A content analysis of eighteen scholarly journals: What has been written about online family therapy?

The purpose of this study was to ascertain what has been written about online family therapy in selected scholarly journals focused on marriage and family issues. Technology is impacting the way individuals communicate and has changed the face of how therapy can be provided to clients. Online therapy has multiple definitions across a variety of disciplines including social work, psychology, family therapy, technology, and communication fields. A consistent definition for online family therapy is lacking in the literature and a call is made for family therapists to define and create standards and practices for the field. The content analysis utilized quantitative and qualitative methods to report results. A coding team was utilized to determine results and identify themes emerging in the literature. Themes were obtained from ten scholarly articles outlining practices of online family therapy and recommendations for family therapist practitioners are presented. The Family Journal yielded the most results with an article prevalence rate of 0.58%. Major themes emerging from the literature are Legal and Ethical Concerns, Benefits, and Technology as an Adjunct to Traditional Therapy. A discussion of the results was presented and conclusions were drawn. Finally, implications and recommendations were given to discuss the future of online family therapy.

Grantor dc:publisher

Texas Woman s University

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Livings, Jennifer

• Individual & family studies

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11274/341

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:twu-ir.tdl.org:11274/341