On the perception of the therapy experience in virtual psychotherapy during the Covid-19 pandemic
Digital media and software-based environments have become a fundamental part of everyday life, both in private and public spaces. This phenomenon was particularly intensified in March 2020, when many non-mediatized activities anchored in physical spaces shifted to a virtual environment due to the pandemic. This circumstance also applied in part to psychotherapeutic sessions, to which this work is dedicated. This new situation gave rise to questions regarding the applicability of therapy techniques in the context of online psychotherapy, the development of new virtual spaces for action and the influence of virtual space on the therapy experiences of individuals and on the relationship between patients and therapists in this shift in setting. To investigate these aspects, the impact of the perception of therapeutic relationships and the experience of therapy in relation to the shift from psychotherapeutic sessions to a virtual setting was examined as part of field research.