Psychology Commons^™

“That’S The Beauty Of It”: Practitioners Describe The Affordances Of Direct To Consumer Tele-Mental Health, Lauri Goldkind, Lea Wolf

Social Service Faculty Publications

Abstract Tele-mental health, or the provision of remote counseling services, has been available for decades. This qualitative study uses the framework of affordances, derived from Gibson, to examine what social work practitioners working on direct to consumer tele-mental health (DTCTMH) platforms are discovering about the features, benefits, and constraints of virtual therapy. An interpretive phenomenological approach was employed to document the lived experiences of social workers who practice in this manner. According to the practitioners interviewed, for a subset of individuals seeking treatment, DTCTMH can offer meaningful interpersonal interaction that confers benefit. Key affordances include accessibility, anonymity, meaningful work, autonomy, …