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.
Highlights
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
We further aimed to investigate the attitudes of psychodynamically-orientated psychotherapists towards remote psychotherapy and possible changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Results of the RM-ANOVAs revealed an overall difference in the patients treated per group (ME “patient group” = p < 0.001), as well as an overall difference in the number of patients treated per treatment format (ME “format” = p = 0.010)
Summary
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. 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. 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. Many therapists reported negative effects of remote psychotherapy and prefer seeing their patients in-person. 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. From 16 March 2020 until 30 April 2020, a nationwide curfew entailed restrictions in movement and activities with few exceptions, such as meeting necessary basic needs of daily life, fulfilling work responsibilities and outdoor activities alone or with people from the same household
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