Online group psychotherapy: Challenges and possibilities during COVID-19-A practice review

Abstract

Background: Online group therapy is a relatively new modality for leading groups. There is not enough research yet to evaluate its effectiveness and no clear guidelines about how to do it well. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic it became even more crucial to provide clinicians with appropriate research review and practical guidelines. The purpose of this article was to provide practice recommendations based on or despite the limited research. Method: The article reviewed research on online therapy in general, including any on groups, followed by a summary of the obstacles in leading groups online and recommendations for creative solutions. Findings: Research on online groups is still scarce, and its quality still has many limitations. Discussion: More research is needed, especially on specific elements in online group therapy, such as the establishing of cohesion and therapeutic presence online, as well as how different the working alliance and cohesion are created online when compared to face-to-face groups. Despite limited research, the author recommends being more active and increasing self-disclosure in online groups to compensate for the challenge of being present and the lack of body-to-body interaction. Training for online group therapy is necessary.