Models, techniques, and new clinical territories: transformations in psychotherapy in Uruguay
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5027/psicoperspectivas-Vol25-Issue1-fulltext-3564Keywords:
professional practices, psychological intervention, ‘Psi’ technologies, digital platform, UruguayAbstract
Psychotherapy practice in Uruguay is undergoing transformations in response to the growing demands of today's society. From a sociomaterial and therapeutic cultures theoretical approach, this article analyzes the hybridization of psychotherapeutic perspectives and resources in the clinical practices of psychology professionals, as well as their expansion to websites, social networks, and digital platforms. The research design was based on qualitative methodology guidelines. A virtual ethnography strategy was used to work with materials from 50 websites and 23 social media profiles, supplemented by 24 interviews. The work proposes a classification that reveals the use of therapeutic resources from diverse theoretical backgrounds, creating tension with clinical tradition and adding complexity by aligning with digital logic. The results reveal the configuration in Uruguay of an expanded therapeutic environment, characterized by the hybridization of techniques and the redefinition of professional modalities based on digitality.
References
Alvaro, D. (Coord.; 2023). Diseño de la vida, filosofía y neoliberalismo. Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani - UBA.
Amezcua, M., & Gálvez Toro, A. (2002). Los modos de análisis en investigación cualitativa en salud: perspectiva crítica y reflexiones en voz alta. Revista Española de Salud Pública, 76, 423-436. http://hdl.handle.net/10481/50731
Ávila Espada, A. (1994). ¿Qué es psicoterapia? En A. Ávila & J. Poch (Comps.), Manual de técnicas de psicoterapia (pp. 3-34). Siglo Veintiuno Editores.
Balcombe, L., & De Leo, D. (2022). Evaluation of the use of digital mental health platforms and interventions: scoping review. International journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(1), 362. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010362
Barad, K. (2023). Cuestión de materia. Holobionte Ediciones.
Castro Gómez, S. (2010). Historia de la gubernamentalidad: Razón de Estado, liberalismo y neoliberalismo en Michel Foucault. Siglo del Hombre Editores.
Chan, S., Li, L., Gratzer, D., & Yellowless, P. (2018). Review of use of asynchronous Technologies Incorporated in Mental Health Care. Current Psychiatry Report, 20(10), 85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-018-0954-3
Chavez Bidart, J. (2022). Historia de la Psicología en Uruguay: gobiernos, psicologías, subjetivaciones. Editorial Azafrán.
Chavez Bidart, J., & Sena, P. M. (2021). Controversias sobre el ejercicio profesional de la psicología en Uruguay. Fractal: Revista de Psicologia, 33, 151-161. https://doi.org/10.22409/1984-0292/v33i2/49362
Chavez, J., Piquinela, P., Lucas, C., & González, F. (2025). Transformaciones de la psicoterapia: hibridaciones y composiciones heterogéneas en las prácticas psicológicas en Uruguay. Revista Puertorriqueña de Psicologia, 36(1), 40-57. https://doi.org/10.55611/
Cialdella, A. S. (2025). Entre la militante-feminista y la activista-empresaria: matices en las performances de ginecólogas influencers de la salud sexual. Revista Hipertextos, 13(23), e098. https://doi.org/10.24215/23143924e098
Consoli, A. J., Beutler, L. E., & Bongar, B. (Eds.; 2016). Comprehensive textbook of psychotherapy: theory and practice. Oxford University Press.
Cruz, R. M., & Zwielewski, G. (2021). Manual de psicoterapia on-line. Vetor Editora.
Daza Pardo, D., & Di Próspero, C. (2024). Las etnografías de lo digital: otras formas de estar "allí". UNSAM Edita.
De Haro, F. (2006). Administrar el yo: literatura de autoayuda y gestión del comportamiento y los afectos. Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas (Reis), 113(1), 49-75. https://doi.org/10.5477/cis/reis.113.49
Denzin, N. K., Lincoln, Y. S., Giardina, M. D., & Cannella, G. S. (Eds.; 2024). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research. SAGE Publications.
De Vos, J. (2019). La psicologización y sus vicisitudes. Paradiso Editores.
Di Malta, G., Cooper, M., O'Hara, M., Stephen, S., & Gololob, Y. (2024). The handbook of person-centered psychotherapy and counselling. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Eells, T. D. (Ed.). (2022). Handbook of psychotherapy case formulation. Guilford Publications.
Feixas, G., & Alabèrnia-Segura, J. (2021). Aportaciones de la tecnología a la psicoterapia: El potencial de la realidad virtual. Revista de Psicoterapia, 32(119), 81-93. https://doi.org/10.33898/rdpv32i119.859
Foucault, M. (2007). El nacimiento de la biopolítica. Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Gambirasio, M., Ivaldi, S., & Scaratti, G. (2024). How platformisation transforms the psychological profession: Reflections from a proposal of indicators for the classification of psychological platforms. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 34(4), e2861. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.2861
Gussak, D. E., & Rosal, M. L. (Eds.; 2015). The Wiley handbook of art therapy. John Wiley & Sons.
