Online psychotherapy as a first clinical experience during the Covid-19 pandemic: A new generation of psychotherapists in the digital age.

The temporary closure of the Outpatient Psychotherapy Clinic at the Sigmund Freud Private University in Vienna during the Covid-19 pandemic demanded an immediate and unexpected reaction to assure further psychotherapeutic services. Both psychotherapists and patients were forced into a rapid transition to online psychotherapy. While Covid-19 research has comprehensively described challenges of online psychotherapies, we were interested in learning specifically how early stage psychotherapists-in-training, who started their clinical work with patients exclusively in the online setting, experienced this unprecedented clinical situation. Sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted with psychotherapists in training. The data were analyzed using a thematic analysis. The analysis revealed how psychotherapists in training were able to cultivate a set of early-training resources and competencies in the online therapy setting without evidence-based guidelines from supervisors and the institution. This study highlighted the necessity of incorporating specific and novel educational input that is necessary for achieving specific online skills in the early training phase. Recognizing that the therapeutic landscape has undergone an irreversible transformation, the data suggest that distinct techniques are necessary to equip early-training psychotherapists for the now commonly practiced alternation between online setting and in-person setting in psychotherapeutic processes.

Conceptual Framework of a Psychotherapeutic Consultation in the Workplace: A Qualitative Study.

(1) Background: A new health care offer called 'psychotherapeutic consultation in the workplace' is an early and effective intervention for employees with common mental disorders. Although cost-effective, it lacks a broader roll-out. This might be attributable to undefined context, mechanisms of change, and a lack of communication; therefore, this study explores how the new model works and where problems occur. (2) Methods: Semi-structured interviews on motivation, expectations and experiences with 20 involved experts. Experts were members of the company health promotion team, service users, and cooperating mental health specialists. Analysis was conducted with ATLAS.ti. (3) Results: The conceptual framework comprises three main topics: (a) structured implementation concept; (b) persons involved, shaping the concept's processes; (c) and meaning and function of the offer within the given context. Concerning (c) we found three potential areas of conflict: (1) intra-corporate conflicts, (2) conflicts between company and employee, (3) and conflicts between the company health promotion and the health care system. Category (c) comprises the offer's core characteristics which were described as low-threshold and preventive. Furthermore, the offer was perceived as convenient in handling, confidential, and having immediate impact on a person's well-being. (4) Conclusions: Here we define structures, address the needs of the involved persons, and communicate foreseeable areas of conflict influences whether the implementation of the intervention succeeds.

[German Military Families: A Qualitative Inquiry of Strategies of Coping with the Fathers' Absence]. / Kinder deutscher Soldatenfamilien: Qualitative Untersuchung zu Strategien im Umgang mit der Abwesenheit des Vaters.

German Military Families: A Qualitative Inquiry of Strategies of Coping with the Fathers' Absence Military families with experiences of deployment are subject to multiple stressors. In this research an explorative qualitative design was used to identify specific challenges, resources and strategies of coping within the families, focusing on the children's perspective. Results show that the fathers' absence causes vital changes in the family system, which demand specific strategies to deal with the abrupt emotional and social challenges. Four of these coping strategies will be presented in this article. Furthermore, resources embedded in the social environment as well as supportive structures provided by the German military will be discussed. Two hypotheses were formulated to outline the findings that the preparation for a deployment as well as patterns of communication about the father's absence are the most crucial factors for the children's resilience in the case of military families.

Preliminary Analyses Showed Short-Term Mental Health Improvements after a Single-Day Manager Training.

Psychosocial working conditions attract more and more attention when it comes to mental health in the workplace. Trying to support managers to deal with their own as well as their employees' psychological risk factors, we conducted a specific manager training. Within this investigation, we wanted to learn about the training's effects and acceptance. A single-day manager training was provided in a large industrial company in Germany. The participants were asked to fill out questionnaires regarding their own physical and mental health condition as well as their working situation. Questionnaires were distributed at baseline, 3-month, and 12-month follow-up. At this point of time the investigation is still ongoing. The current article focuses on short-term preliminary effects. Analyses only included participants that already completed baseline and three months follow-up. Preliminary results from three-month follow-up survey (n = 33, nmale = 30, Mage = 47.5) indicated positive changes in the manager's mental health condition measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire for depression (PHQ-9: Mt1 = 3.82, Mt2 = 3.15). Training managers about common mental disorders and risk factors at the workplace within a single-day workshop seems to promote positive effects on their own mental health. Especially working with the managers on their own early stress symptoms might have been an important element.

The long-term impact of a change in Effort-Reward imbalance on mental health-results from the prospective MAN-GO study.

