Transnational e-therapy: telepsychology with migrants in Catalonia

Abstract

This article presents the results of an exploratory study on transnational telepsychology in Catalonia. By transnational telepsychology we mean a therapy service in which patient and psychologist are in different countries (the migrant patient is in the destination country and the psychologist in the home country) and use some electronic device to communicate with each other synchronously (primarily via videoconferencing). This article is organised into three sections. The first presents the concepts and interpretive frameworks needed to analyse the dynamics of transnationalisation and digitalisation. The second describes the methodological strategies used during the exploratory study on transnational telepsychology in Catalonia. The third discusses the results of the empirical study through four strands: the relationship between migration, telepsychology, and the pandemic; the ways and reasons leading the migrants to use transnational telepsychology services; the ways that telepsychology sessions work; and the relations between the migrants and the psychologists. The text concludes with reflections that emerge from the results of the exploratory study and the current scholarly debate on telepsychology and migrants’ mental health.