Therapists Distracted by Social Media While Delivering Virtual Care

While therapists appear to prefer virtual sessions over in-person meetings, a significant proportion admit to being distracted while delivering care, according to a small survey.

A third admitted to providing lower-quality care to clients during online sessions. Overall, 39% admitted to checking emails and social media while providing virtual care, and 16% reported substance use before or during sessions.

That’s according to a survey of 600 therapists conducted and published by OnlineTherapy.com, a virtual directory for teletherapists and counselors. It’s also an affiliate of the controversial app BetterHelp, stating on their website that the company “may receive compensation from BetterHelp if you purchase products or services through the links provided.”

Therapists generally like online care: nearly half said they prefer virtual sessions over in-person meetings. Respondents appreciated many advantages of virtual therapy. Working from home allows therapists to keep a flexible schedule and increases their availability, and video sessions provide therapists with a uniquely intimate look into their clients’ daily lives, making it easier for them to assess their mental health.

Nevertheless, teletherapy has made room for an entirely new set of problems. In addition to the struggle to remain focused for therapists themselves, 56% of those surveyed said their clients are more easily distracted during virtual sessions, and 48% reported technological issues as a major hindrance to their practice.

For telepsychiatry expert Peter Yellowlees, MD, of UC Davis Health in Sacramento, California, the 16% of therapists who reported substance use before or during their sessions was a point of both confusion and concern.

“There are all sorts of people in this world who call themselves therapists, most of whom have very reasonable training, but quite a number don’t,” Yellowlees told MedPage Today, expressing serious doubts about whether these rates of social media distraction and substance use during virtual sessions would ring true for mental health clinicians with PhDs and MDs.

According to a spokesperson from OnlineTherapy.com, the survey did not go beyond asking if respondents were currently practicing mental health professionals. Those surveyed were, therefore, not asked to report their credentials or certifications.

The results of the survey did, however, echo Yellowlees’s own worries of rising mental health problems among therapists in general. The vast majority (90%) said they experienced symptoms of mental health issues during the last year, including anxiety disorders (50%) and depressive disorder (48%) — a phenomenon that would likely impact the level of care that a therapist can give their clients.

According to the survey, 17% of respondents have seriously considered suicide since the start of the pandemic.

But Yellowlees sees teletherapy as a way for therapists to start getting the help that they need, rather than opting to treat themselves in fear of stigma or any potential effect on their licenses.

“It’s undoubtedly helped significantly,” Yellowlees said. “We know that certain teletherapies are actually good for the mental health of providers, as well as the patients.”