Digital Competency of Psychologists: A Scoping Review

Digital competency is becoming increasingly vital in psychological practice, yet consensus is lacking on thespecific knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary for effective technology integration in psychological care and therapeuticsettings. Existing frameworks primarily focus on telepsychology and telehealth, neglecting broader psychological practice.This scoping review addresses this gap by synthesizing relevant literature, identifying key digital competencies, evaluatingexisting frameworks, and highlighting gaps to inform the development of an integrated competency framework forpsychologists. A PRISMA-ScR guided research was conducted in August 2024 across seven major databases: Scopus, Webof Science, ProQuest One Academic, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Taylor & Francis Online, and EBSCOhost. Two independentreviewers screened 577 articles, of which 19 met the inclusion criteria. Thematic analysis identified eleven digitalcompetencies, hierarchically grouped into five key domains: technical, ethical and legal, digital practice, training andresearch, and infrastructure and equity. By mapping these competencies and highlighting gaps in existing frameworks, thisstudy provides a structured basis for developing standardized competency models. This ensures that future frameworksincorporate the necessary skills and knowledge for psychologists to navigate evolving technologies, AI integration, andcross-cultural digital practice effectively.