Herink, R. (Ed.; 1980). The psychotherapy handbook: the A-to-Z guide to more than 250 different therapies used today. New American Library.
Hund, E. (2023). The influencer industry: The quest for authenticity on social media. Princeton University Press.
Hine, C. (2018). Etnografía virtual. Editorial UOC.
Illouz, E. (2010). La salvación del alma moderna: Terapia, emociones y la cultura de la autoayuda. Katz Ediciones.
Kuther, T. L. (2024). The Psychology major′ s handbook. Sage Publications.
Landa, M. I. (2022). Gubernamentalidad neoliberal y subjetividad emprendedora. En M. Bella, E. Celis, L. Pereyra, F. Ravarotto Köler, & E. Song (Eds.), Haciendo cuerpos: gestión de vidas (pp. 98-128). Universidad Nacional de Córdoba.
Landa, M. I. (2023). Los ideales subjetivos en las culturas del management del cuerpo y de sí. En D. Alvaro (Coord.), Diseño de la vida, filosofía y neoliberalismo (pp. 119-138). Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani.
Latour, B. (2005). Reensamblar lo social: una introducción a la teoría del actor-red. Manantial.
Li, J. (2023). Digital technologies for mental health improvements in the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review. BMC Public Health, 23(1), 413. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15302-w
Lutz, W., Castonguay, L. G., Lambert, M. J., & Barkham, M. (2021). Traditions and new beginnings: Historical and current perspectives on research in psychotherapy and behavior change. In M. Barkham, W. Lutz, & Louis G. Castonguay (Eds), Bergin and Garfield's handbook of psychotherapy and behavior (pp. 3-18). Wiley.
Manfrida, G., Albertini, V., & Eisenberg, E. (2021). Psicoterapia on line: recursos tecnológicos en la clínica psicológica. Ediciones Morata.
Margherita, G., Caffieri, A., & Maio, N. (2023). When the algorithm “matches” us: the experiences of early-career psychologists on online platform services for psychotherapy and counselling in Italy. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 24(2), 666-680. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12704
Maxwell, J. A. (2012). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. Sage Publications.
Morejón, A. R. (2019). Manual de psicoterapias: teoría y técnicas. Herder Editorial.
Oblitas, L. A. (2008). Psicoterapias contemporáneas. Cengage Learning Editores.
O'Connor, C., & Joffe, H. (2020). Intercoder reliability in qualitative research: Debates and practical guidelines. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 19, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406919899220
Orlikowski, W. J. (2007). Sociomaterial practices: Exploring technology at work. Organization Studies, 28(9), 1435-1448. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0170840607081138
Orlikowski, W. J., & Scott, S. V. (2015). Exploring material‐discursive practices. Journal of Management Studies, 52(5), 697-705. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joms.12114
Ostafin, B. D., Robinson, M. D., & Meier, B. P. (Eds.; 2015). Handbook of mindfulness and self-regulation. Springer.
Papalini, V. (2014). Culturas terapéuticas: de la uniformidad a la diversidad. Methaodos. Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 2(2), 212-226. https://doi.org/10.17502/m.rcs.v2i2.53
Pretorius, C., McCashin, D., & Coyle, D. (2022). Mental health professionals as influencers on TikTok and Instagram: What role do they play in mental health literacy and help-seeking? Internet Interventions, 30, 100591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2022.100591
Prochaska, J. O., & Norcross, J. C. (2018). Systems of psychotherapy: A transtheoretical analysis. Oxford University Press.
Richards, P., Allen, G. E., & Judd, D. K. (2023). Handbook of spiritually integrated psychotherapies. American Psychological Association.
Salmenniemi, S., Nurmi, J., Perheentupa, I., & Bergroth, H. (2020). Assembling therapeutics: cultures, politics and materiality. Routledge.
Vera García, B. M., Castro Sacoto, J. A., & Caicedo Guale, L. C. (2019). La intervención del psicólogo a través de las redes sociales: una perspectiva desde la ética en la intervención psicológica a través de las redes sociales. Didasc@lia: Didáctica y Educación, 10(2), 133-146. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/7244453.pdf
White, E., & Hanley, T. (2023). Therapist + social media = mental health influencer? Considering the research focusing upon key ethical issues around the use of social media by therapists. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 23(1), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12577
White, E., & Hanley, T. (2025). “What I share is not the same as therapy”: Psychologist experiences of Instagram use as a mental health influencer. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 98(3), 624-642. https://doi.org/10.1111/papt.12585
Zangaro, M. (2023). La construcción del sujeto neoliberal: los aportes de la psicología positiva. En D. Alvaro (Coord.), Diseño de la vida, filosofía y neoliberalismo (pp. 30-45). Instituto de Investigaciones Gino Germani – UBA. https://biblioteca-repositorio.clacso.edu.ar/bitstream/CLACSO/250239/1/Diseno-de-la-vida.pdf
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Pablo Piquinela Averbug, Jorge Chavez, Camila Lucas, Gabriel Rodríguez Varela (Autor)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All manuscript will be published under the Creative Commons 4.0 International License.