Contrary to predictions, clients rate their treatments slightly better
An appointment with a psychologist often takes place traditionally in a practice. That is why it was also expected and predicted that digital treatments would be less loved by clients. Nothing could be further from the truth: research by Psyned shows that clients rate their treatment three tenths higher (8.1) and the therapist one tenth (8.4) higher than before. “The digitization of treatments certainly offers new possibilities”.
Out of necessity digitization of treatments
In recent months, healthcare has been forced to undergo a transformation and much has been digitized. Switching to online treatment via video calling was a big part of this. GGZ practitioners had little faith in this. ‘Psychologists and psychiatrists simply do not seem to be waiting for it,’ concluded the researchers at the University Medical Center (UMC Utrecht) in June. Not surprisingly, because they expected that they would not be able to apply certain treatment methods due to digitization.
Clients were at the same time hesitant: in one research MIND from May this year found that video calling was not a good substitute for face-to-face contact. Aerjen Tamminga, Care director of the national treatment organization Psyned: “Unlike some others in the industry, we at Psyned believe that the power of good treatment is not in face-to-face treatment or not, but in being able to provide what a client needs. That already starts in an earlier phase; namely ensuring that the client ends up with the best possible practitioner for his or her complaint. That is why we found this so interesting to research ”.
Quality of treatments the same and increased
And as it turned out, the quality of treatments has not declined in recent months. In fact, 663 evaluations showed that the quality has even improved in some areas. For example, clients rate their treatment by three tenths higher (8.1) and the practitioner by one tenth (8.4), compared to the same period (January to July) in 2019.
When the clients were asked to what extent their complaints have decreased after treatment, this also appears to have remained the same: in the first half of 2020, complaints in 90% of the clients decreased or disappeared completely. Compared to the same 7 months in 2019, this percentage has remained exactly the same.
Clinicians seize the opportunity
According to Psyned’s research, practitioners are also increasingly embracing the online method. Meanwhile, 74% of the practitioners have changed and clients are treated both face-to-face in practice and online via video calling. Patrick Callahan, founder of Psyned: “6 years ago we preferred to advise our clients a psychologist in the area, but two years ago we switched to the motto ‘always a psychologist who suits you’. Because the better your request for help matches the expertise of the practitioner and the better the personal click, the more effective the treatment. If that means that you have to travel a little further or can follow your treatment online, then this is 100% worth the investment. ”
About Psyned – Psychologists Netherlands
Psyned is the largest treatment organization in the field of unpaid mental health care. This means that the organization acts differently from regular mental health care and has no waiting times with 270 practitioners. This way everyone can be treated extremely quickly. Psyned has its own psychological referral team that connects client and psychologist, with which they help 9,000 clients on their way every year. For more information, see: https://www.psyned.nl/.
Source: Psyned
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