Forming professional and IT identities: A longitudinal case study of using an information system for blended psychotherapy

Jussupow, Ekaterina; Rieder, Annamina; Schueckes, Magnus

Abstract

Focusing on novice psychotherapists who use an information system supporting their therapeutic work, this study investigates the interaction between the formation of a professional identity and an IT identity. We conducted 30 semi-structured narrative interviews in a two-year-long data collection with psychotherapists in Germany at the early stages of their training in cognitive behavioral therapy using "elona therapy," a certified digital health solution for blended psychotherapy. Following the grounded theory methodology, we identified three relationships between IT identity and psychotherapists' professional identity: IT identity can function as a reassurance for the nascent professional identity; IT identity evokes tensions in the nascent professional identity; and IT identity and professional identity co-develop in an interdependent way. Our findings provide significant theoretical insights into the relationship between these two separate but important types of identities related to information systems use by a group of professionals who have little digital support in their work.