“Pouring their heart out in Sainsbury’s”: qualitative study of young people’s, parents’ and mental health practitioners’ experiences of adapting to remote online mental health appointments during COVID-19

Abstract

Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, technologies such as videoconferencing were used to deliver mental health appointments remotely online. For many people, this was a change from previous methods of mental healthcare receipt and delivery. We aimed to explore in-depth how practitioners, young people and parents in the UK experienced this transition. Methods We used qualitative methods to collect data, triangulating between free-text online survey data (n = 38), focus groups (n = 5) (3 young adult groups (total n = 11); 2 practitioner groups (total n = 7)), and semi-structured interviews (practitioners n = 8; parents n = 4). Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results Participants held mixed views about remote appointments, which were encompassed within the five themes of: home as clinic; disrupted therapeutic relationships; difficulties with engagement; uncontained risk; and scope of care provision. While appointments at home could be regarded as more comfortable, naturalistic and accessible, it was also recognised that remoteness compromised practitioner control with consequences for their ability to monitor patient engagement, manage risk and ensure confidentiality when others were present in the home. This could create an additional burden for parents as they tried to facilitate appointments but felt unsupported in this role. Relatedly, remoteness was seen to hinder interpersonal communication, formation of trust, communication of empathy and opportunities to observe body language, all of which were deemed important to building and maintaining effective therapeutic relationships. Despite this, others thought the anonymity of a remote exchange may allow earlier disclosure. There was disagreement as to whether remote provision narrowed or expanded the scope of practice. Conclusions While some had positive views of remote mental health appointments, others found them challenging. Findings highlight key areas requiring attention and mitigation in future offerings of remote provision, namely: risk management, parental burden, and problematic engagement.

Digital Youth and Family Engagement Program for Adolescents Who Receive Outpatient Mental Health Services: Qualitative Evaluation (Preprint)

“…We employ qualitative methodologies to assess the effectiveness of the Youth and Family Engagement program (YFE), specifically highlighting the factors that impact participant enrollment, sustained engagement, and patients' and parents' overarching experiences in the program. Building upon the limited previous qualitative research exploring virtual mental health interventions for adolescents [16,20], this study captures patient, parent, and clinician feedback. Exploring the facilitators and barriers to program enrollment and engagement, this study also examines cultural and language barriers, an aspect that has received limited attention thus far in the literature on virtual mental health interventions [16].…”