Online Psychotherapy in Brazil: integrative review of national publications pre COVID-19 pandemic

Authors

  • Thiago Gomes de Castro Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
  • Karina Silva do Amaral Guerin Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
  • Lucca Ignácio Rubez Pimentel Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4013/ctc.2022.152.13

Abstract

Online psychotherapy is a therapy format carried out at distance and mediated by the internet. In Brazil, it is a growing practice, driven by its recent regulation in 2018 and by COVID-19 pandemic surge in the beginning of 2020. This integrative review aimed to review the national literature on online psychotherapy, covering the pre-pandemic time course of COVID-19. A search on Biblioteca Virtual da Saúde (BVS), PePSIC and Scielo databases was conducted considering publications from 2000 to 2020. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 23 papers were selected. In general, publications on the field investigated or discussed professional ethics, therapeutic relationship, legislation and regulations on the topic, protocol development, analysis of clinical cases, and profession opinion on the theme. The review evidenced a publication profile oriented to theoretical and legal aspects of online psychotherapy and a lesser amount of empirical research based on rigorous methodological designs. It is suggested that future investigations empirically address cross-cutting themes regarding psychotherapy approaches and invest in evidence-oriented research for the adaptation of techniques to online psychotherapy.

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Published

2022-10-10

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 2 (2022): Mai-Ago

Section

Articles

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