This Study Identifies And Clarifies The Unique And Complex Challenges For Both Client And Therapist: Methodology Of Field Study Research Paper, AU, Ireland

Overview of Research

This study identifies and clarifies the unique and complex challenges for both client and therapist in the online psychotherapeutic encounter. The cyberspace environment introduces a dimension or filter which it is argued impacts the very nature of the therapeutic encounter and raises fresh considerations for the theory and practice of online psychotherapy.  Although these considerations are not the focus of this study, they complement existing related cyberpsychology research such as the efficacy of online therapy outcomes, comparisons with face-to-face therapy, reflections on online experiences, and the impacts on established norms of therapeutic practice.

Current research study and aims

Several studies have looked at psychological impacts of direct cyberspace use on behaviors feelings and beliefs; ways of overcoming technological barriers; … but few have specifically looked at the impact on the phenomenon of encounter per se.

The study of the direct encounter has historically informed much of person-centered, gestalt, somatic, psychoanalytic, and psychodynamic theory and practice, where the therapeutic encounter is paralleled with early infant development to evolve theories of transference, countertransference, projection, and introjection, for example.

Given the significance of the traditional therapeutic encounter in theory and in practice, an examination and clarification of how it intersects with the contemporary online encounter may help identify new challenges faced by therapists, and in turn, better inform theory and practice.  The outcomes to the online encounter cited in this inquiry are tested in a field study involving psychotherapists currently in practice being asked to examine whether the differences to the online encounter equate to their experiences when working online.

 Introduction

 In order to understand the types of impacts, the online medium may have on the therapeutic encounter we need to look at what constitutes this encounter, what characteristics of the cyberworld are seen to impact this encounter and what specific aspects of the encounter may be affected. A definition of encounter is provided to demonstrate the focus of this study and how it differs from previous inquiries. This is followed by a broad overview of field studies that seek to clarify the difference between online and face-to-face therapy to show the avenues of inquiry to date. Further analysis of both theoretical and applied field studies that relate to, but are not focused directly on, aspects of the encounter, are examined, to elucidate on potential positive and negative impacts on online therapy specific to therapeutic encounters.  It will be demonstrated that…