The Use of New Digital Information and Communication Technologies in Psychological Counseling during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Artemisa R Dores,Fernando Barbosa,Andreia Geraldo,Irene P Carvalho

doi:10.3390/ijerph17207663

Abstract

The use of digital information and communication technologies (ICTs) has enabled many professionals to continue to provide their services during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about the adoption of ICTs by psychologists and the impact of such technologies on their practice. This study aimed to explore psychologists’ practices related with the use of ICTs before and during the COVID-19 lockdown, to identify the main changes that the pandemic has brought and the impact that such changes have had on their practice with clients, and also identify the factors that potentially have affected such changes. The Portuguese Psychologists Association announced the study, and 108 psychologists responded to an online survey during the mandatory lockdown. The results showed that these professionals continued to provide their services due to having adopted ICTs. Comparing with face-to-face interventions, psychologists recognized that additional precautions/knowledge were needed to use such technologies. Despite the challenges identified, they described the experience with the use of ICTs as positive, meeting clients’ adherence, and yielding positive results. Psychologists with the most years of professional experience maintained their services the most, but those with average experience showed the most favorable attitudes toward the use of technologies and web-based interventions.

Highlights

This study aimed to explore psychologists’ attitudes and practices related with the use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period, for identification of the main changes that have occurred in the provision of counseling and therapy
The results of the present study showed that most Portuguese psychologists had never or rarely used digital technologies as a means of delivering psychological counseling and therapy before the COVID-19 pandemic [6]
Our results showed that more than half of the psychologists have read about the use of ICTs, and some had already used these tools, even if not exclusively, in their professional practice before, which is consistent with a previous study [6]

Summary

Introduction

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic represents an unprecedented global challenge in our era, strongly affecting people’s lives, namely, the exercise of various professional activities [1,2].This unique circumstance, associated with the current availability of several digital tools, has contributed exponentially to the digital revolution that we have witnessed in recent years, with impact on the social, economic, and professional domains of life [3].In this scenario, e-Health has emerged as one viable solution to allow the continuity of the provision of health services, considering the public health measures that have been taken as a result of the National Emergency State, which has limited people’s access to in-person services [4].E-Health is broadly defined as the provision of services related to health supported by a safe and cost-effective use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) [5].The path toward the progressive adoption of ICTs in the field of psychology had already begun before the COVID-19 pandemic, albeit in varied degrees across different countries. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic represents an unprecedented global challenge in our era, strongly affecting people’s lives, namely, the exercise of various professional activities [1,2] This unique circumstance, associated with the current availability of several digital tools, has contributed exponentially to the digital revolution that we have witnessed in recent years, with impact on the social, economic, and professional domains of life [3]. In this scenario, e-Health has emerged as one viable solution to allow the continuity of the provision of health services, considering the public health measures that have been taken as a result of the National Emergency State, which has limited people’s access to in-person services [4].

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Conclusion