About this Research Topic
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed psychological therapies in significant ways. First, the therapeutic sessions experienced a rapid transition to online modalities. Though online therapies allow flexibility and can buffer space and time barriers, they lack concrete guidelines and there is limited evidence on their effectiveness.
The pandemic offers a unique opportunity to examine the acceptability of online therapies, as well as their perceived success by both therapists and clients. Second, research on the therapeutic process has evidenced the central role of non-verbal expression and physical proximity for the therapeutic alliance and effectiveness. When sessions are held in person under the current restrictions, the use of a mask may impact how therapists and clients perceive the non-verbal emotional cue exchanges, whereas social distancing may impact therapeutic alliance. Understanding how such security measures may influence the therapeutic process and the professional self-efficacy of experienced therapists and trainees is key for guiding evidence-based best practices.
This Research Topic aims to explore how psychological therapies are experienced during the restrictions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the examination of online modality features, the repercussion caused by the security measures in the therapeutic room, and the training of new therapists.
The aim of this collection is to provide evidence-based guidelines for online therapies, to suggest novel ways of integrating therapeutic elements to account for potential drawbacks caused by the lack of non-verbal cues and proximity and to guide best practices for training new therapists.
This Research Topic welcomes contributions from academic and clinical researchers and practitioners and a range of article types.
We are particularly interested in contributions that explore:
• Experiences of transition from face to face to online modality.
• Experiences and attitudes towards online therapy.
• Assessments of online therapy effectiveness.
• The impact of security measures such as the use of mask and social distancing on the therapeutic skills.
• Therapeutic process, alliance, and professional self-efficacy of experienced therapists and trainees.
The pandemic offers a unique opportunity to examine the acceptability of online therapies, as well as their perceived success by both therapists and clients. Second, research on the therapeutic process has evidenced the central role of non-verbal expression and physical proximity for the therapeutic alliance and effectiveness. When sessions are held in person under the current restrictions, the use of a mask may impact how therapists and clients perceive the non-verbal emotional cue exchanges, whereas social distancing may impact therapeutic alliance. Understanding how such security measures may influence the therapeutic process and the professional self-efficacy of experienced therapists and trainees is key for guiding evidence-based best practices.
This Research Topic aims to explore how psychological therapies are experienced during the restrictions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the examination of online modality features, the repercussion caused by the security measures in the therapeutic room, and the training of new therapists.
The aim of this collection is to provide evidence-based guidelines for online therapies, to suggest novel ways of integrating therapeutic elements to account for potential drawbacks caused by the lack of non-verbal cues and proximity and to guide best practices for training new therapists.
This Research Topic welcomes contributions from academic and clinical researchers and practitioners and a range of article types.
We are particularly interested in contributions that explore:
• Experiences of transition from face to face to online modality.
• Experiences and attitudes towards online therapy.
• Assessments of online therapy effectiveness.
• The impact of security measures such as the use of mask and social distancing on the therapeutic skills.
• Therapeutic process, alliance, and professional self-efficacy of experienced therapists and trainees.
Keywords: COVID-19, Security Measures, Psychological Therapies, Procedures, Therapeutic Elements
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
