Therapists' Perceptions of Online Group Therapeutic Relationships During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey-Based Study

Background: In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most group therapists moved their practice to online platforms. Surveys of psychotherapists indicate that many intend to maintain at least part of their practices online after the pandemic. This survey-based study is an attempt to identify therapist experiences with doing group therapy online, and to examine factors that are associated with therapist-rated outcomes. Method: We surveyed 307 group therapists about their ratings of the ease or difficulty in conducting group therapy online versus in-person, and indicators of patient outcomes in online groups. A confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a good fitting three latent factor solution…