E-Therapy Critical Success Factors: The Immediate Impact of COVID-19

ABSTRACT:The overall impact of COVID-19 removed the traditional barriers to e-therapy, creating a seismic shift in attitudes and incentives that allowed therapists to apply virtual meeting technologies in service to their patients’ mental health needs. A post-COVID-19 Delphi study, using the same study design conducted in 2011, found that Internet communication technologies used by patients and therapists, the implementation of secure applications and procedures, and the removal of legal obstacles allowed e-therapy to become an effective treatment option and opened doors to treat more patients. Therapists utilized information technology to enhance patient interactions in remote settings, allowing for more empathy and improved service quality than reported in past studies. A comparison of the findings between the studies conducted in 2020 and 2011 indicates a decline of information system management oversight and suggests that organizational leadership was in tune with common issues facing therapists delivering services under trying circumstances. E-therapy works, but a return to pre-COVID-19 legal restrictions, institutional hurdles, organizational impediments, and technological costs may limit future opportunities to implement and use mobile technologies to provide better treatment for patients.