Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Oct 30;8(1):26.
doi: 10.1186/s40479-021-00165-7.

Reviewing the availability, efficacy and clinical utility of Telepsychology in dialectical behavior therapy (Tele-DBT)

Hanneke van Leeuwen #  1   2   3 , Roland Sinnaeve #  4   5   6 , Ursula Witteveen  4   7   8 , Tom Van Daele  9 , Lindsey Ossewaarde  10 , Jos I M Egger  11   12   13 , Louisa M C van den Bosch  4   8
Affiliations
Review

Reviewing the availability, efficacy and clinical utility of Telepsychology in dialectical behavior therapy (Tele-DBT)

Hanneke van Leeuwen et al. Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul. .

Abstract

Background: Telepsychology is increasingly being implemented in mental health care. We conducted a scoping review on the best available research evidence regarding availability, efficacy and clinical utility of telepsychology in DBT. The review was performed using PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Our aim was to help DBT-therapists make empirically supported decisions about the use of telepsychology during and after the current pandemic and to anticipate the changing digital needs of patients and clinicians.

Methods: A search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, PsycARTICLES and Web of Science. Search terms for telepsychology were included and combined with search terms that relate to DBT.

Results: Our search and selection procedures resulted in 41 articles containing information on phone consultation, smartphone applications, internet delivered skills training, videoconferencing, virtual reality and computer- or video-assisted interventions in DBT.

Conclusions: The majority of research about telepsychology in DBT has focused on the treatment mode of between-session contact. However, more trials using sophisticated empirical methodologies are needed. Quantitative data on the efficacy and utility of online and blended alternatives to standard (i.e. face-to-face) individual therapy, skills training and therapist consultation team were scarce. The studies that we found were designed to evaluate feasibility and usability. A permanent shift to videoconferencing or online training is therefore not warranted as long as face-to-face is an option. In all, there is an urgent need to compare standard DBT to online or blended DBT. Smartphone apps and virtual reality (VR) are experienced as an acceptable facilitator in access and implantation of DBT skills. In addition, we have to move forward on telepsychology applications by consulting our patients, younger peers and experts in adjacent fields if we want DBT to remain effective and relevant in the digital age.

Keywords: COVID-19; Dialectical behavior therapy; Phone consultation; Telehealth; Telemedicine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

HvL, RS and UW are shareholders of Dialexis, the training institute for Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in the Netherlands. LvdB works for Dialexis as an instructor. Dialexis developed the DBT travel Guide, a mobile application. This app is offered free of charge. None of the authors receive reimbursements, fees, funding or salary directly related to telepsychology and DBT, nor do they hold patents related to telecom or digital technology in DBT.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA Flow Diagram of literature search and selection
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Smoktunowicz E, Barak A, Andersson G, Banos RM, Berger T, Botella C, et al. Consensus statement on the problem of terminology in psychological interventions using the internet or digital components. Internet Interv. 2020;21:100331. doi: 10.1016/j.invent.2020.100331. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Andersson G, Titov N. Advantages and limitations of internet-based interventions for common mental disorders. World Psychiatry. 2014;13(1):4–11. doi: 10.1002/wps.20083. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. for the Development JT Guidelines for the practice of Telepsychology. Am Psychol. 2013;68(9):791–800. doi: 10.1037/a0035001. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lannin D, Scott N. Best practices for an online world. Monit Psychol. 2014;45(2):56–61.
    1. Shore JH, Yellowlees P, Caudill R, Johnston B, Turvey C, Mishkind M, Krupinski E, Myers K, Shore P, Kaftarian E, Hilty D. Best practices in videoconferencing-based telemental health April 2018. Telemedicine e-Health. 2018;24(11):827–832. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2018.0237. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources