particular interest to investigate differences in acceptance between EMH modalities.…”

Ethical issues raised in using online tele-mental health (OTH): a review of studies

“…Mental health practice should always be within the area of competence. In the APA and PAP, competence has many components but in terms of the use of OTH, studies have shown there is an issue in the boundaries and maintaining competence (Bunnell et al, 2020b;McClellan et al, 2020;Parisi et al, 2021;Perry et al, 2020;Pierce et al, 2021;Sampaiao et al, 2021;San Juan et al, 2021). Mental health practitioners face challenges in using OTH because users are seeking for necessary training, expertise, and research in the field to protect against professional misconduct and maintain professional competency in serving clients.…”

Telepsychology in Europe since COVID-19: How to Foster Social Telepresence?

“…Telepresence appears to be a cornerstone of a successful telepractice for both patient and professional [ 9 , 20 ]. Nevertheless, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known about the clinical and sociodemographic factors that may have influenced the effectiveness of remote consultations on the patient side [ 23 ] or about the factors that affect professionals’ perceptions of telepsychology [ 24 ]. Recent research, however, not only showed that telepsychology has the potential to improve access to care, but also that providers’ attitudes toward this innovation play a crucial role in its adoption.…”

“…Some studies found that providers had an overall positive attitude toward telepsychology, even despite multiple drawbacks [ 25 ]. Additionally, there is a relationship between access to technology, experience and practitioner training on the one hand and acceptability of videoconferencing use on the other hand [ 24 ]. Studies have also shown that psychologists’ attitudes about telepsychology and subjective norms are associated with the intention to use telepsychology, which in turn is related to experience of clinical work done via telepsychology [ 26 ].…”