The challenge of security and accessibility: Critical perspectives on the rapid move to online therapies in the age of COVID-19

Abstract

This article offers some critiques of the rapid move to online therapies in response to the restriction of movement and in-person psychotherapeutic and psychological practice, imposed by necessary responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The critique is informed by concerns about the security of online therapeutic practice; informed by, but not restricted to, legislation and practice in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, it includes cultural perspectives regarding healthcare provision, specifically with Pacific communities in Aotearoa New Zealand and, more broadly, with regard to disadvantaged and vulnerable clients and communities throughout the world. The article offers a framework that accounts for the challenge of making practical, culturally appropriate, and therapeutic decisions about the security and accessibility of online therapeutic practice.