Building therapeutic alliances in digital mental health counselling

An overview of challenges and best practices

Bibliographic Data

ID21516429
AuthorsZahra Asgari (0000-0001-7239-2048, University of Isfahan, corresponding author), Laura Melzer (0000-0001-5721-5297, Ruhr University Bochum), Azam Naghavi (0000-0003-0559-6192, University of Isfahan)
Year2026
Pages1-11
Publication date2026-04-17
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueBritish Journal of Guidance and Counselling (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0306-9885 • E-ISSN: 1469-3534
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03069885.2026.2638331
OpenAlexW7154685575
LanguageEN
References cited31

The rise of digital mental health interventions has transformed the landscape of mental health care, offering increased accessibility and innovative modalities. The study aimed to comprehensively examine the therapeutic alliance within digital mental health interventions (DMHIs), focusing on its development, influencing factors, and best practices for optimisation. A total of 12 systematic reviews published between 2012 and March 2025 were identified through database searches. A narrative synthesis was utilised to analyze the studies in the overview. Four main themes were extracted from the data: “online treatment outcomes, modality differences, role of therapist training, and user engagement and personalization.” The evidence confirms that a strong therapeutic alliance can be established in digital contexts and demonstrates a positive association with treatment outcomes. This underscores the necessity for further research to address gaps in understanding the dynamics of the therapeutic alliance across DMHIs

Best practice · Digital health · Health care · Mental health · Qualitative research · Art Therapy and Mental Health · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Impact of Technology on Adolescents

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