Therapy Mode Preference Scale: Preliminary Validation Methodological Design

Area of Science:

• Mental Health
• Psychotherapy Research
• Digital Health

Background:

• Tele-mental health care use surged during COVID-19 as a contact-free treatment alternative.
• It remains crucial for individuals facing geographic or physical barriers to care.
• Potential drawbacks include missing nonverbal cues, crisis management challenges, and weakened group connections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a survey instrument.
• To comparatively assess teletherapy and in-person care.
• To evaluate key therapeutic factors: alliance, engagement, rapport, and confidentiality.

Main Methods:

• Survey items were based on expert input and existing scales.
• Participants (n=89) experienced both teletherapy and in-person care.
• Exploratory factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha, and hierarchical linear regression were used.

Main Results:

• A 14-item, 3-factor structure was identified, accounting for 61% of variance.
• Satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.71) was observed.
• Client satisfaction significantly predicted therapy mode preference.

Conclusions:

• A validated survey tool for assessing therapeutic impact in teletherapy versus in-person care is needed.
• Further research is required to generalize findings to broader populations.
• This study provides a foundation for a standardized assessment tool.