Should face-to-face in-person therapy be preserved for some clients with anxiety? Evaluation of Anxiety UK's psychological therapy services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic initiated a mass switch to psychological therapy being delivered remotely, including at Anxiety UK, a national mental health charity. Understanding the impact of this forced switch could raise implications for the provision of psychological therapies going forwards.

Aims: To understand whether the forced switch to remote therapy had any impact on outcomes, and if certain groups should continue to be routinely offered certain delivery modalities in future.

Method: Data were available for 2323 individuals who accessed Anxiety UK services between January 2019 and October 2021. Demographic data, baseline and discharge anxiety and depression symptoms, and mode of therapy delivery were available.Regression models were built to model (a) the mode of therapy delivery received pre-pandemic using logistic regression, and (b) outcomes pre- and post-pandemic onset within demographic groups.

Results: No statistically significant changes in baseline anxiety symptoms, demographics or outcomes were observed before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.Pre-pandemic, males were more likely to receive online video therapy than telephone therapy (Relative Risk Ratio (RRR) 1.42, [1.01, 1.99]), while older clients were less likely to receive online video therapy (RRR 0.98, [0.97, 0.99]). However, no differences in outcomes were observed post-pandemic onset within these groups, with only the number of sessions of therapy being a significant predictor of outcomes.

Conclusions: Anxiety UK services remained effective throughout the pandemic. We observed no evidence that any demographic group had worse outcomes following the forced switch to remote therapy.