Effectiveness of videoconferencing psychotherapy delivered by novice clinicians in a training clinic.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic forced care providers, including training clinics, to quickly shift mental health services to a remote modality to continue serving vulnerable populations. However, research on the effectiveness of psychotherapy delivered by novice clinicians using videoconferencing technology is limited. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the effectiveness of psychotherapy via videoconferencing technology, delivered by doctoral student trainees in a community training clinic. Participants (n = 34) were ethnically diverse, adult, outpatient psychotherapy clients from a large, urban setting, and the university community. Student clinicians (n = 11) were novice psychotherapy providers in their second or third year of training. Results indicated that client scores on inventories of overall distress Outcomes Questionnaire (OQ), center for epidemiological studies-depression (CES-D), and generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) decreased significantly from baseline to the most recent readministration, and Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised (WAI-SR) increased significantly. Collectively, by Session 16, symptom scores were in the typical range (below the clinical cutoff) for the OQ and GAD-7, and were one point above the CES-D clinical cutoff; by the 24th session, the average score on all measures was below the clinical cutoff, and WAI-SR scores approached the highest possible total score. Additionally, attendance during this time was quite high (87.6%) and was higher than rates during in-person service provision (80.7%). The results from this study suggest that novice clinicians can successfully use videoconferencing to deliver effective, evidence-based treatment in a community clinic, across a range of presenting concerns, and that such services can yield significant improvement of symptom distress and functioning, with patterns comparable to in-person services. Public Significance StatementTraining clinics are utilized by many underserved populations, students, and residents of the surrounding area. If student trainees are able to provide effective mental health care via telehealth, that would remove barriers for many clients that might not otherwise seek treatment.

A Multisite Non-Inferiority Randomized Controlled Trial of the Efficacy of Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder Delivered by Videoconference

“…The CBT-IU treatment protocol [ 74 ] used has evolved over the years to focus more specifically on intolerance of uncertainty [ 18 ], and treatment strategies such as problem-solving are no longer germane to the protocol. The treatment was delivered by graduate students in clinical psychology, which is a population that has been shown to be able to successfully use VCP to deliver evidence-based treatment [ 97 ]. More seasoned psychotherapists may hesitate to use VCP for a variety of reasons [ 96 , 98 ], may diverge from the application of already established treatment manuals to adapt the treatment to their liking [ 99 ], or may use exposure strategies less frequently than recommended [ 100 ].…”

Chatbot for communicating with university students in emergency situation

“…These integrate seamlessly with virtual courses and allow teachers to continue with their classes [10] . In this study, psychology students used videoconferencing to conduct psychotherapy during the lockdown, demonstrating that this tool can be used to communicate and treat their patients [11] . However, the literature also suggests that videoconferencing can cause anxiety in students.…”

Transitioning to telehealth during COVID-19: Challenges and opportunities for trauma-focused school psychology.

“…Consensus has grown that training school psychologists in telehealth has the potential to move evidence-based practices more effectively into schools and communities that have struggled with access. Restricting training activities to in person seemed limiting in retrospect, especially as data about the effectiveness of teleservice provision and telesupervision have become available (Rowen et al, 2023; Thompson et al, 2023). We get to choose what we keep from this time of experimentation and innovation, and I am excited to see what new horizons these changes will open up for health service psychology.…”