Reference no: EM133445910
Case Study: Background Information How is internet-based psychotherapy usually done? Internet-based therapy with asynchronous online modules • Client completes online questionnaires (or video conference/telephone interview) to get diagnosed and assigned an appropriate treatment module (e.g., for a specific anxiety or mood disorder) • The most common form of internet-based therapy is cognitive-behavioural therapy • The client reads/watches online materials arranged into lessons or modules, made available one at a time on a weekly basis • Homework assignments, or therapeutic tasks, are done by client in between modules • Regularly complete questionnaires about presenting problems so therapist can monitor progress, safety and outcomes • There are both guided and unguided versions of internet-based therapy • Therapist guidance can be synchronous (real-time phone calls, texts, video conferencing) or asynchronous (e.g., email) • Therapist guidance often involves feedback on homework assignments, general support, and answers to questions from the client • Frequency of interactions between therapists/clinicians varies Synchronous videoconferencing therapy • This involves delivering psychotherapy or counselling sessions synchronously using videoconferencing technology like Teams or Zoom • This is mostly done with cognitive-behavioural therapy How effective is internet-based psychotherapy? General findings for internet-based therapy with asynchronous online modules • Internet-based CBT is more effective than control groups (waiting list, attention placebo) in the treatment of anxiety disorders and depression • Therapist-supported internet-based CBT is more effective than self-guided internet-based CBT in the treatment of anxiety disorders • Internet-based CBT is as effective as face-to-face CBT in the treatment of anxiety disorders and depression General findings for therapy delivered by synchronous videoconferencing • Videoconferencing interventions were as effective as face-to-face therapy for anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and substance use disorders • Client experiences with videoconferencing psychotherapy has not been studied in any depth Therapist-related findings • Therapist support increases adherence to the program in online modules and reduces dropout • Lenient therapist responses to uncompleted homework assignments have been associated with less improvement in treatment of anxiety disorders • Affirming responses to client email have been associated with better outcomes for treatment of depression • Expertise levels of the therapist do not seem to influence treatment outcome as much as they do in face-to-face psychotherapy • Therapeutic relationship between therapist and client is not significantly different in videoconferencing therapy than in face-to-face therapy, though therapists have expressed concerns that reading non-verbal expressions may be difficult in the videoconferencing format, which may limit the building of a trusting therapeutic relationship.
Questions: Answer the following questions:
1) Describe how internet-based therapy with asynchronous online modules is typically done
2) Discuss two research findings that support the effectiveness of internet-based therapy
3) In your opinion, what are two advantages of internet-based therapy compared to face-to-face therapy?
4) In your opinion, what are two disadvantages of internet-based therapy compared to face-to-face therapy?