Working therapeutically by video call with couples, families and groups: a different world

This project is concerned with therapy by video call with two or more clients. The first part is a systematic review: qualitative studies of clinicians' experiences of any
therapeutic intervention with two or more clients were synthesised to address the question, How are the attitudes and beliefs of therapists revealed by ways in which they report their experiences of working by video call with multiple clients? Results suggested individual differences in clinicians' attitudes and beliefs. This is discussed in the context of training, guidance and organisational support. The second part is a qualitative study of experiences of family interventions for psychosis by video call. Service users, family members and practitioners, were invited to participate, but recruitment challenges meant that two family
members and 11 practitioners were interviewed. Two overarching themes were identified: 'The digital demand', encompassing experiences of culture shock as the therapy moved online in the pandemic, and 'Flows and blocks in the human connection online', describing participants' differing experiences of connecting with each other via the screen. Family members especially testified to the consequences of that connection not working. Overall, this project highlights complex challenges of video work with two or more clients and the importance of learning to do it well