Mental health practitioners’ perceptions of online working: a literature review

Roddy, Jeannette K.; Gabriel, Lynne; Sheehy, Robert; Charura, Divine; Dunn, Ellen; Hall, Jordan; Moller, Naomi; Smith, Kate; Cooper, Mick

Abstract

A move to online therapy, observed in counselling courses within the UK
during the global Covid-19 pandemic, prompted a research team of
counselling educators to undertake a rapid literature review to explore
the perceptions and experiences of video therapy internationally
(PROSPERO 2020 CRD42020204705). Four databases (CINAHL, Medline,
PsychInfo, and Web of Science) were searched using 25 keyword-
phrases. Over half the research identified focused on using computers
for therapy. Insufficient papers explored the client experience for
inclusion. However, eleven practitioner papers of reasonable to strong
quality were identified and are reported in this paper, with only one
from the UK. Thematic analysis identified four internationally applicable
themes for practitioners: therapeutic practice; technical concerns;
perceptions of client benefits and challenges when working online; and
therapist challenges. The paper identifies several areas of potential
future research from the identified themes which could inform future
practice, including the need for further client-based research.

Citation

Roddy, J. K., Gabriel, L., Sheehy, R., Charura, D., Dunn, E., Hall, J., …Cooper, M. (2024). Mental health practitioners’ perceptions of online working: a literature review. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2024.2373179

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 23, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jul 26, 2024
• Publication Date: Jul 26, 2024
• Deposit Date: Sep 6, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 6, 2024
• Print ISSN: 0306-9885
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 1-16
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2024.2373179