Tele-psychotherapy during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mini-review

"Some distance between us": a UK mixed methods study exploring experiences of remote care for eating disorders during COVID-19

Introduction

COVID-19 necessitated a rapid move from face-to-face services to remote care for eating disorders/eating distress (EDs). This study explores the advantages and challenges of remote care, identifying future implications for service provision. Remote care has been considered in the broadest of terms, including therapeutic care (e.g., Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, peer support, forums, one-to-one and group care options).

Methods

Using a mixed methods approach, data were collected from 211 people with lived experience of EDs (PWLE), with and without formal diagnosis. 27 participants took part in semi-structured interviews/workshops and a further 184 participants took part via an online survey. Participants reported on their ED status, the impact of the pandemic on symptoms, the benefits, and challenges of remote care (and type of support accessed), and any reasons for not accessing support. Participants were invited to make future care recommendations.

Results

ED symptoms were reported as worsening during the pandemic with contributing factors including isolation, lack of routine, negative emotions, and feeling like the external situation was outside of one's control. Remote care was positively attributed to increased flexibility and facilitation of social connection. Identified barriers to access included lack of awareness about support availability, digital access/literacy, and competing commitments. Further challenges included approaches being perceived as too clinical (e.g., ED information and support presented using clinical language and/or limited to support within medical care settings, without acknowledging the broader context of disordered eating), uncertainty around remote care quality, and concerns that remote platforms may facilitate masking of symptoms. Participants reported distress caused by online platforms where self-view is the default during video calls. They expressed a need for more holistic approaches to remote care, including: "real stories" of recovery, and hybrid (online and offline) options for greater flexibility and widening of access and choice. Participants also expressed a need for appropriate digital literacy training.

Discussion

Future recommendations emphasise user-centred holistic and hybrid approaches to ED remote support, with training to address digital literacy barriers and facilitate user control of platform functionalities (e.g., self-view). This study underscores the need for continued remote care with a focus on inclusivity and user empowerment.

Feasibility, satisfaction, and goal attainment in routine telemedicine consultation in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy

Telehealth services were rapidly adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic, but evidence regarding the effectiveness and feasibility of telehealth services in child and adolescent mental healthcare is sparse. This study aims to investigate feasibility, satisfaction, and goal attainment in video-delivered consultations in routine care child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy. A total of 1046 patients from four university child and adolescent outpatient psychiatric clinics and one university outpatient unit for child and adolescent psychotherapy were screened for study participation. We examined a) the percentage of patients considered eligible for video-delivered consultation, b) clinicians', parents' and patients' satisfaction with video consultation, c) clinicians' ratings of goal attainment in video consultation, and d) factors associated with satisfaction and goal attainment. 59% of the screening sample (n = 621) fulfilled eligibility criteria and were considered eligible for video consultation. A total of 267 patients consented to participate in the study and received a video consultation. Clinicians reported high levels of satisfaction with video consultation and high levels of goal attainment in video consultations, especially for patients scheduled for initial patient assessments. Parents and patients were also highly satisfied with the video consultations, especially if patients had less severe emotional and behavioral problems. The present findings suggest that video consultations are a feasible and well-accepted alternative to in-person consultations in child and adolescent mental health care, especially for children with less severe symptoms and for children in early phases of assessment and treatment. Limitations include the lack of a control group. The study was registered at the German Clinical Trials Registry (DRKS00023525).

How has our primary-care NHS-IAPT provision for PTSD adapted to the pandemic? A service evaluation of recovery pre-COVID-19 and peri-COVID-19

BACKGROUND

Mental health issues have been an ongoing major cause of global disability exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The unique challenges have been the high contagiousness of COVID-19 and atypical PTSD presentations e.g., ICU-PTSD. This has led to increased demand on mental health services which have had to vary their provision for example working remotely vs. the traditional face-to-face. The pandemic has also exposed the preexisting health inequalities related to sociodemographic variables. In the UK, NHS-IAPT is the main primary-care provider which has suffered these repercussions. Research from COVID-19 and previous viral outbreaks has estimated an increase in the prevalence of PTSD. Although services have been urged to monitor their provision, research on PTSD remains scanty. The current NHS-IAPT service was concerned about these ramifications of the pandemic and also wished to address the gap in the research. The aim was to conduct an evaluation of the impact of the COVID-19 on PTSD recovery. The first question evaluated the impact, and the second question evaluated the associated variables.

METHODS

The study employed a quantitative data analysis method. Data were extracted and analysed from the electronic database, IAPTus. The study evaluated PTSD recovery rates during pre-pandemic and peri-pandemic periods. The comparisons determined the impact of the pandemic as well as what recovery variables were significant. The data were analysed statistically using both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (t-test and Chi-square). The data were analyzed in reference to the national NHS-IAPT standards via NHS-Digital.

RESULTS

The findings suggest that the pandemic had no significant impact on overall PTSD recovery rates, which also aligned with the national standards. These recovery rates fell below the target national standard of 50% regardless of the pandemic. Several client, service and treatment variables were shown to be associated with PTSD recovery rates.

CONCLUSIONS

This evaluation highlights a pre-existing problem around the persistently low PTSD recovery rates. It also identifies variables that warrant further research in order to improve PTSD service-provision and mitigate any long-term pandemic impacts. This study also provides information for other services wishing to enhance their PTSD recovery rates.

Utility of in-session assessments during cognitive behavioral therapy for depression after traumatic brain injury: Results from a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

The development of depression after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can be used to treat post-TBI depression, but the symptoms response is poorly described.

OBJECTIVE

This secondary analysis assessed: (1) the trajectory of depression symptoms up to 12 sessions of CBT, (2) which depressive symptom clusters were responsive to in-person and phone CBT, and (3) whether interim depression thresholds predict 16-week treatment response.

METHOD

This secondary analysis of the IRB-approved Life Improvement Following Traumatic Brain Injury trial included 100 adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) within ten years of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury from throughout the US. We used a combination of descriptive, graphical, and diagnostic accuracy methods.

RESULTS

Cardinal and cognitive-affective symptom clusters improved most from CBT over 16 weeks. At 8 and 16 weeks, the most responsive individual symptoms were anhedonia, depressed mood, and fatigue; the least responsive were sleep and appetite. PHQ-9 thresholds with a Negative Predictive Value greater than 0.7 for sessions 6, 7, and 8 were, respectively: >15, >10, and >9.

CONCLUSION

In-person and phone CBT led to similar symptom responses during treatment. Additionally, using PHQ-9 thresholds for predicting intervention response within eight sessions may help identify the need for treatment adjustments.