Delivery of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy With Diverse, Underresourced Youth Using Telehealth: Advancing Equity Through Consumer Perspectives

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this qualitative study was to capture the perspectives of individuals representing an urban, predominantly Latinx community who are underresourced by mental health services about the use of telehealth to deliver mental health treatment. The COVID-19 pandemic required hospital- and community-based mental health programs to pivot to telehealth with alarming speed and very little opportunity to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and disparate impact on unique populations of patients. This study aimed to assess perceived strengths and limitations of telehealth mental health service delivery via qualitative focus group methods. Three focus groups were conducted with 13 youth (aged 8–17) who were being treated at an urban, academic children’s hospital serving a predominantly Latinx community mental health population; two focus groups were conducted with 19 parents of said children; and one focus group was conducted with four mental health providers providing services to this population. A coding schema was designed to capture themes relevant to the following: (1) privacy and confidentiality; (2) perceived limitations of telehealth; (3) comfort with telehealth; (4) therapeutic relationship; (5) perceived strengths of telehealth; (6) perceived safety of telehealth; and (7) advice for providers engaging in telehealth. Findings were illustrative of both perceived strengths and limitations across these domains that can inform optimized telehealth mental health services moving forward.