5 Reasons You Should Try Tele-Health
I have to be honest, I never liked the idea of doing therapy on a computer. As a therapist who has been practicing for over 20 years with clients in person, I had a hard time thinking about how I would connect to clients through a screen. Prior to the COVID pandemic, our practice experimented using tele-health, but I was not convinced it could be an effective method of therapy for our clients.
In the beginning of March 2020, I remember sitting in my office hearing some of our staff talking about this new “virus” that was going around. Little did I know at that moment how much this “virus” would impact all of our lives and our practice forever. Two weeks later, I had to make the very difficult decision to close our offices indefinitely due to the COVID pandemic.
At this time we had no alternative to provide the much needed counseling to our current clients. Our team quickly came together to brainstorm how we could come up with a solution to continue treatment. Telehealth was the only option.
We spent the next 48 hours scrambling to research all of the available platforms, required forms and consents and training for staff and clients. Somehow, we managed to pull it off and convert over 300 clients to tele-health sessions, wow!
Two years later, I have a VERY different opinion of the use of tele-health for therapy. With lots of trial and error, technical difficulties, jailbreaks of kids and pets running into sessions, I have seen tele-health be a lifeline for so many of our clients. Barriers like distance, lack of childcare or illness, no longer get in the way of our clients being able to attend their sessions and maintain the needed consistency of therapy. I have seen clients connect to their therapist, engage in therapy and reach their goals, sometimes without ever coming to the office or meeting their clinician in person.
5 Reasons You Should Try Tele-Health for Therapy :
It is accessible.
I used to hear so often, “I wish your office was closer to me,” or “Do you have an office in Nassau County or New York City?” With tele-health, our practice is able to serve anyone located in New York State. Our therapists now can work with clients from Montauk to Buffalo. Our expanded reach has allowed us to work with clients that would not have had access to our services before due to location.
Tele-health also provides access to individuals who are not able to physically come to our offices due to a disability or that are homebound for any reason. Many of our pregnant clients appreciate the flexibility of tele-health towards the end of their pregnancy or if they are on bedrest. Our new moms love not having to bundle up their infant and pack for another outing or disrupt nap time!
For clients that are concerned about exposure to germs, or that are immunocompromised, virtual sessions provide a safe alternative to obtain the support you need without unnecessary exposure. Especially during cold and flu season, tele-health is a great alternative when you are not feeling well but still want to maintain the consistency of sessions.
It is secure.
Security was one of my biggest concerns when we first started to explore tele-health. It was essential that we had a way to provide video sessions that were private and easy for clients to access. As mental health providers, we are required to follow the guidelines of HIPAA (The Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act). This is a federal law that requires the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed.
After experimenting with a few different secure video platforms, and LOTS of technical difficulties, our practice upgraded to a HIPAA compliant healthcare version of Zoom.Not only is Zoom secure, but it is super user friendly and has become its own verb as everyone has been “zooming” through the pandemic! Zoom can be accessed on a phone, tablet or computer from just about anywhere. Your sessions will be secure as the video and audio of sessions are not stored and cannot be intercepted in any way.
It is flexible.
Life can be HECTIC! Many of our clients are juggling all of the things and often cannot predict their schedule ahead of time. Telehealth gives you the flexibility to be able to log on to your session when and where it is convenient for you. We have some clients that have their sessions during baby’s nap time or during a break from class at college. Being able to cut out the commute time to and from the office, allows for more time during your day.
Telehealth has also made other forms of therapy like couples counseling, easier to access as well. Being able to attend sessions from home or during a lunch break, has made scheduling easier. Without having to juggle schedules or find childcare, there are now fewer roadblocks to allow couples to attend therapy together.
Virtual support groups have been essential since the start of COVID. They have provided much needed connection during a time of extreme isolation for so many. Being able to connect people around a common issue and provide validation and support without having to leave your home is a MAJOR bonus of tele-health!
It is private.
For some, taking the step to start therapy is HARD. Even today, there is still stigma around counseling. The fears around walking into a therapy office for the first time or possibly seeing someone you know, can sometimes get in the way of seeking help.
Virtual sessions can reduce some of those initial fears of getting started. Being able to log on from the comfort of your own home may reduce some of the anxiety about starting therapy. Some of our clients are teachers in the community and they appreciate not having to run into a student or parent in the office.
Some clients actually feel it is easier to open up in a virtual session versus in person and report feeling less inhibited. Other clients find once they establish a rapport with their therapist through tele-health, it helps them transition to in-person sessions, feeling less nervous about coming to the office.
It is effective.
Sure, tele-health is convenient, but does it work? Researchers have actually been studying the effectiveness of tele-health since 1960, long before the COVID pandemic, including use of audio only sessions. Since then, the research has shown that tele-health can be effective for depression, anxiety and many other presenting issues. David Mohr, PhD, director of the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies at Northwestern University, states, “What we have seen is that tele-health is essentially just as effective as face to face psychotherapy- and retention rates are higher.”
Although tele-health can be effective for many people, there are some instances where virtual therapy may not be the right fit for you. Some reasons you might benefit from in-person therapy instead of virtual sessions include:
Any current thoughts of self-harm or acute symptoms of anxiety or depression
Difficulty managing intense emotions
Lack of privacy for sessions
Technical difficulties/ Lack of access to internet
Telehealth has forever changed the way we access mental health services. For many, it is an effective alternative to in-person therapy. For others, it can be a great way to have flexibility when needed in addition to in-person counseling.If you have questions about tele-health or need help deciding if it is the right fit for you, click on the link below to connect to our intake staff. They will help assess what kind of support is best for you and help get you started!
References:
Abrams, Zara, “How Well is Tele-Psychology Working?” July 1, 2020