George, Daniel and Lee, Nicholas A. and Riding-Malon, Ruth and Biermeier-Hanson, Benjamin Therapy Tech: A Thematic Analysis of the Confluence of Technology and Psychotherapy in a Reddit.com Psychotherapist Community. 2021. Radford University, Dissertation. Radford University Scholars' Repository.
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Abstract
With high rates of mental disorders globally, access to effective treatments is paramount. Digital mental health technologies (DMHTs) may provide a means of increasing both access to and quality of treatment, yet they are underutilized by clinicians. While little research has qualitatively examined how psychotherapists relate to, experience, and utilize DMHTs, such research has the potential to illuminate unseen barriers. To that end, this study utilized a phenomenological approach to examine discussions among therapists on Reddit.com, employing thematic analysis to explore their experiences with DMHTs across a number of comments (N = 1,260). The thematic analysis uncovered seven major themes, ranging from therapists’ frustrations with technological hassles to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on teletherapy. Ultimately, we identified 46 potential barriers to therapist use of DMHTs in practice and 29 potential use facilitators. Additionally, barriers, facilitators, and the context provided by the thematic analysis were used to provide seven recommendations for increasing DMHT use.
| Item Type: | Dissertation |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | digital mental health, mobile health (mHealth), telemental health, psychotherapy, social media |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology T Technology > T Technology (General) |
| Divisions: | Radford University > College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences > Department of Psychology |
| Date Deposited: | 11 Jul 2022 15:29 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Apr 2023 17:03 |
| URI: | http://wagner.radford.edu/id/eprint/797 |
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