Lessons from the field during a pandemic: students’ views of ethics in e-therapy

ABSTRACT

As stay-at-home orders and regional lockdowns were mandated across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic required established practitioners, new graduates, and students in field placements to provide services using technology tools and supports, generically labeled ‘e-therapy’. While this transition was necessary, it raised important ethical concerns. Finn assessed the attitudes of students toward ethical issues in e-therapy in 2002. This article reports the results from surveys of MSW students in one Australian and two CSWE-accredited American programs in 2018 and 2020. The 2018 surveys explored changes since 2002 in student attitudes toward e-therapy, followed by the 2020 surveys to explore the further impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey instrument was based on Finn’s original questionnaire, with items added in 2020 to reflect the increased need for technology-supported services during the pandemic. The 2018 results showed comparatively more familiarity with and use of e-therapy by students, more positive attitudes toward e-therapy use, and more acceptance of the capacity for e-therapy to meet ethical practice requirements. The 2020 results revealed further increases in use and positive attitudes, together with recognition of serious ethical issues. Lessons learned from student qualitative responses are included, along with suggestions for social work curricula and field education.

KEYWORDS:

• Technology
• ethics
• standards
• field education
• e-therapy
• digital
• social work practice
• international

Acknowledgment

The authors wish to express their thanks to the students in our three MSW programs for their willingness to provide their thoughts through the surveys, with special thanks to the 2020 respondents who did so during the COVID-19 pandemic and mandated lockdowns.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design, and collected data from students at their respective universities. Material preparation and analysis were performed by all authors. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Dr. Paul P. Freddolino, with contributions from Drs. Earle and Hampson, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Availability of data and material

Dr. Paul P. Freddolino, Dr. Melissa J. Earle, and Dr. Ralph Hampson confirm that all data and materials as well as software application or custom code support their published claims and comply with field standards.

Consent for publication

Not applicable. All participants were anonymous.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Ethics approval

Stony Brook University IRB approval (Exempt) – Study # 1287788–3; COHIRS# 2018–4734-F

Michigan State University IRB approval (Exempt) – Study # 00000651

University of Melbourne School of Health Sciences Human Ethics Advisory Group approval—Study # 1852872.

Additional information

Funding

Not applicable. This was an unfunded study.

Notes on contributors

Paul P. Freddolino

Paul P. Freddolino, M.Div., Ph.D., is Professor of Social Work at Michigan State University. He is actively engaged in research related to the use of technology tools in social care and health. Current projects focus on technology for people living with dementia and their caregivers, and innovative approaches to bringing digital skills to older adults.

Melissa J. Earle

Dr. Melissa J. Earle is an LCSW with many years of direct practice and teaching experience in the areas of trauma, addiction, mental illness, and veterans. Dr. Earle's other area of interest is the study of best practices for integrating technology into social work practice and education.

Ralph Hampson

Dr. Ralph Hampson is an Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne in the Department of Social Work. He is a teacher and researcher and has led the development online courses and undertakes research in the field of gerontology and social work education.