Tele-Psychology: Therapy at a Distance
It is often not easy to
provide psychological services to remote areas. The combination of poor
transport links and a sparse populace provide considerable challenges. However,
evidence is starting to come through that the communications revolution might
provide a solution.
Some of the first small-scale
studies are now examining the effectiveness of the remote provision of
psychological therapies. The BPS research digest reports on the provision of
specialist psychological help using video-conferencing to bulimia sufferers
living in the remote Shetland Islands.
In the past it had been
thought that videoconferencing might impair the effective formation of a
client-patient relationship. What this study highlighted was that not only was
therapy effective but there were also some unexpected advantages. Many of the
participants found videoconferencing was less intimidating than seeing a
therapist face-to-face.
Previous studies have
demonstrated that one commonly effective psychological therapy, cognitive
behavioural therapy, might be effective via video-conferencing. Others have
found that hypnosis can be effective via videoconferencing.
About
the author
Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD
is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from
University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology.
He has been writing about
scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book
“Making Habits, Breaking Habits” (Da Capo, 2003) and several ebooks.
It’s not difficult to see the
other advantages of this type of service provision. Studies have suggested that
so-called ‘e-therapy’ may allow clients access to both different types of
therapists and different types of therapies.
SOURCE:
PSYBLOG
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