Stadler Michael, Jesser Andrea, Humer Elke, Haid Barbara, Stippl Peter, Schimböck Wolfgang, Maaß Elisabeth, Schwanzar Helmut, Leithner Daniela, Pieh Christoph, Probst Thomas
Department for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University for Continuing Education Krems, 3500 Krems, Austria.
Austrian Federal Association for Psychotherapy, 1030 Vienna, Austria.
Life (Basel). 2023 Jan 29;13(2):360. doi: 10.3390/life13020360.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated measures to contain the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus required a change in treatment format from face-to-face to remote psychotherapy. This study investigated the changes experienced by Austrian therapists when switching to psychotherapy at a distance. A total of 217 therapists participated in an online survey on changes experienced when switching settings. The survey was open from 26 June until 3 September 2020. Several open questions were evaluated using qualitative content analysis. The results show that the setting at a distance was appreciated by the therapists as a possibility to continue therapy even during an exceptional situation. Moreover, remote therapy offered the respondents more flexibility in terms of space and time. Nevertheless, the therapists also reported challenges of remote therapy, such as limited sensory perceptions, technical problems and signs of fatigue. They also described differences in terms of the therapeutic interventions used. There was a great deal of ambivalence in the data regarding the intensity of sessions and the establishment and/or maintenance of a psychotherapeutic relationship. Overall, the study shows that remote psychotherapy seems to have been well accepted by Austrian psychotherapists in many settings and can offer benefits. Clinical studies are also necessary to investigate in which contexts and for which patient groups the remote setting is suitable and where it is potentially contraindicated.
新冠疫情的爆发以及为遏制严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）所采取的相关措施，要求将治疗形式从面对面治疗转变为远程心理治疗。本研究调查了奥地利治疗师在转向远程心理治疗时所经历的变化。共有217名治疗师参与了一项关于转换治疗环境时所经历变化的在线调查。该调查于2020年6月26日至9月3日开放。通过定性内容分析对几个开放式问题进行了评估。结果表明，远程治疗环境受到治疗师的认可，认为即使在特殊情况下也能继续治疗。此外，远程治疗在空间和时间方面为受访者提供了更大的灵活性。然而，治疗师们也报告了远程治疗的挑战，如感官感知受限、技术问题和疲劳迹象。他们还描述了所使用治疗干预措施的差异。在关于治疗疗程强度以及心理治疗关系的建立和/或维持的数据方面存在很大的矛盾心理。总体而言，该研究表明，远程心理治疗在许多情况下似乎已被奥地利心理治疗师广泛接受，并且可以带来益处。还需要进行临床研究，以调查远程治疗环境适用于哪些背景和患者群体，以及在哪些情况下可能存在禁忌。
