When the algorithm ‘matches’ us: The experiences of early-career psychologists on online platform services for psychotherapy and counselling in Italy

Introduction

The spread of online platform services offering psychological psychotherapy and counselling has been observed globally. In Italy, these services were aimed at young people and offered job opportunities to early-career clinical psychologists.

Aim

The current study aimed to explore the professional experiences of early-career psychologists (age range: 29–35 years) in working on online platform services that deliver psychotherapy and counselling in Italy.

Method

A total of 13 psychologists practising psychological interventions on online platform services were interviewed. Participants had a mean of 3 years' clinical experience. A thematic analysis, following the qualitative approach of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), was performed.

Results

From the analysis, four superordinate themes emerged: (1) a smart intervention; (2) professional identity; (3) a different and wide contact; and (4) grateful to the platform, loyal to the ‘company’.

Discussion

The online platforms represented a ‘medium’ with a ‘third’ function on a double level. At one level, they mediated between the request of the client and the psychologist, using the suggestions of AI algorithms. At another level, they offered employability and a guide to online interventions to early-career psychologists. Some critical issues related to ethics emerged considering the difficulty in maintaining the psychologists' autonomy before the affiliation to the business model promoted by the company, which may not match the client's interests.

Conclusion

The study highlights that online platforms promote a new culture of psychological health services, changing the representations and meanings attributed to the online intervention, the clinical profession and the psychologist–client relationship.