Lost and Found in Psychotherapy During COVID-19

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Mental Health

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted traditional in-person psychotherapy settings.
• This created a natural experiment, forcing a rapid shift to alternative communication channels for therapy.
• New modalities included video conferencing, telephone platforms, and outdoor therapy spaces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore patient and therapist experiences with new teletherapy communication channels.
• To investigate the subjective experience of the therapy frame in different contexts.
• To assess the efficacy of remote therapy compared to traditional in-person sessions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized patient surveys to gather quantitative data.
• Analyzed case vignettes for qualitative insights.
• Conducted discussions with colleagues for broader perspectives.

Main Results:

• A significant portion of psychotherapy patients found teletherapy as effective, or even more effective, than in-person appointments.
• Patient and therapist experiences varied based on individual factors and the therapeutic relationship.
• The external features of the therapy setting were subjectively experienced differently.

Conclusions:

• Teletherapy platforms are a viable and often effective alternative to traditional psychotherapy.
• Occasional in-person sessions can serve as a valuable "booster" to strengthen the therapeutic alliance in ongoing teletherapy.
• The findings support the integration of teletherapy into standard mental healthcare practices.