Theory and Practice of Online Therapy

Weinberg, Haim; Rolnick, Arnon

doi:10.4324/9781315545530

Cited by 34 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Although online group treatments have the potential for increasing access to clients isolated in remote areas and reducing costs, it did not enter mainstream group care prior to the pandemic (Weinberg, 2001). To date, there is literature showing the feasibility of offering internet-delivered group interventions (Weinberg & Rolnick, 2019), but the interpersonal dynamics among members and leaders may represent unique challenges to the online delivery of therapy. Therefore, the abrupt shift from in-person to online group therapies during the first year of the pandemic can provide a novel opportunity to contrast therapist experiences of these two treatment approaches.…”

Section: The Pandemic Shift To Online Psychotherapiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Therapists’ perceptions of online group therapeutic relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based study.

Gullo¹,

Coco²,

Leszcz³

et al. 2022

Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice

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Background: In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most group therapists moved their practice to online platforms. Surveys of psychotherapists indicate that many intend to maintain at least part of their practices online after the pandemic. This survey-based study is an attempt to identify therapist experiences with doing group therapy online, and to examine factors that are associated with therapist-rated outcomes. Method: We surveyed 307 group therapists about their ratings of the ease or difficulty in conducting group therapy online versus in-person, and indicators of patient outcomes in online groups. A confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a good fitting three latent factor solution: group therapeutic process factor (therapist ratings of ease to foster therapeutic alliance, group cohesion, and patient self-disclosure), group therapist factor (therapist presence, empathy, and focus in online therapy), and group therapeutic challenges factors in online work (related to the difficulty of working through conflict, managing avoidance, observing nonverbal communication, and discomfort during the online session). An online group therapy outcome factor was the dependent variable modeled as a latent factor of therapists' perception of patient outcomes and their own satisfaction with online groups. In a structural equation model, higher levels of the group therapeutic processes and group therapist factors, and lower group challenges were associated with higher online group therapy outcomes. Discussion: The present study suggests that online groups operate based on many of the same factors that have been supported in in-person group treatment. These factors were associated with the therapist's perceptions of online group effectiveness. However, difficulties in managing relationships in the online session may represent a barrier to enacting group therapeutic factors. Postpandemic research on conducting online group therapy and managing online therapeutic relationships may lessen perceived drawbacks to its use. Highlights and Implications• A survey of group therapists who switched to online work during the pandemic was constructed by researchers and clinician experts in group therapy.This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.Editor's Note. Dennis M. Kivlighan served as the action editor for this article.-GAT

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Section: The Pandemic Shift To Online Psychotherapiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Therapists’ perceptions of online group therapeutic relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based study.

Gullo¹,

Coco²,

Leszcz³

et al. 2022

Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Notions such as “the therapeutic alliance can only exist when there is face-to-face contact” are prevalent (Berger, 2017). Weinberg and Rolnick (2019) argued that online therapy requires therapists to adopt a state of mind in which they are focused, more than in face-to-face therapy, on the clients and their needs and that it is more difficult to remain focused when a person is on a screen, not to mention the technology that therapists must acquire to work in this mode.…”

Section: Online Therapymentioning

confidence: 99%

Online therapy in a shared reality: The novel coronavirus as a test case.

Nuttman‐Shwartz¹,

Shaul²

2021

Traumatology

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When the novel coronavirus began to spread, many countries mandated lockdowns, quarantines, and social distancing, posing a threat to both clients and therapists and perhaps representing a "shared traumatic reality" (STR). Simultaneously, many mental health professionals moved to "online therapy," a mode that might increase the sense of having a shared reality. This study aimed to examine the extent to which therapists consider the pandemic an STR and the associations among helping professionals' sociodemographic and professional profiles, their perceptions of STR, their attitudes toward psychological online interventions (POI), and their satisfaction using such interventions. A total of 150 therapists completed an online Google Forms survey between April 17 and May 6, 2020, before therapists returned to their workplaces. The survey included questionnaires about STR and about attitudes toward and satisfaction with online therapy. Participants perceived the pandemic as an STR, particularly in the trauma dimension. The newly developed index of "shared concerns" showed that this perception was mainly a result of financial and health concerns. The satisfaction of using POI depended on participants' attitudes toward online therapy. The more experience therapists had, the less they perceived the current situation as an STR. This study, extending the theoretical concept of STR via the newly developed index, recommends that pandemics be included within the typology of shared traumatic events. Moreover, although positive attitudes toward online therapy are prevalent, young professionals require training to use POI for various traumatic situations.

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“…These include (a) loss of control, (b) limited bodily interactions, (c) inability to read and respond to verbal and nonverbal signals, and (d) the meaning of a member’s background—if it should be considered or ignored. In short, we are still building what good practice means and for whom these groups even might be adverse or harmful (Weinberg & Rolnick, 2019).…”

Section: Restoration: Group Therapy Intervention During Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

The psychology of the COVID-19 pandemic: A group-level perspective.

Marmarosh¹,

Forsyth²,

Strauß³

et al. 2020

Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice

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Objective: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) threatened not only people’s physical health but also every aspect of their psychological well-being: from their struggle to avoid contracting the disease, to their coping with the disruption of the normal course of their lives, to the trauma they endured when the virus took the lives of those they loved. The objective of this article is to consider the group-level processes that sustain people’s physical and psychological well-being during COVID-19. Method: Applying group dynamic and group therapy theory and research, we explore why COVID-19 spread so rapidly. We also explore how people cope with prolonged social isolation, distress, and social inequities, as well as how people deal with the psychological trauma of the disease, which includes heightened levels of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and complicated bereavement. Results: Researchers and theorists suggest that human beings are fundamentally social, and the need to gather with others is extremely important, especially during times of distress. The need to belong as well as the importance of reducing loneliness during uncertain times often encourages people to connect, despite recommendations to remain socially distant. Conclusions: Group treatment options developed by group psychotherapists are effective at reducing depression, anxiety, complicated grief, and stress. We conclude by examining the growing impact of online groups and the many ways that these groups help people improve their psychological well-being during the COVID-19 crisis.

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Theory and Practice of Online Therapy

Cited by 34 publications

References 0 publications

Therapists’ perceptions of online group therapeutic relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based study.

Therapists’ perceptions of online group therapeutic relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic: A survey-based study.

Online therapy in a shared reality: The novel coronavirus as a test case.

The psychology of the COVID-19 pandemic: A group-level perspective.

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