AN EVALUATION ON ATTITUDES OF POLISH PROFESSIONALS TOWARDS THE RAPID EMERGENCE OF REMOTE PSYCHOTHERAPY ARISING AT THE OUTSET OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, WITHIN A LEGAL CONTEXT.

Abstract

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic impacted on everyday life and made necessary to deploy remote medical services. Delivering psychiatric health care remotely for children and adolescents posed a major challenge to healthcare professionals. The study aimed to describe the status and trends in remote psychotherapy used during the pandemic Covid-19 and lockdown in Poland with focus on factors affecting the decisions made by therapists, particularly those specific to child and adolescent therapy. An on-line survey on psychotherapy professionals was conducted in Poland at the beginning of the lockdown. Descriptive statistics and the chi-square test were used. There were 386 completed questionnaires. The higher levels found of accepting remote therapy were linked to working in the private sector, to using audio+video facilities, having previously experienced remote therapy and knowing both the theoretical background to remote therapy along with an appropriate level of internet literacy. There were no associations found between subject categories, gender, age nor theoretical specializations of the respondents. Remote psychotherapy may become permanently introduced into mental healthcare systems, providing safe and effective methods of treatment. Further studies are however required, and medical, organizational and administrative standards need to be developed.