Background: Little is yet known on the long-term effects of stress management interventions (SMIs) in the workplace. The aim this study was to prospectively examine the effect of an improvement of psychosocial working conditions measured by the Effort-Reward (E-R) Imbalance model within 2 years following an SMI, and mental health 7 years later. Methods: The study sample consisted of 97 male industrial workers from southern Germany. Data were collected pre- and post-intervention in 2006 (T1) and 2008 (T2), respectively, as well as in 2015 (T3). Change scores were computed by subtracting T1 from T3 values. The associations between E-R ratio at T1, T2 and the change score, respectively, with depression and anxiety 7 years later were estimated by means of linear regression analysis. Analyses were adjusted for baseline levels of the exposure and outcome variables, socio-demographic-, health- and work-related covariates. Results: Within-person comparisons revealed a significant reduction (i.e. improvement) in E-R ratio post-intervention (-0.103, SD 0.24, P = 0.000). This improvement in the E-R ratio was significantly associated with lower anxiety (ß = 0.358, P = 0.001) and depression (ß = 0.246, P = 0.031) scores in the fully adjusted models. The association between change scores and mental health were slightly stronger than associations with absolute values at T1 and T2. Conclusions: An improvement in E-R ratio following an SMI, was significantly associated with lower anxiety and depression 7 years later. These results strongly support the importance of improving psychosocial working conditions in order to protect the mental health of employees in the long-run.

Long-Term Effectiveness of a Stress Management Intervention at Work: A 9-Year Follow-Up Study Based on a Randomized Wait-List Controlled Trial in Male Managers.

OBJECTIVE: Short- and medium-term effectiveness (up to 3 years) of individual level stress management interventions (SMI) at work were demonstrated, yet long-term effectiveness remains unexplored. We therefore aimed to address this research gap. METHODS: 94 male middle managers participated in a randomized wait-list controlled trial between 2006 and 2008 and in a post-trial-follow-up survey in 2015. During the first two years, all received an 18-hour psychotherapeutic SMI intervention which was based on the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) model: tackling stressor on mismatch between effort and reward and promoting recovery on overcommitment. Work stress (i.e., ERI indicators) was the primary outcome, and the secondary outcome was depressive symptoms. The long-term effectiveness of the SMI was examined by mixed modeling, using an external control group (n = 94). RESULTS: Effort and reward were substantially improved with significant intervention ⁎ time interaction effects (p < 0.001) compared to the external control group; effects on overcommitment and depressive symptoms were also significant (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, resp.), though their trajectories in the intervention group were less sustainable. CONCLUSIONS: The effectiveness of this psychotherapeutic SMI at work based on the ERI model was observed over a 9-year period, particularly on the effort-reward ratio.

Starting a family during medical studies? Results of a pilot study on family friendliness in the study of medicine at the University of Ulm.

OBJECTIVE: The Ulm pilot study aimed to explore factors for a successful combination of medical education and starting a family. The empirical data derived from this study constitutes the foundation for an evidence-based reform of the medical curriculum in Ulm. METHODS: In 2009, qualitative interviews with 37 of the 79 medical students with children at University of Ulm were conducted and analyzed using content analysis. The detected problem areas were used to develop a quantitative questionnaire for studying parents and academic teaching members in medical education in Ulm. RESULTS: The parents were older, more often married and more likely to already have obtained a first training. One third of the students thought there was no ideal time to start a family during the years of medical education or specialist training. However, the majority of the students (61%) were convinced that parenthood is more compatible with medical studies than with specialist training. The interview data suggests that the end of medical school (4(th) to 6(th) year of studies), preferably during semester break, is especially suitable for child birth since it allows students to continue their studies without 'losing time'. CONCLUSION: The biography and career of studying parents in medicine have specific characteristics. Universities and teaching hospitals are required to no longer leave the compatibility of family and study responsibilities to the students themselves. Rather, flexible structures need to be implemented that enable students to start a family while continuing their education. This means providing more childcare and greater support regarding academic counselling and career development.

Client experiences of helpful factors in a day treatment program: a qualitative approach.

The goal of the present study is to provide more information about which specific aspects of a day treatment program are experienced as most helpful by the patients. A semistructured interview was conducted. The narrated episodes were analyzed using a combination of grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1997) and qualitative content analysis (Mayring, 2000). The authors collected 69 interviews of 26 patients over a 12-month period. The results show eight groups of helpful factors (the transfer factors being the most specific day clinical group) that are embedded in a conceptual frame of other categories. The discussion shows how they can be linked to other theoretical and empirical concepts, including the Assimilation of Problematic Experiences Scale (Stiles et al., 1990).