Patient’s experience in online group therapy: An exploratory study during the lockdown

Journal title GRUPPI
Author/s Ivan Ambrosiano, Salvatore Gullo, Alessandro Di Caro, Maria Teresa Graffeo, Cecilia Giordano
Publishing Year 2023 Issue 2021/2
Language Italian Pages 32 P. 103-124 File size 0 KB
DOI 10.3280/gruoa2-2021oa15809
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

This article aimed to explore the experience of 39 patients who continued group psychotherapy in the online setting during the period of restrictions due to the pandemic. Through a structured questionnaire, with both open and closed answers, different areas were investigated: the setting, which includes the initial reactions to the need for online movement, perception in showing and being able to see the private spaces of the participants and therapists, and the difficulties relating to the maintenance of privacy; clinical efficacy, connected to the positive and negative aspects of the new modality; the therapeutic relationship, which explores the alliance with therapists and the group, as well as emerging representations; and the therapist’s management style and group dynamics. The results were interpreted considering the previous authors’ articles and the international literature.

Keywords: ; Online group psychotherapy; Patients; Setting; Effectiveness; Therapeutic relationship; Group dynamics

  1. Ambrosiano I., Druetta V., Pisterzi A. e Gullo S. (2020). La relazione clinica media-ta dallo schermo nella psicoterapia di gruppo online. Gruppi, XXI, 2: 94-108. DOI. 10.3280/gruoa2-2020oa12583.
  2. Banbury A., Parkinson L. e Nancarrow S. (2016). Delivering Patient Education by Group Videoconferencing into the Home: Lessons Learnt from the Telehealth Literacy Project. J. Telemed Telecare, 22: 483–488. DOI: 10.1177/1357633X16674359
  3. Barak A., Hen L., Boniel-Nissim M. e Shapira N. (2008). A Comprehensive Review and a Meta-analysis of the Effectiveness of Internet-based Psychotherapeutic Interventions. J. of Technology in Human Services, 26, 2-4: 109-160. DOI: 10.1080/15228830802094429
  4. Békés V., Aafjes-van Doorn K., Luo X., Prout T.A. e Hoffman L. (2021). Psycho-therapists’ Challenges with Online Therapy during Covid-19: Concerns about Connectedness Predict Therapists’ Negative View of Online Therapy and its Perceived Efficacy over Time. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 705699. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.705699
  5. Bennett C.B., Ruggero C.J., Sever A.C. e Yanouri L. (2020). eHealth to Redress Psychotherapy Access Barriers both New and Old: A Review of Reviews and Meta-analyses. J. of Psychotherapy Integration, 30, 2: 188-207. DOI: 10.1037/int0000217
  6. Blasi S. e Hill C.E. (2015). La Ricerca Qualitativa Consensuale come metodo di ricerca qualitativa per le scienze sociali, la psicologia e la psicoterapia: aspetti teorici e linee guida pratiche. Psicoterapia Cognitiva e Comportamentale, 21, 1: 73-97.
  7. Foulkes S.H. (1964). Analisi terapeutica di gruppo. Torino: Boringhieri, 1967.
  8. Foulkes S.H. (1975). La psicoterapia gruppoanalitica. Roma: Astrolabio, 1976.
  9. Gentry M.T., Lapid M.I., Clark M.M. e Rummans T.A. (2019). Evidence for Tele-health Group-based Treatment: A Systematic Review. J. of Telemedicine and Telecare, 25: 327-342. DOI: 10.1177/1357633X18775855
  10. Girelli R., Vasta F. e Ambrosiano I. (2020). Prime considerazioni sul passaggio dal cerchio gruppale allo schermo condiviso: note sparse al tempo del lockdown. Gruppi, XXI, 1: 89-105. DOI: 10.3280/gruoa1-2020oa10485
