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
. 2024 Nov 7:8:e51832.
doi: 10.2196/51832.

Exploring Psychotherapists' Attitudes on Internet- and Mobile-Based Interventions in Germany: Thematic Analysis

Anne Sophie Hildebrand #  1 , Jari Planert #  1 , Alla Machulska  1 , Lena Maria Margraf  1 , Kati Roesmann  2 , Tim Klucken  1
Affiliations

Exploring Psychotherapists' Attitudes on Internet- and Mobile-Based Interventions in Germany: Thematic Analysis

Anne Sophie Hildebrand et al. JMIR Form Res. .

Abstract

Background: In recent years, internet- and mobile-based interventions (IMIs) have become increasingly relevant in mental health care and have sparked societal debates. Psychotherapists' perspectives are essential for identifying potential opportunities for improvement, facilitating conditions, and barriers to the implementation of these interventions.

Objective: This study aims to explore psychotherapists' perspectives on opportunities for improvement, facilitating conditions, and barriers to using IMIs.

Methods: The study used a qualitative research design, utilizing open-ended items in a cross-sectional survey. A total of 350 psychotherapists were asked to provide their written opinions on various aspects of IMIs. Thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the data and identify core themes.

Results: The analysis revealed 11 core themes related to the use of IMIs, which were categorized into 4 superordinate categories: "Applicability," "Treatment Resources," "Technology," and "Perceived Risks and Barriers." While many psychotherapists viewed IMIs as a valuable support for conventional psychotherapy, they expressed skepticism about using IMIs as a substitute. Several factors were perceived as hindrances to the applicability of IMIs in clinical practice, including technological issues, subjective concerns about potential data protection risks, a lack of individualization due to the manualized nature of most IMIs, and the high time and financial costs for both psychotherapists and patients. They expressed a desire for easily accessible information on evidence and programs to reduce the time and effort required for training and advocated for this information to be integrated into the conceptualization of new IMIs.

Conclusions: The findings of this study emphasize the importance of considering psychotherapists' attitudes in the development, evaluation, and implementation of IMIs. This study revealed that psychotherapists recognized both the opportunities and risks associated with the use of IMIs, with most agreeing that IMIs serve as a tool to support traditional psychotherapy rather than as a substitute for it. Furthermore, it is essential to involve psychotherapists in discussions about IMIs specifically, as well as in the development of new methodologies in psychotherapy more broadly. Overall, this study can advance the use of IMIs in mental health care and contribute to the ongoing societal debate surrounding these interventions.

Keywords: eHealth; internet- and mobile-based intervention; psychotherapists’ perspectives; psychotherapy; thematic analysis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A thematic map of the 4 categories and the respective core themes. IMI: internet- and mobile-based intervention.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Ebert DD, Van Daele T, Nordgreen T, Karekla M, Compare A, Zarbo C, Brugnera A, Øverland S, Trebbi G, Jensen KL, Kaehlke F, Baumeister H. Internet- and mobile-based psychological interventions: applications, efficacy, and potential for improving mental health. European Psychologist. 2018 May;23(2):167–187. doi: 10.1027/1016-9040/a000318. - DOI
    1. Meyer B, Berger T, Caspar F, Beevers CG, Andersson G, Weiss M. Effectiveness of a novel integrative online treatment for depression (Deprexis): randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res. 2009 May 11;11(2):e15. doi: 10.2196/jmir.1151. https://www.jmir.org/2009/2/e15/ v11i2e15 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hildebrand A, Roesmann K, Planert J, Machulska A, Otto E, Klucken T. Self-guided virtual reality therapy for social anxiety disorder: a study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2022 May 12;23(1):395. doi: 10.1186/s13063-022-06320-x. https://trialsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13063-022-06320-x 10.1186/s13063-022-06320-x - DOI - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ebert DD, Cuijpers Pim, Muñoz Ricardo F, Baumeister Harald. Prevention of mental health disorders using internet- and mobile-based interventions: a narrative review and recommendations for future research. Front Psychiatry. 2017;8:116. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00116. https://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/28848454 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Weitzel EC, Quittschalle J, Welzel FD, Löbner Margrit, Hauth I, Riedel-Heller SG. [E-Mental Health and healthcare apps in Germany] Nervenarzt. 2021 Nov;92(11):1121–1129. doi: 10.1007/s00115-021-01196-9.10.1007/s00115-021-01196-9 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources