Videoconferencing Psychotherapy During the Pandemic: Exceptional Times With Enduring Effects?

Javier Fernández-Álvarez; Héctor Fernández-Álvarez

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.589536

Videoconferencing Psychotherapy During the Pandemic: Exceptional Times With Enduring Effects?

Front Psychol. 2021 Feb 19:12:589536. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.589536. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Javier Fernández-Álvarez^{1

2}, Héctor Fernández-Álvarez³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Basic Psychology, Clinical and Psychobiology, Jaume I University, Castellón de la Plana, Spain.
² Asociación Aiglé, Valencia, Spain.
³ Fundación Aiglé, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Abstract

With the advent of COVID-19, a sudden, unexpected, and forced shift has been produced in the field of psychotherapy. Worldwide, many therapists closed their offices and started to deliver psychotherapy online through a screen. Although different media started to be incorporated, videoconferencing is undoubtedly the most common way in which therapists are doing therapy these days. This is catalyzing a rapid change in the practice of psychotherapy with probable lasting effects and deserves to be carefully reflected upon. Therefore, in this paper our aim is to outline the main challenges for a medium that may have arrived to stay. In that sense, we review the literature to describe the state-of-the-art regarding the main aspects of videoconferencing psychotherapy as well as to suggest possible avenues for future research and practice.

Keywords: COVID-19; e-mental health; psychotherapists; psychotherapy; telehealth; telemental health; videoconferencing psychotherapy.