Online therapy and psychotherapy during the Covid-19 pandemic

S obzirom na stanje u svijetu prouzročeno Covid-19 pandemijom, stručnjaci koji rade u području mentalnog zdravlja spriječeni su fizički komunicirati sa svojim korisnicima. Prepoznali su nužnost pružanja potpore u obliku provođenja online savjetovanja i psihoterapije. Savjetovanje i psihoterapija važne su discipline u brizi za mentalno zdravlje. Stoga, u ovom radu pruža se pregled aktualnih spoznaja o tome što je psihoterapija i savjetovanje te prikaz dosadašnjih iskustava od strane psihoterapeuta i psihologa koji su provodili terapije u online okruženju tijekom Covid-19 pandemije. U radu se ističu razlozi prelaska na online terapiju, razmišljanja terapeuta te prednosti online terapije s obzirom na potrebe korisnika, važnost kontinuiteta rada u smislu pružanja podrške, ali se i naglašavaju izazovi s kojima se susreću korisnici i terapeuti prilikom prilagodbe na rad u virtualnom okruženju. Također, opisana je važnost pružanja supervizije stručnjacima u području mentalnog zdravlja, kao i smjernice za bolju komunikaciju s korisnicima u online okruženju. Prikazom dosadašnjih iskustava nastoji se pridonijeti lakšem odlučivanju prelaska na online savjetovanje i psihoterapiju tijekom krize, kao i otvoriti nova istraživačka pitanja koja bi potaknula stručnjake da se posvete ovakvom načinu psihosocijalnog rada.Given the global situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, mental health professionals are prevented from physically communicating with their users. They have identified alternative ways of providing support in the form of conducting online counseling and psychotherapy. Counseling and psychotherapy are important disciplines in mental health care. This paper provides an overview of current knowledge about what psychotherapy and counseling is, as well as a review of past experiences by psychotherapists and psychologists who have conducted therapies in an online environment during the Covid-19 pandemic. The paper highlights the reasons for switching to online therapies, therapists' thinking and the benefits of online therapies with regard to user needs, the importance of continuity in terms of providing support, but also emphasizes the challenges faced by users and therapists in adapting to work in a virtual environment. Also, the importance of providing supervision to mental health professionals is described, as well as guidelines for better communication with users in the online environment. The presentation of previous experiences seeks to facilitate the decision to switch to online counseling and psychotherapy during the crisis, as well as to open new research questions that would encourage professionals to dedicate themselves to this way of psychosocial work