PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESENCE IN ONLINE SUPPORT FOR YOUTH: A CONCEPTUAL REVIEW AND AN INTEGRATIVE MODEL OF COPING WITH PERSONAL CRISIS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/psyspu/2025.2.3Keywords:
therapeutic distance, phenomenology of contact, interpersonal attunement, subjective experience of reciprocity, online empathyAbstract
This article presents a theoretical and analytical study of the phenomenon of psychological presence as a key factor in online support for youth experiencing a personal crisis. The aim of the study is to conceptualize psychological presence as an autonomous psychotherapeutic phenomenon emerging within the digital environment, and to develop an integrative model of support that accounts for the dynamics of emotional engagement and distancing. The methodology is based on a conceptual analysis of interdisciplinary sources published between 2020 and 2024, with a focus on qualitative studies exploring young people’s experiences of digitally mediated therapeutic communication. As a result, four structural dimensions of psychological presence were identified and analyzed: cognitive, emotional, existential, and media-related, each with specific conditions for its implementation. The study reveals that clarity of requests, empathic rhetoric, meaning-centered support, and adaptation of communication formats (text, audio, video) significantly affect the quality of the subjective experience of presence. The concept of tolerance for presence is introduced to describe the subject’s capacity to withstand different intensities of contact, including avoidance, overload, and gradual engagement. An integrative model is proposed, combining cognitive-behavioral, phenomenological, and psychodynamic approaches, structured in four phases: initiation of contact, stabilization, emotional processing, and autonomization. The findings highlight the potential of psychological presence as a stabilizing factor and emphasize the need for ethical flexibility and professional resilience in providing psychological support within digital settings.
References
Soh, H., Oyserman D., Destin M. Identity development in the digital context: A situated identity perspective. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. 2024. Vol. 18. pp. 1-22.
Loades, M., Spencer, C., Burbeck J., Crawley E. What do they look for and what do they find? A co-produced qualitative study on young people’s experiences of online mental health resources. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice. 2024. Vol. 97. pp. 91-107.
Hällgren C., Björk Å. Young people’s identities in digital worlds. International Journal of Information and Learning Technology. 2022. Vol. 39. pp. 413-424.
Livingstone S., Stoilova M. Reflections on the meaning of «digital» in research on adolescents’ digital experiences. Journal of Adolescence. 2024. Vol. 102. pp. 1-5.
Rudwan І. Online psychological care and psychotherapy: Reality, evidence, and indicators. International Journal for Scientific Research. 2023. Vol. 2. pp. 71-97.
Setty E. Risks and opportunities of digitally mediated interactions: Young people’s meanings and experiences. Journal of Youth Studies. 2024. Vol. 27. pp. 1188-1206.
Abbadessa, G., Brigo, F., Clerico, M., De Mercanti, S., Trojsi, F., Tedeschi, G., Bonavita S., Lavorgna L. Digital therapeutics in neurology. Journal of Neurology. 2022. Vol. 269. pp. 1209-1224.
Sadaf A., Olesova L. A Systematic Review of Strategies to Develop Students’ Cognitive Presence in Online Courses. International Conference on Higher Education Advances. 2022. Vol. 8. pp. 65-73.
Zhang F. Revisiting Pragmatic Competence: An Emotional Perspective. English Language Teaching. 2024. Vol. 17. pp. 67-76.
Sickels M. Existential Depth Analysis: A Framework to Promote Empathic Psychotherapy. Duquesne University. 2023. pp. 1-10.
Castellini, G., Stanghellini, G., Cassioli, E., Ricca, V., Facchinetti, E., Bolognesi, M., Tomba, V., Favaro, A., Ribolsi, M., Rossi, C., Dalle Grave S., Dalle Grave R. Bridging cognitive, phenomenological and psychodynamic approaches to eating disorders: Toward an integrative model of treatment. Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity. 2023. Vol. 28. pp. 29-41.
Hopman, K., Richards D., Norberg M. A digital coach to promote emotion regulation skills. Multimodal Technologies and Interaction. 2023. Vol. 7. pp. 1-18.
Kister, K., Laskowski, J., Dybała E., Makarewicz A. Are we ready for Telepsychiatry? Benefits and challenges of digital psychotherapy. Current Problems of Psychiatry. 2023. Vol. 24. pp. 52-67.
Oncu F., Balcioglu Y. Virtualization of mental health care in the midst of chaos: is telepsychiatry a silver lining. Düşünen Adam: The Journal of Psychiatry and Neurological Sciences. 2021. Vol. 34. pp. 219-222.
Manalili J. Digital Boundaries: A Review of Clinical and Ethical Issues in Telepsychology among Mental Health Professionals. Diversitas Journal. 2024. Vol. 9. pp. 328-343.
Martinez-Martin, N., Dasgupta, I., Carter, A., Chandler, J. A., Kellmeyer, P., Kreitmair, K., Weiss A., Cabrera L. hics of Digital Mental Health During COVID-19: Crisis and Opportunities. JMIR Mental Health. 2020. Vol. 7. pp. 1-9.
