Profiles of Personal Style and Use of Telecommunication Technologies by Argentine Therapists during Mandatory Preventive Isolation

Abstract

Introduction: The mandatory preventive isolation caused by COVID-19 and the need to reduce the associated psychological impact have led psychotherapists to resort to the use of telecommunication technologies on regular basis. The integration of such technologies in the clinic is a process that has been carried out for several years. The personal style of the therapist is a variable associated with changes in the therapeutic process and working conditions. The objective of the present work was to describe the use of telecommunication technologies by Argentine therapists, and to know the existence of differences in the use of telecommunication technologies according to the therapists personal style profiles. Materiales y método: A quantitative, descriptive and transversal study was carried out with a non-probabilistic intencional sample of 45 Argentinian therapists. Results: The most widely used telecommunication technologies were videoconferences, cell phone calls and chat. About a quarter of patients continue remote therapy and most have had new consultants. Through a cluster analysis, 3 conglomerates of personal style were found. Therapists with higher levels of involvement in therapeutic work, more focused attentional listening, and more targeted use of interventions, used teleconferences to a greater extent. Conclusions: The implications of these results in practice are discussed.