How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affects the Provision of Psychotherapy: Results from Three Online Surveys on Austrian Psychotherapists

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2023-01, Vol.20 (3), p.1961
• Main Authors: Winter, Stefanie, Jesser, Andrea, Probst, Thomas, Schaffler, Yvonne, Kisler, Ida-Maria, Haid, Barbara, Pieh, Christoph, Humer, Elke
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Austria - epidemiology; Communicable Disease Control; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - therapy; Cross-Sectional Studies; Gender; Humans; Infections; Internet; Mental disorders; Mental health; Pandemics; Patients; Psychotherapists; Psychotherapy; Psychotherapy - methods; Sociodemographics; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires; Therapists; Working conditions; Workload
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20031961

This study aimed to assess patient numbers and the format in which psychotherapy was delivered by Austrian psychotherapists during different time points of the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore psychotherapists` experiences on pandemic-associated changes in their psychotherapeutic work as well as their wishes for support in their professional activities. Three cross-sectional online surveys were conducted between March 2020 and May 2022. The total number of participating psychotherapists was = 1547 in 2020, = 238 in 2021, and = 510 in 2022. The number of patients treated was highest in 2022 and lowest at the beginning of the pandemic ( < 0.001). During the lockdown in 2020, only 25.0% of patients were treated in personal contact. This proportion increased in the following years, reaching 86.9% in 2022 ( < 0.001). After a substantial increase in the proportion of patients treated via the telephone and internet during the first lockdown, both proportions decreased during the pandemics' second and third year ( < 0.001). However, a larger proportion of patients were treated via the internet in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic times ( < 0.001). Psychotherapists reported that the pandemic affected mainly the setting in which psychotherapy was provided (29.6%), the working conditions and workload (27.1%), as well as the demand for psychotherapy (26.9%). About one-third of psychotherapists expressed support wishes for their psychotherapeutic work. Results suggest that the pandemic went along with a partial shift in the provision of psychotherapy towards psychotherapy via the internet but not the telephone. The increase in patient numbers and psychotherapists` reports of increased workload suggest a rise in the demand for mental health care during and in the aftermath of the pandemic.