  11. Haddouk L., Bouchard S., Brivio E., Galimberti C. e Trognon A. (2018). Assessing Presence in Videoconference Telepsychotherapies: A Complementary Qualitative Study on Breaks in Telepresence and Intersubjectivity Co-construction Processes. Ann. Rev. of CyberTher. and Telemed, 16, 118-123.
  12. Hill C.E., Ed. (2012). Consensual Qualitative Research: A Practical Resource for Investigating Social Science Phenomena. Washington, DC: American Psycho-logical Association.
  13. Marmarosh C.L., Forsyth D.R., Strauss B. e Burlingame G.M. (2020). The Psy-chology of the Covid-19 Pandemic: a Group-level Perspective. Group Dynam-ics: Theory, Research and Practice, 24, 3: 122-138. DOI: 10.1037/gdn0000142
  14. Naik S.S., Manjunatha N., Kumar C.N., Math S.B. e Moirangthem S. (2020). Pa-tient’s Perspectives of Telepsychiatry: The Past, Present and Future. Indian J. of psychological medicine, 42, 5suppl: 102S-107S. DOI: 10.1177/0253717620963341
  15. Pierce B.S., Perrin P.B., Tyler C.M., McKee G.B. e Watson J.D. (2021). The COVID-19 Telepsychology Revolution: A National Study of Pandemic-Based Changes in U.S. Mental Health Care Delivery. American Psychologist, 76, 1: 14-25. DOI: 10.1037/amp0000722
  16. Russell G.I. (2015). Psicoanalisi attraverso lo schermo. I limiti delle terapie online. Roma: Astrolabio, 2017.
  17. Spangler P.T., Liu J. e Hill C.E. (2012). Consensual Qualitative Research for Simple Qualitative Data: An Introduction to CQR-M. In. Hill C.E., Ed., Consensual Qualitative Research: A Practical Resource for Investigating Social Science Phenomena. Washington DC: American Psychological Association.
  18. Thomas N., McDonald C., DeBoer K., Brand R.M., Nedeljkovic M. e Seabrook L. (2021). Review of the Current Empirical Literature on Using Videoconferencing to Deliver Individual Psychotherapies to Adults with Mental Health Problems. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, Advance online publication. DOI: 10.1111/papt.12332
  19. van Uden-Kraan C.F., Drossaert C.H., Taal E., Seydel E.R. e van de Laar M.A. (2009), Participation in Online Patient Support Groups Endorses Patients’ Empowerment. Patient Educ. Couns. Jan., 74, 1: 61-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2008.07.044. Epub 2008 Sep 7. PMID: 18778909
  20. Vasta F., Gullo S. e Girelli R., a cura di (2019). Psicoterapia psicodinamica di gruppo e ricerca empirica. Una guida per il clinico. Roma: Alpes.
  21. Weinberg H. (2020). Online Group Psychotherapy: Challenges and Possibilities during Covid-19 – A practice review. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 24, 3: 201-211. DOI: 10.1037/gdn0000140
  22. Weinberg H. (2021). Obstacles, Challenges, and Benefits of Online Group Psychotherapy. Am J Psychother., 74: 83-88. DOI: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.20200034
  23. Weinberg H. e Rolnick A. (2020). Theory and Practice of Online Therapy: Internet-delivered Interventions for Individuals, Groups, Families, and Organizations. New York: Routledge.
  24. Zerwas S.C., Watson H.J., Hofmeier S.M., Levine M.D., Hamer R.M., Crosby R.D., Runfola C.D., Peat C.M., Shapiro J.R., Zimmer B., Moessner M., Kordy H., Marcus M.D. e Bulik C.M. (2017). CBT4BN: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Online Chat and Face-to-Face Group Therapy for Bulimia Nervosa. Psychother. Psychosom., 86: 47-53. DOI: 10.1159/000449025

  • Zoom Fatigue and Self-mirroring: New phenomena in individual and group psychotherapy online Ivan Ambrosiano, in Group Analysis 05333164251405378/2025
    DOI: 10.1177/05333164251405378

Ivan Ambrosiano, Salvatore Gullo, Alessandro Di Caro, Maria Teresa Graffeo, Cecilia Giordano, L’esperienza del paziente nella terapia di gruppo online: una ricerca esplorativa durante il lockdown in "GRUPPI" 2/2021, pp 103-124, DOI: 10.3280/gruoa2-2021oa15809