Effectiveness of videoconferencing psychotherapy delivered by novice clinicians in a training clinic.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic forced care providers, including training clinics, to quickly shift mental health services to a remote modality to continue serving vulnerable populations. However, research on the effectiveness of psychotherapy delivered by novice clinicians using videoconferencing technology is limited. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the effectiveness of psychotherapy via videoconferencing technology, delivered by doctoral student trainees in a community training clinic. Participants (n = 34) were ethnically diverse, adult, outpatient psychotherapy clients from a large, urban setting, and the university community. Student clinicians (n = 11) were novice psychotherapy providers in their second or third year of training. Results indicated that client scores on inventories of overall distress Outcomes Questionnaire (OQ), center for epidemiological studies-depression (CES-D), and generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) decreased significantly from baseline to the most recent readministration, and Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised (WAI-SR) increased significantly. Collectively, by Session 16, symptom scores were in the typical range (below the clinical cutoff) for the OQ and GAD-7, and were one point above the CES-D clinical cutoff;by the 24th session, the average score on all measures was below the clinical cutoff, and WAI-SR scores approached the highest possible total score. Additionally, attendance during this time was quite high (87.6%) and was higher than rates during in-person service provision (80.7%). The results from this study suggest that novice clinicians can successfully use videoconferencing to deliver effective, evidence-based treatment in a community clinic, across a range of presenting concerns, and that such services can yield significant improvement of symptom distress and functioning, with patterns comparable to in-person services. Public Significance Statement Training clinics are utilized by many underserved populations, students, and residents of the surrounding area. If student trainees are able to provide effective mental health care via telehealth, that would remove barriers for many clients that might not otherwise seek treatment.