revised

Rsearche rs

Subjects Method/ Independent Variables

Depend ent Variable s

Outcomes

Greenwo od et al. 2022).

931 Patients

Randomized controlled trials

Cognitiv e behavior al therapy

Study attributed the increased use of online psychotherapy due to the COVID19 pandemic.

Ierardi et al. (2022)

34 Students

Online counseling

In- person counseli ng

Study established that online psychotherapy was effective in helping patients reduce distresses such as anxiety, depression, and obsessive and compulsive disorder

Ncheka et al. (2024)

50 students

Qualitative interview

Perceive d Covid impact Perceive d impact

Study revealed that students or young people who were technologically savvy preferred online psychotherapy to in-person counseling

Zeren, et al. (2022).

Six patients

Online therapy experiences

Personal Experien ces

Study show that clients who used online psychotherapy experience positive experiences in relation to online counseling

Khan et al. (2021)

Counselo rs

Online therapy experiences

Personal Experien ces

Study show that experience of counselors was a key determinant in the success of online counseling.

Békés et al. (2021)

1257 Therapist s

Therapists views and challenges Online therapy

Study show that Online psychotherapy effectively helps patients manage depressive symptoms, but its effectiveness decreases

over time due to the absence of personal interaction between clients and counselors.

Schuster et al. (2020).

300 Therapist s

Online survey Therapis t attidue

Study showed that a blended model was more effective than online psychotherapy

Renn et al. (2019)

164 Adult patients

Online survey Patient choices

Study showed that clients were more likely to use online psychotherapy for reasons such as accessibility, commitment to time, privacy, affordability, and location of services

Xie et al. (2023).

Hematologic patients Remote dignity therapy

Mental health

Study showed that there was short-term improvement associated with remote dignity therapy

Westerh of et al. (2019)

Older adults

Online therapy for symptoms

Depressi ve sympto ms

Study shows that counselor-led online psychotherapy was more effective than peer supported counseling in terms of reducing depressive symptoms.

Sander et al. (2021)

Mental health professio nals

Online therapy Added value

Study shows that online psychotherapy was effective in helping patients overcome mental health disorders

Sockaling am et al. (2024)

Surgery patients

Telephone-based therapy

Mental health distress

Study shows that online therapy was effective in treating psychological disorders in patients with eating disorders

1

Online versus In-Person Counseling: A Review of Existing Studies

Martha Ramsey

Saint Leo University

Capsthesis/Capstone Project II: PSY 695

Instructor Lara Ault

April 14, 2024

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Online versus In-Person Counseling: A Review of Existing Studies

Summary

This study contrasted internet psychotherapy to in-person counselling during the dawn of

the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined how both treatment methods affected client

satisfaction, personal interaction, strengths, and shortcomings. Face-to-face therapy was

preferred for its efficacy, while the online therapy was for its price and convenience (Zeren et al.,

2022). The findings suggest that counseling methods should take into account patient preferences

and conditions. The therapeutic alliance is crucial to the therapy outcome, and the counsellor and

client have a strong therapeutic alliance. Demographic factors like age and technological

proficiency play an influencing role in preferences for treatment (Ierardi et al., 2022). Patient-

centred care requires practitioners to create treatment regimens that meet patient preferences.

Study findings will expand mental health treatment options and influence future research.

Implications

The results show that mental health treatment options are complex and require person-

centred approaches. Online therapy is affordable and accessible, but it lacks the personal

connection and effectiveness of face-to-face counselling, especially for some demographic

groups. Mental health practitioners should recognize these and offer treatment based on the

patient's preferences and needs. The study also underscores the role of the quality of therapeutic

alliance in determining the outcome of mental health (Tremain et al., 2020). The quality of the

relationship between a counselor and a client determines the treatment's effectiveness and the

user's experience. Mental health practitioners should prioritize building strong therapeutic

alliances, regardless of the mode of therapy delivery. In addition, this result proves that

demographic factors, like age and technological savviness, are determinants of the preference for

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counselling modality. The youth may, therefore, prefer e-counselling due to prior convenience

and familiarity associated with this mode from prior personal encounters. Understanding such

differences is critical equitable care access (Alavi et al., 2023).

Limitation

Limitations constrain the generalizability of the findings. The review focused solely on

peer-reviewed articles published from 2019 to 2024 and might have disregarded relevant

literature outside this timeframe. This limitation could result in a biased representation of the

effectiveness of online psychotherapy and in-person counseling (Mohseni et al., 2022). Exposure

to English-only articles could have introduced possible bias in the analysis and left out useful

knowledge from non-English sources. Favorable research may be overrepresented compared to

neutral or negative ones. Access to certain articles may also have been restricted, leading to

potential gaps in the review's coverage.

Additionally, focusing only on articles published during COVID-19 would not capture

effectiveness in long-term trends or changes between online therapy and traditional offline

counselling in selected circumstances. Future research must elaborate the scope of the research

concerning the period and the language used to draw a precise picture of the covered issue.

Recognizing and acknowledging these limitations is essential to effectively interpreting the

findings and the growth and improvement of the research on e-therapy's effect on mental health.

Future research

Future research should include more articles from different language and temporal

contexts to overcome the constraints found. The inclusion would improve understanding of how

online psychotherapy and in-person counseling work across people and contexts (Kotera et al.,

2021). Future research should also examine telehealth technological trends and security, privacy,

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and ethics advancements. Managing these concerns allows mental health providers to provide

safe and effective online therapy while retaining patient confidentiality and confidence.

Longitudinal studies are needed to compare online psychotherapy to in-person counseling for

enduring efficacy. Researchers can assess therapy efficacy and durability by observing results

over time.

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References

Alavi, N., Moghimi, E., Stephenson, C., Gutierrez, G., Jagayat, J., Kumar, A., Shao, Y., Miller,

S., Yee, C. S., Stefatos, A., Gholamzadehmir, M., Abbaspour, Z., Shirazi, A., Gizzarelli,

T., Khan, F., Patel, C., Patel, A., Yang, M., & Omrani, M. (2023). Comparison of online

and in-person cognitive behavioral therapy in individuals diagnosed with major

depressive disorder: a non-randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1113956

Ierardi, E., Bottini, M., & Riva Crugnola, C. (2022). Effectiveness of an online versus face-to-

face psychodynamic counselling intervention for university students before and during

the COVID-19 period. BMC psychology, 10(1), 1-10. Retrieved from

https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-022-00742-7

Kotera, Y., Kaluzeviciute, G., Lloyd, C., Edwards, A.-M., & Ozaki, A. (2021). Qualitative

investigation into therapists’ experiences of online therapy: implications for working

clients. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(19),

10295. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph181910295

Mohseni, M., Ameri, H., & Arab-Zozani, M. (2022). Potential limitations in systematic review

studies assessing the effect of the main intervention for treatment/therapy of COVID-19

patients: An overview. Frontiers in Medicine, 9.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2022.966632

Tremain, H., McEnery, C., Fletcher, K., & Murray, G. (2020). The therapeutic alliance in digital

mental health interventions for serious mental illnesses: Narrative review (Preprint).

JMIR Mental Health, 7(8). https://doi.org/10.2196/17204

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Zeren, G., Erus, S. M., Amanvermez, Y., Genç, A. B., & Baki, D. U. Y. (2022). Client’s

experiences of online counseling: satisfaction and therapeutic alliance. Cukurova

University Faculty of Education Journal, 51(1), 634-658.

https://doi.org/10.14812/cuefd.843542