Abstract
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the measures to help contain it have taken a significant toll on mental health. Blended care psychotherapy combining provider-led care with digital tools can help alleviate this toll. This study describes the development of digital activities designed to teach cognitive-behavioral skills for coping with COVID-19 distress, and evaluates initial acceptability and feasibility data.
Materials and Methods: Using a pragmatic retrospective cohort design, data from 664 U.S.-based individuals enrolled in blended care psychotherapy were analyzed. Descriptive analyses summarized acceptability for the digital activities. Ordinal logistic regression analyses were conducted on a subsample ( n = 162) to explore the association between clients' attitudes toward the digital lesson and reported practice of skills in the exercise.
Results: The majority of clients completed the assigned digital lesson and exercise. Clients reported finding the lesson valuable and relevant for coping with COVID-19 distress, and they intended to apply the skills to their lives. Higher agreement with these attitude questions was associated with a significantly greater number of skills practiced on the digital exercise.
Discussion: Clients who were assigned a cognitive-behaviorally oriented digital lesson and/or exercise within a blended care model largely engaged with the materials and found them valuable. Clients with more positive attitudes about the digital lesson reported using more coping skills.
Conclusions: Digital modules that teach specific skills for coping with COVID-19 can be integrated into treatment and minimize provider burden. Future study should investigate the clinical impact of these digital activities on psychiatric symptoms and personalizing the content.
Original language | American English |
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Journal | Telemedicine Reports |
Volume | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2021 |
Keywords
- COVID
- blended care
- cognitive-behavioral
- digital
Disciplines
- Psychology