Ethical Issues in Online Psychotherapy: A Narrative Review

Stoll, Júlia; Müller, Jonas Adrian; Trachsel, Manuel

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00993

Cited by 230 publications

(265 citation statements)

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“…One of the future goals of public and private psychological organizations should be the promotion of specific training for psychologists and psychotherapists, with the following aims: (1) developing the basic skills in managing the effects of a pandemic and of emergency situations; and (2) sensitizing patients to online therapeutic relationship, providing the main rules and benefits of the process ( Stoll et al, 2020 ; Joint Task Force for the Development of Telepsychology Guidelines for Psychologists, 2013 ). On this line, a significant example is the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) which proposed PhDs in telepsychology, with the aim of training future psychologists in managing the psychological effects of the pandemic through an online psychology service ( Baylor et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Telepsychology: Training and Promotion Of Psychological Wellmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Algeri²,

2020

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The recent Covid-19 pandemic has had significant psychological and social effects on the population. Research has highlighted the impact on psychological well-being of the most exposed groups, including children, college students, and health workers, who are more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and other symptoms of distress. The social distance and the security measures have affected the relationship among people and their perception of empathy toward others. From this perspective, telepsychology and technological devices assume important roles to decrease the negative effects of the pandemic. These tools present benefits that could improve psychological treatment of patients online, such as the possibility to meet from home or from the workplace, saving money and time and maintaining the relationship between therapists and patients. The aim of this paper is to show empirical data from recent studies on the effect of the pandemic and reflect on possible interventions based on technological tools.

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Section: Telepsychology: Training and Promotion Of Psychological Wellmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Algeri²,

2020

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“…Survey studies have reported that approximately half of all respondent psychotherapists perceive telepsychotherapy as less effective than face-to-face psychotherapy (Gordon et al, 2015(Gordon et al, , 2016Schulze et al, 2018). Indeed, there are ethical arguments against the seamless implementation of online therapy, including (1) privacy, confidentiality, and security issues, (2) therapist competence and need for special training, (3) communication issues specific to technology, (4) research gaps, and (5) emergency issues (Stoll et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychotherapy During COVID-19: How the Clinical Practice of Italian Psychotherapists Changed During the Pandemic

et al. 2020

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Italy was one of the first countries to be significantly affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, determining a unique scenario for Italian psychotherapists to consider changing the modality in which they deliver treatment. The present study aimed at studying which factors related to psychotherapists and their clinical practice had a major role in predicting two main outcomes: (1) the rate of interrupted treatments during lockdown and (2) psychotherapists' satisfaction with the telepsychotherapy modality. Methods: An online survey was administered to licensed psychotherapists (n = 306), who worked mainly as private practitioners, between April 5 and May 10, 2020 (i.e., the peak of the pandemic in Italy). Results: Psychotherapists reported that 42.1% (SD = 28.9) of their treatments had been interrupted, suggesting that Italy faced an important undersupply of psychotherapy during the lockdown. Using the Akaike information criterion (AIC) model selection, we identified three predictors of the rate of interrupted treatments: (1) psychotherapists' lack of experience with telepsychotherapy prior to the lockdown, (2) their theoretical orientation (with cognitive behavioral psychotherapists reporting a higher rate of interrupted treatments), and (3) patients' lack of privacy at home, as reported to the psychotherapists. Furthermore, we found four predictors of psychotherapists' satisfaction with the telepsychotherapy modality: (1) the rate of interrupted treatments, (2) psychotherapists' previous experience with telepsychotherapy, (3) their beliefs about the compatibility of telepsychotherapy with their theoretical orientation, and (4) their use of a video-conferencing modality, rather than telephone. Conclusion: The following recommendations can help policy makers, professional associations, and practitioners in promoting the continuity of psychotherapy treatments during the COVID-19 outbreak and in future emergencies: (i) disseminating training programs for practitioners on telepsychotherapy, (ii) supporting patients to pragmatically access a private space at home, (iii) encouraging practitioners to use video-conferencing (instead of telephone) to deliver remote therapy, and (iv) increasing the acceptance of telepsychotherapy among both clinicians and the general public.

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“…DHI provide unique benefits, as proven during the SARS-CoV2-19 lock-down, but also bring potential pitfalls. Table 2 gives an overview on aspects regarding accessibility, the implementation of interventions itself, the evidence regarding interventions as well as economic aspects [ 4 ].…”

Section: Evidence-based Dhimentioning

confidence: 99%