Layers of senses: Experiencing intercorporeality in teletherapy.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cyberpsychology
• Telehealth

Background:

• Teletherapy faces challenges due to the impersonal nature of remote digital communication.
• Spiritual caregivers emphasize physical presence as a core principle in providing care.
• Merleau-Ponty's concept of intercorporeality highlights the reciprocal bodily experience in communication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore spiritual caregivers' experiences with teletherapy.
• To examine the impact of teletherapy on intercorporeality and multisensory joint attention.
• To understand how technology affects the quality of spiritual care.

Main Methods:

• Conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 15 Israeli spiritual caregivers.
• Interviewees utilized various teletherapy platforms (Zoom, FaceTime, phone, WhatsApp).
• The study focused on caregivers' perceptions of presence and sensory involvement during remote sessions.

Main Results:

• Spiritual caregivers reported reduced sensory involvement in teletherapy compared to in-person care.
• Teletherapy was perceived to erode multisensory joint attention and intercorporeality.
• The quality of spiritual care was negatively impacted by the reduction in sensory engagement and shared presence.

Conclusions:

• Teletherapy, despite its advantages, challenges fundamental principles of therapeutic presence and multisensory joint attention.
• Intercorporeality, understood as multisensory joint attention, is crucial for effective therapeutic relationships.
• Findings offer insights into remote interpersonal communication in telemedicine and contribute to cyberpsychology and telepsychology.