Clinical Psychology and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Survey Among Members of the European Association of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment (EACLIPT)

Julia Asbrand^#¹, Samantha Gerdes^#², Josefien Breedvelt^{3

4}, Jenny Guidi⁵, Colette Hirsch^{6

7

8}, Andreas Maercker^{9

10}, Céline Douilliez¹¹, Gerhard Andersson^{12

13}, Martin Debbané^{14

15}, Roman Cieslak¹⁶, Winfried Rief¹⁷, Claudi Bockting^{4

18}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
² NHS Veterans' Mental Health and Wellbeing Service, Camden and Islington NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom.
³ NatCen Social Research, London, United Kingdom.
⁴ Centre for Urban Mental Health, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁵ Department of Psychology "Renzo Canestrari", University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
⁶ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London, United Kingdom.
⁷ National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
⁸ South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London, United Kingdom.
⁹ Department of Psychology, Division of Psychopathology and Clinical Intervention, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin-Institute of Advanced Study, Berlin, Germany.
¹¹ Université catholique de Louvain, Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium.
¹² Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
¹³ Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychiatry, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
¹⁴ Psychoanalysis Unit, Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
¹⁵ Developmental Clinical Psychology Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹⁶ Department of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland.
¹⁷ Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
¹⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers (location AMC), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 37064999
PMCID: PMC10103154
DOI: 10.32872/cpe.8109

Clinical Psychology and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Survey Among Members of the European Association of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment (EACLIPT)

Julia Asbrand et al. Clin Psychol Eur. 2023.

. 2023 Mar 31;5(1):e8109.

doi: 10.32872/cpe.8109. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
² NHS Veterans' Mental Health and Wellbeing Service, Camden and Islington NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom.
³ NatCen Social Research, London, United Kingdom.
⁴ Centre for Urban Mental Health, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
⁵ Department of Psychology "Renzo Canestrari", University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
⁶ Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London, United Kingdom.
⁷ National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley Hospital, London, United Kingdom.
⁸ South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London, United Kingdom.
⁹ Department of Psychology, Division of Psychopathology and Clinical Intervention, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin-Institute of Advanced Study, Berlin, Germany.
¹¹ Université catholique de Louvain, Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium.
¹² Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.
¹³ Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychiatry, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
¹⁴ Psychoanalysis Unit, Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
¹⁵ Developmental Clinical Psychology Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
¹⁶ Department of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland.
¹⁷ Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
¹⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers (location AMC), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 37064999
PMCID: PMC10103154
DOI: 10.32872/cpe.8109

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people globally both physically and psychologically. The increased demands for mental health interventions provided by clinical psychologists, psychotherapists and mental health care professionals, as well as the rapid change in work setting (e.g., from face-to-face to video therapy) has proven challenging. The current study investigates European clinical psychologists and psychotherapists' views on the changes and impact on mental health care that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It further aims to explore individual and organizational processes that assist clinical psychologists' and psychotherapists' in their new working conditions, and understand their needs and priorities.

Method: Members of the European Association of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment (EACLIPT) were invited (N = 698) to participate in a survey with closed and open questions covering their experiences during the first wave of the pandemic from June to September 2020. Participants (n = 92) from 19 European countries, mostly employed in universities or hospitals, completed the online survey.

Results: Results of qualitative and quantitative analyses showed that clinical psychologists and psychotherapists throughout the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic managed to continue to provide treatments for patients who were experiencing emotional distress. The challenges (e.g., maintaining a working relationship through video treatment) and opportunities (e.g., more flexible working hours) of working through this time were identified.

Conclusions: Recommendations for mental health policies and professional organizations are identified, such as clear guidelines regarding data security and workshops on conducting video therapy.

Keywords: blended therapy; clinical psychology, COVID-19; online therapy; psychotherapy; video therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Winfried Rief is one of the Editors-in-Chief and Colette Hirsch is a Subject Editor of Clinical Psychology in Europe. Both authors played no editorial role in this particular article or intervened in any form in the peer review process. Andreas Maercker, Céline Douilliez, Gerhard Andersson, Martin Debbané, Roman Cieslak, and Claudi Bockting are Editorial Board Members of Clinical Psychology in Europe but did not intervene in any form in the peer review process.

Figures

**Figure 1. Country of Origin of Participants**
*Note.* Please note that n = 6 participants chose to not comment on their country of origin.

**Figure 2. Main Mental Health Issues Reported by Patients**
*Note.* Please note that not all patients were seen in standard psychotherapeutic environments which is why alternative topics are listed as the presenting problem. This refers to other medical conditions, neuropsychological testing and other non-identified topics.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. Asbrand J., Gerdes S., Breedvelt J., Guidi J., Hirsch C., Maercker A., Douilliez C., Andersson G., Debbané M., Cieslak R., Rief W., Bockting C. (2023). Supplementary materials to "Clinical psychology and the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed methods survey among members of the European Association of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment (EACLIPT)" [Questionnaire]. PsychOpen. 10.23668/psycharchives.12563 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Aafjes-van Doorn, K., Békés, V., Prout, T. A., & Hoffman, L. (2020). Psychotherapists’ vicarious traumatization during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy , 12(S1), S148–S150. 10.1037/tra0000868 - DOI - PubMed
1. Barrick, E. M., Thornton, M. A., & Tamir, D. I. (2021). Mask exposure during COVID-19 changes emotional face processing. PLoS ONE , 16, e0258470. 10.1371/journal.pone.0258470 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Békés, V., & Aafjes-van Doorn, K. (2020). Psychotherapists’ attitudes toward online therapy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration , 30(2), 238–247. 10.1037/int0000214 - DOI
1. Bohlken, J., Schömig, F., Lemke, M. R., Pumberger, M., & Riedel-Heller, S. G. (2020). COVID-19-Pandemie: Belastungen des medizinischen Personals: Ein kurzer aktueller Review [COVID-19 pandemic: Stress experience of healthcare workers – A short current review]. Psychiatrische Praxis , 47(4), 190–197. 10.1055/a-1159-5551 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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Clinical Psychology and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Survey Among Members of the European Association of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment (EACLIPT)

Affiliations

Clinical Psychology and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Survey Among Members of the European Association of Clinical Psychology and Psychological Treatment (EACLIPT)

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources