The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a dramatic disruption of our typical ways of providing psychotherapy. In this Forum Live event, experts in the field of technologically-mediated therapy will discuss their views on how this past year will change the future landscape therapies of depth, insight, and relationship. This panel discussion will tackle questions, both theoretical and practical, such as:  

How is therapy changed when it occurs online?

How much will physical proximity between patient and therapist matter in the future? How much should it matter?

What if our patients—or we as therapists--don’t want to return to in-person work?

How do we navigate differences between therapist and patient in preferred ways of working—in-person versus online? How much should our patients have a say in constructing the “frame”  of therapy going forward?

Many patients, and therapists, feel appreciative of the conveniences associated online therapy—a lack of commute, reduced burden for child-care, reduced time away from work, the ability to attend therapy when sick or on vacation. Are these conveniences unambiguously positive? Should we be at all suspicious of these conveniences and their impact clinical work or the lives of our patients?

PsiAN advocates for therapies of depth, insight, and relationship. Are there specific attributes or features of therapies of DIR that make us think differently about the value and benefits of teletherapy?

Going forward, should teletherapy be an exception to the rule, something we provide only in times where in person work is impossible? Is there a place for everyday provision of video/phone therapy outside of states of emergency? 

Are there risks to our work, and our field, of embracing online therapy as the new normal? 

The pandemic hastened the rise of therapy apps and avatars. How much should we be worrying about the future of traditional talk therapy? Is there anything we can do to beat back the tide of automatization in the field of mental health?