The Digital Couch: A Study on Mental Health of Psychologists in Telepsychology Practice

Mental health practitioners tend to experience mental distress due to the demanding nature of the profession. In this advancing world, practitioners are now integrating telepsychology into psychological practice, which presents opportunities and adversities to their mental health. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to explore and understand the mental health of Filipino psychologists, particularly in the context of telepsychology. A qualitative descriptive phenomenology was employed in this study. This study gathered ten psychologists who were selected using purposive sampling and interviewed using semi-structured interviews. Using Colaizzi's seven-step data analysis, four major themes were yielded, and twelve clusters of subthemes were found. Specifically, (1) growing pains, (2) resilience, (3) ingraining transformation, and (4) treasure of fulfillment, which formulated an acronym of GRIT, representing perseverance and passion, symbolizing the persistent effort of psychologists to maintain a mental fortitude despite the adversities in telepsychology practice. The findings presented the notable reflection of psychologists that telepsychology practice has challenged their mental capacity, but their resilience and eagerness to adapt have kept them on the ground. The results were bound to fill the knowledge gaps by providing new understanding from the experiences of psychologists in telepsychology. Furthermore, this study can raise awareness about the mental health of Filipino psychologists practicing telepsychology, especially that relatively few studies are focusing on the mental health of practitioners. Indeed, this study presented the reality of the exerted efforts of psychologists to balance the edge of being a human and professional, extending their hand to people in need.