Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicología del Principado de Asturias).
We currently publish four issues per year, which accounts for some 100 articles annually. We admit work from both the basic and applied research fields, and from all areas of Psychology, all manuscripts being anonymously reviewed prior to publication.
Diego Fernández-Regueras and Ana Calero-Elvira
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
Background: The current study explores the pace of psychological change in face-to-face (F2F) and videoconferencing psychotherapy (VCP). It also aims to offer a methodological tool for studying it and to suggest some hypotheses that could explain the pace of change in F2F and VCP. Change in therapy was predicted to be non-linear and faster in F2F than in VCP. Method: Session-by-session records of two measures of change (as assessed by therapists and clients, respectively) were collected from 113 participants from F2F (n = 57) and VCP (n = 56), resulting in 2552 therapy sessions. A non-manipulative longitudinal design was proposed in which multilevel growth curve models were performed. Different models were specified to account for the trajectories followed on average by all cases as closely as possible. Results: The chosen models for therapists’ (X2= 4.42, p < .05, r2 = .54) and clients’ (X2 = 6.31, p < .05, r2 =.53) data, showed large effect sizes. The results were significant and showed that change was not linear and was faster in F2F, as we had predicted. Conclusions: Our results contribute to knowledge about psychological therapy provided through the internet. Several hypotheses are suggested to explain which processes may underlie those results.
Antecedentes: En este estudio se explora el ritmo del cambio psicológico en la terapia presencial (F2F) y por videoconferencia (VCP). También pretende ofrecer una herramienta metodológica que permita su estudio y generar hipótesis que podrían explicar el ritmo de cambio en F2F y VCP. Se predijo que el cambio en la terapia sería no lineal y más rápido en F2F que en VCP. Método: Se recogieron registros sesión a sesión de dos medidas de cambio (evaluadas por terapeutas y clientes, respectivamente) de 113 participantes de F2F (n = 57) y VCP (n = 56), resultando en 2552 sesiones de terapia. Se propuso un diseño longitudinal no manipulativo mediante modelos multinivel de curvas de crecimiento. Se ajustaron diferentes modelos para dar cuenta de las trayectorias seguidas en promedio por los participantes. Resultados: Los modelos elegidos para los datos de los terapeutas (X2 = 4.42, p < .05, r2 = .54) y de los clientes (X2 = 6.31, p < .05, r2 = .53), mostraron tamaños del efecto elevados. Los resultados mostraron que el cambio era no lineal y más rápido en F2F, como habíamos predicho. Conclusiones: Nuestros resultados contribuyen al conocimiento de la terapia psicológica proporcionada a través de Internet. Se lanzan varias hipótesis para intentar explicar qué procesos podrían estar detrás de estos resultados.
SPANISH
ENGLISH
https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2023.283