In recent years, the Online Psychotherapy He has gained popularity thanks to the advent of digital technologies and the growing request for accessible mental health services.
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend, pushing both therapists and patients to explore new distance therapy methods.
There Online therapy Use digital platforms to offer therapeutic services via video calls and, more rarely, via chat or e-mail. This mode of therapy has been made possible by progress in communication technologies and offers a series of advantages, as well as some limits.
Advantages of online psychotherapy
The main advantages of online therapy concern:
- Accessibility: many people who live in rural or remote areas, where access to mental health services can be limited, can benefit from the possibility of carrying out therapeutic paths online. In addition, online therapy eliminates the Mobility barriersallowing individuals with disabilities or transport problems to access mental health services more easily.
- Flexibility: Online therapy allows patients to program sessions based on their commitments, reducing the time and stress associated with travel. This, in some cases, can lead to greater adhesion to the treatment and better therapeutic results.
- Greater choice: The possibility of choosing your path by having a much wider pool of professionals, who does not suffer from geographical and logistical limitations, represents a further advantage of online therapy.
- Overcoming linguistic barriers and continuity: Online therapy also represents an important resource for people who often move for work, as well as for individuals residing permanently or temporarily abroad who, however, want to conduct the therapy in their mother tongue.
Effectiveness of online psychotherapy
Numerous studies have evaluated the effectiveness of online therapeutic paths, comparing them with traditional psychotherapy.
Andersson and colleagues (2014), for example, in their meta-analysis have highlighted how theeffectiveness of online psychotherapy is superimposable to that of traditional therapy in the treatment of a variety of mental disorders, including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Another significant study was conducted by Carlbring et al. (2018), which specifically examined the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) online for the treatment of depression.
This study involved 100 participants, comparing the results of the CBT online with a checking group on the waiting list. The results highlighted a significant reduction of depressive symptoms In the participants who received online therapy, with lasting therapeutic effects even six months after the end of the therapy.
Limits of online therapy
As previously mentioned, online therapeutic paths unfortunately also have some intrinsic limits, linked to the method of remotely carrying out the sessions.
Among these we can find:
- Technological limits: one of the most obvious limits of online therapy concerns technical problems. The quality of the Internet connection can vary considerably, influencing the fluidity of communications. Connection interruptions, low -quality audio and video delays can hinder the continuity and effectiveness of therapeutic sessions.
- Reduced quality of non -verbal communication: non -verbal communication plays a crucial role in traditional therapy. Elements such as body language, facial expressions and tone of voice provide the therapist with important indications on the patient’s emotional state. In online therapy, these signals can be attenuated or, in some cases, completely lost due to the limitations of technology. For example, the restricted visual field of the cameras can prevent the display of significant body movements, and variations in the tone of voice may not be adequately captured by the microphones.
- Difficulty reaching an empathic connection and a profound therapeutic relationship: Another significant limit of online psychotherapy is the difficulty, for some, of establishing a profound emotional connection. Empathy, an essential component of the therapeutic relationship, can be attenuated through a screen. The lack of physical contact and the perceived distance may not represent a problem for some individuals while, for others, they can be as interfering elements with the therapeutic path.
Conclusions
Online therapy can be considered an excellent tool for some people, obviously by many of the logistical limits that instead characterize study psychotherapy.
The choice of one or the other form of path must be made in agreement between therapist and patient. On the one hand it is essential that the person who takes advantage of the service is at ease within this setting. On the other, it is equally important that the therapist assesses, during the assessment phase, what are the specific needs of that particular individual and what could be the most appropriate path based on its type of suffering.
It is true, in fact, that for some types of disorders online therapy is as effective as the one in the studio, however providing advantages in terms of accessibility and flexibility. It is also important to consider, however, that for some psychopathological configurations it may not be the most appropriate form of intervention.
This is true, for example, for psychotic disorders, for disorders that provide complex and multidisciplinary interventions and for some types of personality disorders. These, by their very nature, benefit more than a more intense relational exchange, which in a remote therapeutic path could be more difficult to reach.
Bibliography
- Andersson, G., Cuijpers, P., Carlbring, P., Riper, H., Hedman, E. (2014). GUIDED Internet-based vs. Face-to-face Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Psychiatric and Somatic Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Aalysis. World Psychiatry, 13 (3), 288-295.
- Carlbring, P., Andersson, G., Cuijpers, P., Riper, H., Hedman-Lagerlöf, E. (2018). Internet-based vs. Face-to-face Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Psychiatric and Somatic Disorders: An updated Systematic Review and Meta-Aalysis. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 47 (1), 1-18.
- Simpson, S., Reid, C., Beck, A., Minnes, P. (2020). Outcomes of Psychotherapy Delivered via Telehealth: in Meta-analysis. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 26 (4), 147-155.
