Psychotherapy via the Internet: What Programs Do Psychotherapists Use, How Well-Informed Do They Feel, and What Are Their Wishes for Continuous Education?

Elke Humer, Peter Stippl, Christoph Pieh, Wolfgang Schimböck and Thomas Probst
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Elke Humer: Department for Psychotherapy and Biopsychosocial Health, Danube University Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria
Peter Stippl: Austrian Federal Association for Psychotherapy, 1030 Vienna, Austria
Christoph Pieh: Department for Psychotherapy and Biopsychosocial Health, Danube University Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria
Wolfgang Schimböck: Austrian Federal Association for Psychotherapy, 1030 Vienna, Austria
Thomas Probst: Department for Psychotherapy and Biopsychosocial Health, Danube University Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-9

Abstract: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused changes in the provision of psychotherapy around the world. The common format of delivering in-person psychotherapy is replaced by psychotherapy via the Internet to a great extent. This study examined how well Austrian psychotherapists feel informed about the use of the Internet in psychotherapy, where additional information needs exist, and which software is used. A link to an online survey was sent to all psychotherapists providing a valid email address in the official list of licensed psychotherapists at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown in Austria. A total of 1547 people took part in the survey. The results show that psychotherapy via the Internet was primarily offered via Skype and Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic and that the majority of the therapists felt well-informed about psychotherapy via the Internet; however, several therapists stated that they wish to have further information on data protection and security. Overall, the study shows that Austrian psychotherapists coped well with the rapid change from the provision of psychotherapy through personal contact to psychotherapy via the Internet. Security and data protection aspects of therapy via the Internet should be addressed in training and further education of psychotherapists. As this study was conducted online, it might have caused some respondent bias towards a higher participation of psychotherapists with higher preference for new technologies.

Keywords: psychotherapy; internet; COVID-19; software; information needs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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