Client-identified helpful and hindering events in therapist-delivered vs. self-administered online cognitive-behavioural treatments for depression in college students
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The study investigated what participants found helpful and/or hindering in therapist-delivered vs. self-administered online cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for depression. A descriptive–interpretive analysis was used to investigate client-identified helpful and hindering events and impacts in online treatment. Eighty participants with symptoms of depression were randomly allocated to either eight sessions of therapist-delivered asynchronous e-mail CBT counselling (eCBT; n = 37), or computerised CBT self-administered treatment (cCBT; n = 43) for depression. From sessions 2–8, participants were asked to complete the Helpful Aspects of Therapy form (HAT). Participants completed 149 HAT forms representing a response rate of 45% (eCBT: 49%; cCBT: 42%). Reported helpful events included provision of information, monitoring, scheduling, restructuring, problem solving and distraction techniques and led to impacts such as learning new coping skills and behavioural changes, developing awareness and insight and achieving self-efficacy. Additionally, therapist responsiveness seems to have a worthy impact of feeling supported and validated as identified by the eCBT group, who solely reported helpful events such as acknowledgement/listening, advice and guidance and provision of compassion. Unhelpful events also surfaced for both groups, though more for the cCBT group, and included the burden of work, time and pace, issues with the content and its form of delivery, and technical problems, which led to impacts such as being frustrated, confused, irritated, disappointed, anxious and self-critical. CBT principles remain established in online work and, in addition, therapist responsiveness seems to have a worthy helpful impact, beyond any established CBT techniques or strategies.
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Patients with more severe symptoms of depression may need different programs or more intensive guidance in online therapy to reach recovery.
“While standalone eHealth interventions could also be beneficial in secondary health care, patients with more severe symptoms of depression may need different programs or a more intensive guidance in their online therapy in order to reach recovery [4,11,16].”
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References 39 · Cited by 40
Research works printed but not linked: 17
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- Authors
- Richards, D., & Timulak, L.
- Affiliations
- Trinity College Dublin (IE)
- Corresponding author
- Richards, Derek
- ORCID
- Richards, Derek
- Venue
- Counselling Psychology Quarterly
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2012-09
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 251-262
- ISSN
- 0951-5070 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-3674
- OpenAlex
- W2090716767
- Cited by
- 40
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 4.51
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Locations
- Counselling Psychology Quarterly (publishedVersion)
- Trinity's Access to Research Output (TARA) (Trinity College Dublin) (submittedVersion)
- Arrow@dit (Dublin Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy, depression, university students, therapist responsiveness, coping strategies, self-efficacy
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