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

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.