Provision of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy in Austria during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Andrea Jesser, Johanna Muckenhuber, Bernd Lunglmayr, Rachel Dale and Elke Humer
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Andrea Jesser: Department for Psychotherapy and Biopsychosocial Health, Danube University Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria
Johanna Muckenhuber: Institut für Soziale Arbeit, FH Joanneum University of Applied Science, 8020 Graz, Austria
Bernd Lunglmayr: Research Workgroup, Austrian Society for Applied Depth Psychology and Psychotherapy (ÖGATAP), 1150 Vienna, Austria
Rachel Dale: Department for Psychotherapy and Biopsychosocial Health, Danube University Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria
Elke Humer: Department for Psychotherapy and Biopsychosocial Health, Danube University Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-12

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought massive changes in the provision of psychotherapy. To avoid or reduce the risk of infection, many therapists switched from face-to-face sessions in personal contact to remote psychotherapy, i.e., psychotherapy delivered by telephone or videoconferencing. This study examined the attitudes toward and practice of remote psychotherapy among Austrian therapists with a psychodynamic orientation at the onset of the pandemic as well as changes in the therapeutic process that were experienced by the therapists due to switching to a remote setting. A total of 161 therapists with psychodynamic orientation took part in an online survey. The results show that attitudes toward remote psychotherapy changed positively in psychodynamically orientated therapists and most are willing to switch to remote settings, if necessary. However, many therapists reported negative effects of remote psychotherapy and prefer seeing their patients in-person. The strongest changes were experienced with regard to transference/countertransference, the therapeutic process and the intensity of session. The analysis further revealed an overall decrease in the number of patients treated, indicating an undersupply of psychotherapy, at least during the first wave of COVID-19 infection in Austria. In summary, the experience during the first COVID-19 lockdown has led to an increase in remote psychotherapy and more openness toward these treatment modalities among psychodynamically oriented therapists. However, in-person therapy will remain the first choice for most therapists.

Keywords: psychotherapy; psychodynamic; telephone; videoconferencing; attitudes; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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