Internet-based psychological therapies: a qualitative study of National Health Service commissioners and managers views

Simon, Natalie, Ploszajski, Matt, Lewis, Catrin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3818-9377, Smallman, Kim ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9283-8120, Roberts, Neil P., Kitchiner, Neil J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0499-9520, Brookes-Howell, Lucy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8263-7130 and Bisson, Jonathan I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5170-1243 2021. Internet-based psychological therapies: a qualitative study of National Health Service commissioners and managers views. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice 94 (4) , pp. 994-1014. 10.1111/papt.12341

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Abstract

Objectives To explore in‐depth the views on Internet‐based psychological therapies and their implementation from the perspective of National Health Service (NHS) commissioners and managers. Design Qualitative interview study. Method Ten NHS commissioners and managers participated in a semi‐structured, co‐produced interview. Each transcribed interview was double‐coded and thematically analysed using The Framework Method. Results Interviews generated three main themes. (1) Capacity issues across psychological therapy services create barriers to face‐to‐face therapies, and Internet‐based interventions offer a solution. (2) Despite reservations, there is growing acceptance of Internet‐based therapies. Different ways of connecting with patients are required, and Internet‐based treatments are accessible and empowering treatment options, with guided self‐help (GSH) preferred. Internet‐based interventions may however exclude some individuals and be a threat to the therapeutic relationship between patient and practitioner. (3) Successful roll‐out of Internet‐based interventions would be facilitated by a strong empirical‐ or practice‐based evidence, a national coordinated approach and timely training and supervision. Barriers to the roll‐out include digital intervention set‐up costs and delays due to NHS inflexibility. Conclusions The study highlights factors influencing access to Internet‐based therapies, important given the rapid evolution of e‐therapies, and particularly timely given increasing use of remote therapies due to COVID‐19 restrictions. Interviewees were open to Internet‐based approaches, particularly GSH interventions, so long as they do not compromise on therapy quality. Interviewees acknowledged implementation may be challenging, and recommendations were offered.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics (CNGG)
Additional Information:	This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License
Publisher:	John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society
ISSN:	2044-8341
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	16 April 2021
Date of Acceptance:	18 March 2021
Last Modified:	30 May 2024 01:08
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/140526

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