Effectiveness of Telepsychotherapy Versus Face-to-Face Psychological Intervention for Perinatal Anxiety and Depressive Symptomatology During COVID-19: The Case of an Italian Perinatal Psychological Care Service.

Publication date: Sep 04, 2025

COVID-19 has limited pregnant and postpartum women’s access to mental health services, leading to the introduction of online interventions. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of telepsychotherapy (i. e., psychotherapy provided through digital technology supporting real-time interactivity in the audio or audiovisual modality) with the one yielded by face-to-face interventions in treating perinatal depression and anxiety and to assess the therapist’s perceived alliance in both interventions. We collected anamnestic information and obstetrical risk factors for 61 women. We evaluated the effectiveness of face-to-face (N = 31) vs. telepsychotherapy (N = 30) interventions on depressive and anxiety symptoms at baseline (T0) and the end of treatment (T1) using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y 1 and 2). We assessed the degree of alliance perceived by therapists with the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI-T). Both groups showed significant decreases in depressive (EPDS face-to-face: T0 12. 65 +/- 5. 81, T1 5. 77 +/- 4. 63, p

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