Comparison of clinical indicators between face-to-face and videoconferencing psychotherapy: Success, adherence to treatment and efficiency

Abstract

Videoconferencing psychotherapy has been a widely used alternative in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to further study the success of this modality and other less studied clinical indicators, such as adherence to treatment and efficiency, compared to the face-to-face modality. Data from 174 participants, 87 of each modality were used. Both treatment modalities were successful, with no differences between them except for the percentage of therapeutic objectives achieved, which was higher in the online modality. No differences were found in adherence to treatment. Efficiency was higher in the face-to-face modality both in the treatment phase and in the therapy as a whole, but not in the assessment phase. We put forward several hypotheses to try to explain these differences, some of them related to the therapeutic relationship. The conclusions of this study open the door to future research lines in the same direction.