In an increasingly digitizing world, on the tail-ends of a public health crisis which has strained the public’s mental health, remote therapy may be here to stay. But is it an adequate substitute for in-person therapy? The research says it is certainly a great option to have — but not the only one.
How useful therapy can be is subjective from person-to-person, and virtual therapy is no exception.
“For pure effectiveness, I would say it’s something we call ‘non-inferior,’” says Laura Murray, senior scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Indeed, a study in 2022 tracking patients’ preferences of mental health treatments for 16 months over the course of the pandemic found that getting more exposure over time to care online increased preferences and satisfaction for virtual therapy.
Researchers also found that similarly to face-to-face treatments, online therapy was nearly as effective in reducing university students’ ...
