The Unforeseen Catalyst?

The Covid-19 pandemic significantly impacted the mental health of populations globally even as in-person psychotherapy sessions became increasingly challenging to conduct. This amplified the need to provide alternative treatment options, including telepsychotherapy (TPT). In the wake of the pandemic, which presented a ‘compulsory testing phase’, therapists’ opinions remain polarised. This study investigates factors influencing attitudes towards telepsychotherapy and its diffusion, thus contributing to theoretical insight into innovation diffusion due to compulsion. Drawing on theories on the diffusion of innovation and technology acceptance, we conducted explorative, semi-structured interviews with twelve German psychotherapists and identified a shift in influencing factors and decision-making processes, thus indicating the need for augmented models that describe real-world processes and drive beneficial innovations. We provide a foundation for describing diffusion processes affected by temporary compulsion, which we show has directly affected TPT’s perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social influence, and facilitating conditions in a number of ways. Furthermore, we identify three affordances of TPT that partially explain today’s heterogenous attitudes amongst psychotherapists: the accessibility of therapy, especially for vulnerable people, its customisability, and its flexibility for therapists. Further research is necessary to investigate the influence exerted by these affordances and their application to other diffusion processes.