Online Psychotherapy
Online psychotherapy is the practice of providing psychological services that use the Internet and digital media (computer, tablet, mobile phone) to conduct sessions.
When a client communicates with her/his Psychologist through chat or video call, she/he is participating in online psychotherapy.
How has distance psychotherapy evolved historically?
Online psychotherapy belongs to the broader category of telepsychotherapy. Telepsychotherapy emerged in the 1960s, involved psychotherapy over the telephone and was developed to meet the need for intervention and support in populations with characteristics that prevented face-to-face sessions. Such populations were either civilians living in remote areas or even soldiers in need of urgent psychological intervention to manage symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
Inevitably, the trajectory of online psychotherapy follows that of the spread of the Internet. Many consider its arrival to be traced back to 1986 and refer to early forms such as mental health discussion forums. However, most agree that online psychotherapy in the form we know today began to develop in 1995, alongside the introduction of the digital camera.
Why are more and more people preferring online psychotherapy?
How do I prepare for my first free distance psychotherapy session?
What should I be aware of about online psychological help?
Is distance psychotherapy effective?
• Strong therapeutic alliance
• Reduction of clinical symptoms
How does online psychotherapy work at ClicktoTherapy?
When Online Psychotherapy is not appropriate
Can I get treatment through texting?
How/where will the first free session take place?
Literature
- Ahn, H.-n., & Wampold, B. E. (2001). “Where oh where are the specific ingredients? A meta-analysis of component studies in counseling and psychotherapy”. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.48.3.251
- Horvath, A. O., & Symonds, B. D. (1991). “Relation between working alliance and outcome in psychotherapy: A meta-analysis”. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.38.2.139
- Martin, D. J., Garske, J. P., & Davis, M. K. (2000). “Relation of the therapeutic alliance with outcome and other variables: A meta-analytic review”. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.68.3.438
- Watts, S., Marchand, A., Bouchard, S., Gosselin, P., Langlois, F., Belleville, G., & Dugas, M. J. (2020). “Telepsychotherapy for generalized anxiety disorder: Impact on the working alliance”. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/int0000223
- Lisa Richardson, Corinne Reid & Suzanne Dziurawiec (2015). ““Going the Extra Mile”: Satisfaction and Alliance Findings from an Evaluation of Videoconferencing Telepsychology in Rural Western Australia”. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ap.12126
- Simpson S. (2001) “The Provision of a Telepsychology Service to Shetland: Client and Therapist Satisfaction and the Ability to Develop a Therapeutic Alliance”. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X010070S114
- Alicia A Thorp, Genevieve N Healy, Elisabeth Winkler, Bronwyn K Clark, Paul A Gardiner, Neville Owen & David W Dunstan (2012) “Prolonged sedentary time and physical activity in workplace and non-work contexts: a cross-sectional study of office, customer service and call centre employees”. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-9-128
- Richard L. Simpson (2005) “Evidence-Based Practices and Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders”. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F10883576050200030201
- Bette Bakke, James Mitchell, Steve Wonderlich, Ron Erickson (2001) “Administering cognitive-behavioral therapy for bulimia nervosa via telemedicine in rural settings”. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.1107
- B Christopher Frueh , Jeannine Monnier , Eunsil Yim (2007) “A randomized trial of telepsychiatry for post-traumatic stress disorder”. https://doi.org/10.1258/135763307780677604
- Backhaus, A., Agha, Z., Maglione, M. L., Repp, A., Ross, B., Zuest, D., Rice-Thorp, N. M., Lohr, J., & Thorp, S. R. (2012). “Videoconferencing psychotherapy: A systematic review”. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027924
- Micha Blake Berryhill, Nathan Culmer, Nelle Williams, Anne Halli-Tierney, Alex Betancourt, Hannah Roberts & Michael King (2019). “Videoconferencing Psychotherapy and Depression: A Systematic Review”. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2018.0058
- Carl Norwood, Nima G. Moghaddam, Sam Malins, Rachel Sabin-Farrell (2018). “Working alliance and outcome effectiveness in videoconferencing psychotherapy: A systematic review and noninferiority meta-analysis”. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2315
- Clare S Rees, Ellen Maclaine (2015). “A Systematic Review of Videoconference‐Delivered Psychological Treatment for Anxiety Disorders”. https://doi.org/10.1111/ap.12122
Further sources
- Andersson, G., & Cuijpers, P. (2009) “Internet-based and other computerized psychological treatments for adult depression: A meta-analysis”. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506070903318960
- Barak, Azy et al. (2008). “A comprehensive review and a meta-analysis of the effectiveness of Internet-based psychotherapeutic interventions”. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228830802094429
- Bergström, J., Andersson, G., Ljótsson, B. et al. (2010) “Internet-versus group-administered cognitive behaviour therapy for panic disorder in a psychiatric setting: a randomised trial”. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-10-54
- Nagel, D. (2011) “The future of online therapy Psychotherapy Networker Symposium, Washington, D.C.”. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/e561872012-001
- Neimark, G. (2009) “Patients and text messaging: A boundary issue”. https://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09071012