Pluralistic Therapeutic Ecosystems of the Future

How might new technologies change the face of therapy as we know it? Why might pluralistic therapists see themselves at the forefront of such changes? Although we don't have all the answers, we will explore these ideas and speculate on what the future might hold.

We will begin by discussing Kooth, an online therapy and support service for young people that provides a virtual ecosystem of resources, such as therapeutic content, peer forums, and anonymous text-based therapy. We will present research on how users have engaged with this service and made active choices about their care pathways.

Using this real-world example, we will consider how pluralistic therapists could develop their own ecosystems of support, incorporating both new and traditional technologies. We will introduce the concept of a "therapy bundle," which combines multiple resources with therapeutic work. Finally, we will explain why pluralistic therapists are particularly well-suited to this approach.

TerryHanleyisaProfessorinCounsellingPsychologyattheUniversityof Manchester.HeisaHCPCRegisteredCounsellingPsychologistanda FellowofboththeBPSandtheHigherEducationAcademy.Heiseditorof TheSAGEHandbookofCounsellingandPsychotherapy(Sage,2017;2023), co-authorofIntroducingCounsellingandPsychotherapyResearch(Sage, 2013)andleadeditoroftextAdolescentCounsellingPsychology(Routledge, 2013).Hehasbeenresearchingweb-basedtherapywithchildrenandyoung peopleforover20yearsandhasagrowinginterestinsurfing/footballtherapy andtheuseofartificialintelligenceinthecaringprofessions. Followhimontwitter@drterryhanley.

Aaron Sefi is Chief Product and Research Officer at Kooth, leading UK provider of digital mental health services for young people. He has been with the company for 14 years, as a counsellor, service manager and building out its research function. He is responsible for developing the evidence base and building research priorities to ensure our approach to digital mental health is robust and of the highest quality, and is now applying that to product development. Aaron is driven by aligning user needs and wants with an evidence base to ensure meaningful and valuable research and data is shared, understood and implemented. Managing product and research teams at Kooth, he is now implementing an innovative evidence based approach to product design and delivery. He has published over 30 academic papers, has presented at numerous international conferences, and is innovating in digital mental health research for children and young people. He has also overseen the development of the world’s first single session measure for children and young people for digital mental health support.