Breaking Down the Screen: Italian Psychologists’ and Psychotherapists’ Experiences of the Therapeutic Relationship in Online Interventions during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Silvia Caterina Maria Tomaino (), Gian Mauro Manzoni, Giada Brotto and Sabrina Cipolletta
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Silvia Caterina Maria Tomaino: Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, 35131 Padova, Italy
Gian Mauro Manzoni: Faculty of Psychology, eCampus University, 22060 Novedrate, Italy
Giada Brotto: Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, 35131 Padova, Italy
Sabrina Cipolletta: Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, 35131 Padova, Italy

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: (1) Background: The COVID-19 pandemic posed new challenges to clinical practice and delineated future directions for online interventions in psychological care. The present study aimed to explore Italian psychologists’ and psychotherapists’ experiences of online interventions during the pandemic, focusing on the strategies they used to develop and maintain therapeutic relationships with their patients. (2) Methods: Between February and July 2021, 368 Italian psychologists and/or psychotherapists completed an online survey. A mixed-methods analysis was conducted, using Jamovi to analyze quantitative data and ATLAS.ti 9 to analyze qualitative data. (3) Results: Of the participants, 62% had never delivered online interventions before the pandemic; though 95.4% were delivering online interventions at the time of the survey, many reported facing technical disruptions (77.1%) and having little confidence in the online setting (45.3%). Feeling present in online sessions—facilitated by emotional attunement, active listening, and conversational spontaneity—was reported as “very important” by 93.6%. (4) Conclusions: Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic allowed a great leap forward in the use of online interventions by Italian psychologists and psychotherapists. This period of upheaval generated not only a positive change in their attitudes toward and intention to use online interventions but also revealed associated technical and relational issues that must be properly addressed.

Keywords: telepsychology; online intervention; attitude; online therapeutic relationship; clinical psychology; digital health; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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