A qualitative study of the use of Skype for psychotherapy consultations in the Ukraine

Abstract

There has been rather limited use of Skype for health and medical purposes. We investigated the use of Skype for delivering psychotherapy services in the Ukraine. A provider questionnaire was distributed to all delegates ( n = 50) at the Annual Symposium of Psychotherapists. One copy of a client questionnaire was also given to each service provider and they were instructed to request their next client to complete the survey. In total, 29 providers and 23 clients responded to the questionnaire. The majority of clients (61%) and providers (72%) had used Skype for a range of services. The services they provided were related to a wide range of paradigms including psycho-analysis, psycho-drama, Gestalt therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and existential therapy. A key reason for using Skype was to allow practitioners to contact clients who were not easily accessible, e.g. those who lived in other countries. Most practitioners ( n = 24) thought their clients considered the services received on Skype were good or excellent. All 26 practitioners charged for Skype consultations. The majority of clients and providers showed high satisfaction with the use of Skype for psychotherapy services.