Online Psychological Therapy

The technological advances in the recent years have led to there being massive changes to the conventional practice of psychotherapy. Whilst conventional psychotherapy is limited by locality, web technologies have enabled the delivery of therapies at any time and to any place. Online technologies have bridged several gaps in conventional psychotherapy by increasing accessibility and convenience; providing anonymity; and personalization with regard to the intervention. Despite these advantages, online psychological therapies are limited by issues relating to privacy and confidentiality; and warrant that therapies have the necessary skill sets to be competent in delivering such therapies. Whilst there has been good evidence pertaining to these online therapies, there remain ethical issues that both the patient and therapists need to be cognizant of. In addition, not all patients are suitable for online therapy, and therapists need to consider the profile of their patients carefully. It is the aim of this chapter to provide a holistic overview of the advances in the field of psychotherapies and allow clinicians to recognize the benefits and limitations pertaining to the adoption of new technologies for the delivery of psychotherapies.