“Who blends in and why (not)?” A qualitative study on psychotherapists' patient inclusion in blended care

Introduction: Psychotherapists may act as bottlenecks in the integration of digital interventions into psychotherapy, known as blended care (BC). In the literature, various factors are discussed as potential inclusion, exclusion, or limiting criteria in BC. Method: Our aim for this interview study w...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sophie Jordan, Pauline Becker, Solveig Behr, Friederike Fenski, Christine Knaevelsrud, Johanna Boettcher, Carmen Schaeuffele
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Internet Interventions
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221478292500048X
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849222557341843456
author Sophie Jordan
Pauline Becker
Solveig Behr
Friederike Fenski
Christine Knaevelsrud
Johanna Boettcher
Carmen Schaeuffele
author_facet Sophie Jordan
Pauline Becker
Solveig Behr
Friederike Fenski
Christine Knaevelsrud
Johanna Boettcher
Carmen Schaeuffele
author_sort Sophie Jordan
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Psychotherapists may act as bottlenecks in the integration of digital interventions into psychotherapy, known as blended care (BC). In the literature, various factors are discussed as potential inclusion, exclusion, or limiting criteria in BC. Method: Our aim for this interview study was to gain a deeper understanding of the factors psychotherapists consider when inviting patients to participate in BC. For this purpose, we interviewed seven psychotherapists with a psychodynamic and seven psychotherapists with a cognitive behavioral background who participated in a naturalistic trial on BC in routine outpatient psychotherapy. Results: Psychotherapists considered few fixed inclusion or exclusion criteria when considering which patients to introduce BC to. The basic technical requirements had to be met and the patients had to be “fit for outpatient therapy”. Psychotherapists found patients' response to BC, like their motivation, to be a decisive factor when considering BC. Discussion: Psychotherapists emphasized patient motivation for BC as a potential bottleneck in its implementation. Therefore, a successful implementation strategy should focus on strengthening both psychotherapists' and patients' motivation to engage with BC. The openness of psychotherapists towards patient characteristics suggests that BC in outpatient care may target a broad patient population.
format Article
id doaj-art-3ba6acbc9abf48a7a15462a395d15edd
institution Kabale University
issn 2214-7829
language English
publishDate 2025-09-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Internet Interventions
spelling doaj-art-3ba6acbc9abf48a7a15462a395d15edd2025-08-26T04:14:19ZengElsevierInternet Interventions2214-78292025-09-014110084710.1016/j.invent.2025.100847“Who blends in and why (not)?” A qualitative study on psychotherapists' patient inclusion in blended careSophie Jordan0Pauline Becker1Solveig Behr2Friederike Fenski3Christine Knaevelsrud4Johanna Boettcher5Carmen Schaeuffele6Freie Universität Berlin, Dept. of Education and Psychology, GermanyPsychologische Hochschule Berlin, Dept. of Clinical Psychology, GermanyFreie Universität Berlin, Dept. of Education and Psychology, GermanyPsychologische Hochschule Berlin, Dept. of Clinical Psychology, GermanyFreie Universität Berlin, Dept. of Education and Psychology, GermanyPsychologische Hochschule Berlin, Dept. of Clinical Psychology, GermanyFreie Universität Berlin, Dept. of Education and Psychology, Germany; Corresponding author at: Freie Universtität Berlin, Department of Education and Psychology, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany.Introduction: Psychotherapists may act as bottlenecks in the integration of digital interventions into psychotherapy, known as blended care (BC). In the literature, various factors are discussed as potential inclusion, exclusion, or limiting criteria in BC. Method: Our aim for this interview study was to gain a deeper understanding of the factors psychotherapists consider when inviting patients to participate in BC. For this purpose, we interviewed seven psychotherapists with a psychodynamic and seven psychotherapists with a cognitive behavioral background who participated in a naturalistic trial on BC in routine outpatient psychotherapy. Results: Psychotherapists considered few fixed inclusion or exclusion criteria when considering which patients to introduce BC to. The basic technical requirements had to be met and the patients had to be “fit for outpatient therapy”. Psychotherapists found patients' response to BC, like their motivation, to be a decisive factor when considering BC. Discussion: Psychotherapists emphasized patient motivation for BC as a potential bottleneck in its implementation. Therefore, a successful implementation strategy should focus on strengthening both psychotherapists' and patients' motivation to engage with BC. The openness of psychotherapists towards patient characteristics suggests that BC in outpatient care may target a broad patient population.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221478292500048XBlended careBlended therapyQualitative content analysisInternet-based intervention
spellingShingle Sophie Jordan
Pauline Becker
Solveig Behr
Friederike Fenski
Christine Knaevelsrud
Johanna Boettcher
Carmen Schaeuffele
“Who blends in and why (not)?” A qualitative study on psychotherapists' patient inclusion in blended care
Internet Interventions
Blended care
Blended therapy
Qualitative content analysis
Internet-based intervention
title “Who blends in and why (not)?” A qualitative study on psychotherapists' patient inclusion in blended care
title_full “Who blends in and why (not)?” A qualitative study on psychotherapists' patient inclusion in blended care
title_fullStr “Who blends in and why (not)?” A qualitative study on psychotherapists' patient inclusion in blended care
title_full_unstemmed “Who blends in and why (not)?” A qualitative study on psychotherapists' patient inclusion in blended care
title_short “Who blends in and why (not)?” A qualitative study on psychotherapists' patient inclusion in blended care
title_sort who blends in and why not a qualitative study on psychotherapists patient inclusion in blended care
topic Blended care
Blended therapy
Qualitative content analysis
Internet-based intervention
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221478292500048X
work_keys_str_mv AT sophiejordan whoblendsinandwhynotaqualitativestudyonpsychotherapistspatientinclusioninblendedcare
AT paulinebecker whoblendsinandwhynotaqualitativestudyonpsychotherapistspatientinclusioninblendedcare
AT solveigbehr whoblendsinandwhynotaqualitativestudyonpsychotherapistspatientinclusioninblendedcare
AT friederikefenski whoblendsinandwhynotaqualitativestudyonpsychotherapistspatientinclusioninblendedcare
AT christineknaevelsrud whoblendsinandwhynotaqualitativestudyonpsychotherapistspatientinclusioninblendedcare
AT johannaboettcher whoblendsinandwhynotaqualitativestudyonpsychotherapistspatientinclusioninblendedcare
AT carmenschaeuffele whoblendsinandwhynotaqualitativestudyonpsychotherapistspatientinclusioninblendedcare