The Experiences of 17 Canadian Therapists Who Transitioned From In-Person to Online Direct Practice
Abstract
When COVID-19 restricted in-person direct practice, many therapists were forced to shift suddenly, without preparation, to using an online service modality in order to continue offering mental health services. This fieldwork paper has two aims: one, to report the reflections of 17 therapists who offered online direct practice after transitioning rapidly to this modality at a family systems-informed mental health agency in Ontario, and two, to connect these therapists’ experiences to recent literature on online direct practice. Although some of the therapists who provided their reflections for this paper offered individual care, most offered family therapy and were registered with the Canadian Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. This fieldwork paper reports family therapists’ reflective experiences of the assets, challenges, and implications of rapidly shifting to and utilizing forms of online direct practice. Their reflections reveal that therapists experienced their rapid shift to using forms of online direct practice as both challenging and beneficial. Although therapists struggled with technical and therapeutic difficulties and to shifts in administrative, therapeutic, and technological procedures, their use of forms of online direct practice created opportunities to adapt and advance administrative and service strategies. Consequently, this fieldwork paper offers considerations and future directions for engaging in online direct practice derived from therapists’ experiences during and after COVID-19, including suggestions for advancing policies, service procedures, and self-care practices.
