Reduced therapeutic skill in teletherapy versus in‐person therapy: The role of non‐verbal communication

Summary & key facts

Researchers surveyed about 320 therapists to see how well they felt they could do therapy over video compared with in-person. They measured how good therapists were at non-verbal communication — for example, showing emotion with facial expression, tone or gestures — and asked therapists to rate their own skills. Therapists who were better at showing emotions without words felt more skilled in teletherapy and felt that video therapy reduced their ability less than therapists who were worse at showing emotions. The authors say more research and training are needed to help therapists use non-verbal communication in teletherapy.

Key facts:

• The study asked about 320 therapists from different places about their skills in video (teletherapy) and in-person therapy.
• Researchers measured therapists’ non-verbal communication in three ways: recognizing others’ emotions, how well they show emotions without words, and how well they use emotional tone and gestures to communicate.
• Therapists who were stronger at showing emotions without words reported higher skill when doing therapy over video.
• Those same therapists (better at showing emotions non-verbally) also said their skills dropped less in teletherapy compared with in-person therapy.
• The results are based on therapists’ own reports of their skills, not on observing actual therapy sessions, so the findings describe perceived ability rather than proven changes in treatment quality.

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Therapists have experienced unique challenges and reported reduced competency when delivering teletherapy compared with in‐person therapy. This study aimed to examine the association between therapists' non‐verbal communication abilities and perceived skills in teletherapy. Methods Using a geographically diverse sample of 323 therapists, we assessed therapists' perceived skills in teletherapy and in‐person therapy and calculated the relative skills by subtracting one rating from the other. We performed multivariate regressions to explore whether and how therapists' non‐verbal communication abilities (i.e., emotion recognition ability, non‐verbal emotional expressiveness and affective communication) were associated with their perceived skills in teletherapy and in‐person therapy as well as the relative skills in teletherapy versus in‐person therapy. Results Non‐verbal emotional expressiveness and affective communication were positively associated with therapists' perceived skills in teletherapy. Therapists with stronger non‐verbal emotional expressiveness perceived their skills as relatively less reduced in teletherapy versus in‐person therapy compared to those with poorer non‐verbal emotional expressiveness. Conclusion More research and training are needed to address the unique challenges in teletherapy, particularly around the ability to express emotions and facilitate non‐verbal communication.

Topics

Attachment and Relationship Dynamics Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare Telemedicine and Telehealth Implementation

Categories

Health Sciences Medicine Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Tags

Association (psychology) Clinical psychology Communication skills Developmental psychology Medical education Medicine Nonverbal communication Psychology Psychotherapist