Efficacy Of Online Psychology In Anxiety And Depression
On many occasions, finding time in the busy weekly schedule to go to therapy can be very complicated. On the other hand, even if we manage to have time, sometimes meeting in person can be difficult for many people who have anxiety or depression. Online psychology may be the most effective solution to these problems.
Patients can receive therapy through online psychology whenever and wherever they want Online psychology can provide trust, confidentiality and comfort. These elements are essential to being able to help people who need psychological intervention, but are reluctant to go to a psychologist’s face-to-face consultation.
Online psychology, since recent decades, has been a way of bringing psychotherapy to people who are overwhelmed by anxiety and depression problems
Just as in person, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and third generation behavioral therapies (ACT, Behavioral Activation, Mindfulness, etc.) are also effective in the online modality for people with depression and anxiety.
Pioneer countries and development in Spain
The pioneering countries in online psychology are the USA, Canada and Australia. In Canada, more than half of psychologists use online psychology in their work (Simms, Gibson, & O’Donnell, 2011).
In Spain it is considered that the beginning of online psychology appeared in the year 2000, with 1% of the total psychotherapeutic treatments. The year 2010 represents a turning point in the development of online psychology in Spain being present in 12% of psychological treatments. In 2013, online psychological therapy is considered to take off with 26% of total psychotherapeutic interventions (González-Peña, P., Torres, R., Del Barrio, V., and Olmedo, M., 2017).
Psychologist Andreas Maercker from the University of Zurich conducted a study with people who suffered from depression in 2013 in which he concluded that online psychology It is proven equally effective as face-to-face
We found in another study carried out by the American Psychiatric Association that concluded that online psychotherapy had equivalent results to those achieved in face-to-face psychology. On the other hand, the aforementioned study found a similar level of satisfaction in patients who were treated both online and in person.
Gratzer, chief psychiatrist of the Mental Health service at Scarborough Hospital (Toronto) and his team reviewed studies on the effectiveness of online psychotherapy carried out between 2000 and 2012. According to these studies, patients who used online psychotherapy They had better results than those who used face-to-face psychology In the journal JAMA Psychiatry (until 2013 Archives of General Psychiatry), a study was published that evaluated how online psychology affects the well-being of doctors in training. Resident physicians have a heavy workload, including nights and weekends, and the accumulated stress can lead to depression and thoughts of suicide. Resident doctors who received half-hour online psychology sessions had fewer depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts.
Psychologists Cohen and Kerr from the University of Arizona published a study in 1999 on the effectiveness of online psychology for the treatment of anxiety disorder in students and concluded that there is no difference in the level of effectiveness between online psychology or in person verified with the psychometric instrument the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory
Renowned institutions such as the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine at Harvard University, the United States National Institute of Mental Health and the British Journal of Psychiatry consider that online psychotherapy is as effective as in-person psychological care.
