Teletherapy

  Teletherapy for mental health clients holds both risks and benefits.  Clients who may travel often, hold non traditional work and family schedules or live in rural or remote areas may benefit from the flexibility of virtual therapy.  Individuals with certain social anxieties, illness or physical limitations may find that virtual therapy session remove barriers to regularly attended sessions as opposed to traditional in person sessions ( 14 Benefits of Teletherapy for Clients , n.d.) . Some of the risks that need to be considered when deciding to offer virtual teletherapy sessions might be the effectiveness, the access to insurance coverage, your ability to respond during a crisis and considerations regarding privacy.   Some clients may find that their insurances do not cover virtual sessions. Other clients may not have availability to reliable technology or a private space to speak freely.   The therapist should also be prepared for crisis response and unfor...

Just as with in-person therapuetic offerings, therapist must be educated and informed on the most current ACA code of ethics and consider all ethical dilemas that may arise when offering virtual counseling.  Section H of the ACA code of ethics addresses issues in technology.   This section of codes will guide a therapist to consider what may be most ethical for them in the area such as client identification and verification, benefits and limitations to virtual sessions, the use of technology and the counseling relationship.   The therapist must continually ensure that all electronic links are working properly and are secure. Resources: Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. American Psychological Association, 2017, www.apa.org/ethics/code/.

  Nationally:    Things to consider when providing virtual therapy options   ( Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards Teletherapy & Telesupervision Guidelines II , 2021) . All therapy providers must adhere to their jurisdiction’s training requirements for teletherapy prior to providing services. Therapists wanting to provide virtual therapy options must determine that teletherapy is appropriate for the clients, considering clinical, relational, cultural, cognitive, intellectual, emotional and physical needs. The therapist must consider and implement a back up plan with the client in the event that technology breaks down or there is a disruption in service.   This plan must be clearly communicated and must be included in the general emergency management protocol. Reimbursements for telephone and video mental health options have been approved by Medicare if the individual is at their own home when an in person service has been pr...

Just as fast as technology is growing, so are the options for ways to offer teletherapy. Two great options for clinicians who are interested in teletherapy would be video conferencing or movile device apps. Video conferencing is what may be most recognizable for individuals interested in offering virtual counseling session.  These session can be done as they would be in person but virtually through a video conferencing service such as zoom.  During covid, many individuals became more familiar with these types of digital conferencing services removing the once experince barrier of understanding technology offerings.  Anoter great and potentially less explored option for teletherapy would be to create a mobile app. Mental health apps are on the rise and many individuals may turn to apps for convenience when searching options for emotional well being.  Options to consider when thinking about offering a mobile app, pre recorded video or audio sessions for meditation or s...

While many have traditionally viewed therapy as a one on one in person offering, the options for mental health practicioners to offer virutual and digital options are growing. Many agree that the first recognition of telehealth was at the 1972 international conference on computers when they presented the idea of computerized therapy along side UCLA and Stanford staff.  As the technology scene swiftly grew, so did the teletharpy space.  One of the first well recognized offerings was from the talkspace founders Oren and Roni Frank quickly followed by many other buisnesses that we can find online today (Team, 2019). Teletherapy is a digital option for individuals when in person or one on one therapy is not viable or wanted.  It offers a lower cost option that may also be more condusive to individuals work and family schedules.  Resources;  Team, T. W. P. H. N. (2019, November 1).  The History Of Online Therapy And Teletherapy . Western Pennsylvania Healthcare ...