TY - JOUR
T1 - Mental Health Care Goes Online: Practitioners' Experiences of Providing Mental Health Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic
AU - Feijt, Milou A.
AU - de Kort, Yvonne A.W.
AU - Bongers, Inge M.B.
AU - Bierbooms, Joyce J.P.A.
AU - Westerink, Joyce H.D.M.
AU - IJsselsteijn, Wijnand A.
PY - 2020/12
Y1 - 2020/12
N2 - The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated sudden and radical changes in mental health care delivery, as strict social distancing and lockdown measures were imposed in the early phases of the pandemic. Almost overnight, practitioners were forced to transfer their face-to-face care practice to online means. To understand the implications of this drastic change for mental health care, and to improve the online care offerings, an online qualitative survey was held among mental health care professionals in Netherlands (n = 51). Our findings indicate that technological and usability problems pose a significant challenge, as do difficulties to establish rapport with clients. Moreover, not all mental health issues and treatment forms are equally amenable to online interaction. In contrast, in many instances, practitioners were positive about the effectiveness of treatment, and reported flexibility, a lower threshold for contact, and lack of travel time as advantages. Their most prominent needs concern better technological, organizational, and logistical support. It is critical that these needs are acted upon by institutions and governments. In addition, current results inform future research on the improvement of e-mental health technologies.
AB - The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated sudden and radical changes in mental health care delivery, as strict social distancing and lockdown measures were imposed in the early phases of the pandemic. Almost overnight, practitioners were forced to transfer their face-to-face care practice to online means. To understand the implications of this drastic change for mental health care, and to improve the online care offerings, an online qualitative survey was held among mental health care professionals in Netherlands (n = 51). Our findings indicate that technological and usability problems pose a significant challenge, as do difficulties to establish rapport with clients. Moreover, not all mental health issues and treatment forms are equally amenable to online interaction. In contrast, in many instances, practitioners were positive about the effectiveness of treatment, and reported flexibility, a lower threshold for contact, and lack of travel time as advantages. Their most prominent needs concern better technological, organizational, and logistical support. It is critical that these needs are acted upon by institutions and governments. In addition, current results inform future research on the improvement of e-mental health technologies.
KW - online psychological treatment
KW - mental healthcare
KW - teletherapy
KW - COVID-19
KW - practitioners' experiences
KW - Telemedicine/trends
KW - Patient Acceptance of Health Care/psychology
KW - Humans
KW - Mental Health/trends
KW - Health Personnel/psychology
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - Qualitative Research
KW - Netherlands/epidemiology
KW - Health Care Surveys
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85090080514&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1089/cyber.2020.0370
DO - 10.1089/cyber.2020.0370
M3 - Article
C2 - 32815742
SN - 2152-2715
VL - 23
SP - 860
EP - 864
JO - Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
JF - Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
IS - 12
ER -