Lost and Found in Psychotherapy During COVID-19

Abstract

The authors discuss the loss of the traditional setting for psychotherapy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a natural experiment lasting 2 years, and the finding of new channels of communication for therapy using video and telephone platforms as well as outdoor therapy spaces. The manuscript explores the experience of both patients and therapists with these new channels and investigates how the external features of the therapy frame can be subjectively experienced by different people and within different therapeutic relationships. Through patient surveys, case vignettes, and discussions with colleagues, the authors conclude that for a large group of psychotherapy patients the new channels worked as well as and sometimes even better than the old in-person appointments and that an occasional in-person “booster” session can strengthen the therapeutic alliance of ongoing teletherapy.