Virtual Walk-In Single Session Therapy: A Multiple-Case Study of Parents' Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Various community-based mental health and family agencies offer walk-in counselling services, where clients are provided with immediate access to a single session of brief therapy without appointments or referrals. Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of single-session therapy (SST) delivered within walk-in counselling clinics. This type of service delivery model has been found to be helpful for parents, who experience decreased hopelessness and psychological distress by increasing their confidence about their parenting. The purpose of this multiple case study was to investigate how parents perceived their parenting self-efficacy over time following a virtual single-session therapy at a children's mental health centre. Additionally, this study explored how parents perceived their overall experience utilizing this type of service delivery model. Eight mothers participated in a retrospective individual interview. Findings indicate that virtual SST provided parents with greater parental knowledge and concrete collaborative problem-solving strategies that improved parent-child interactions. Further, the emotional support received at the SST reduced parents' distress while increasing hopefulness in the parenting role. In addition, parents valued the accessibility and convenience of the virtual option. Overall, the findings of this study provide evidence that virtual SST can be beneficial for parents and can foster parental self-efficacy.