Psychotherapists’ attitudes toward online therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people across the world have been advised to work from home in an effort to slow down the spreading of the virus. Within the field of psychotherapy, this meant that many psychotherapists who were used to seeing their patients in person transitioned to providing therapies online via videoconferencing, regardless of their previous experience or attitudes toward online psychotherapy. This survey study examined how psychotherapists' attitudes toward online psychotherapy is influenced by their characteristics and professional experiences during the sudden transition from face-to-face to online psychotherapy because of the pandemic. We collected real-time data from 145 psychotherapists from North America and Europe shortly after a pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization. Participants reported on their past experiences with online psychotherapy, their preparations of their online psychotherapy sessions during the pandemic, the challenges they encountered in online sessions, and their attitudes toward online psychotherapy more generally. Within the context of this forced transition because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, most psychotherapists identified a somewhat positive attitude toward online psychotherapy, suggesting they were likely to use online psychotherapy in the future. Our findings suggest that psychotherapists' attitudes toward online psychotherapy are influenced by their past experiences, such as psychotherapy modality, clinical experience, and previous online psychotherapy experience as well as their transition experience during the pandemic and their geographic location. Within the limitations of this survey study, implications and future directions for research are described.

The Use of New Digital Information and Communication Technologies in Psychological Counseling during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The decrease in these aspects in the group of older psychologists from the pre- to the during-lockdown period could be possibly explained by the greater discomfort that these professionals experienced with the use of ICTs. The influence of the personal characteristics of the professionals in their attitude towards online psychological counseling was also reported in another study [ 65 ], with the psychotherapists who had previous experience with online psychotherapy, who thought that the patients they attend to had positive experiences in this modality, that adopted cognitive behavioral therapy in their practices (in comparison to psychodynamic therapists), and that lives in North America (in comparison to Europe) exhibiting a more positive attitude towards online psychotherapy.…”

“…Psychologists who do use ICTs in their practice tended to report a positive or very positive experience regarding the use of these online technologies in counseling and therapy. Similarly, a study focused on the attitudes of psychotherapists towards online therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic have also found a positive attitude of the professionals with regard to this therapy modality [ 65 ]. Research has recognized several advantages associated with using ICTs in such contexts, and participants in our sample identified equivalent advantages [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 13 , 14 , 55 ].…”

Being a Psychotherapist in Times of the Novel Coronavirus Disease: Stress-Level, Job Anxiety, and Fear of Coronavirus Disease Infection in More Than 1,500 Psychotherapists in Austria

“…Maybe switching to telephone or internet to provide psychotherapy was easy for those psychotherapists who did not use these formats for psychotherapy before COVID-19. It has also been reported that in the context of the forced transition toward teletherapy because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of 145 surveyed psychotherapists from North America and Europe developed a positive attitude toward teletherapy ( Békés and Aafjes-van Doorn, 2020 ). Therefore, it is possible that psychotherapists without previous teletherapy experience felt more at ease using teletherapy after they gained first experiences.…”

The Psychological and Social Impact of Covid-19: New Perspectives of Well-Being

“…Online psychological services provide several advantages, especially in the current situation of pandemic. First of all, online services help people in a short period of time, reducing the risk of contagion and the strong feeling of anxiety in both psychotherapists and patients, who feel uncomfortable in doing traditional psychotherapy due to the pandemic ( Békés and Aafjes-van Doorn, 2020 ). Furthermore, Pietrabissa et al (2015) identified some of the main advantages of telepsychology, such as the decrease in waiting for the consultation, because it takes place from home or from the workplace, saving time and expense, less travel and rental costs for the office, for those who provide the service and for those who use it.…”