Teletherapy | Telemental Health | Video Therapy

Online counseling is an emerging form of therapy that takes place over a secure video messaging platform. This type of therapy is ideal for clients who are unable to come into the office for appointments. It is ideal for clients with busy schedules, who work remotely from home and cannot leave their work station, or those who feel more secure talking from the comfort of their home. Clients login to a secure portal and interact with their therapist (via video) for the same amount of time as an in-office appointment. Virtual sessions can be scheduled weekly, biweekly, or as often as needed.

Even if clients attend therapy in person, our office-based clinicians might occasionally meet with clients online when there is severe weather or when a client has a last-minute schedule change and can’t make it to the office on time.

Online counseling is NOT ideal for those in crisis or those with severe depression and other mental health conditions that might require emergency intervention. Your therapist will determine whether online counseling might be an appropriate service you can benefit from.

Fees

There is no additional fee for virtual (online) counseling, AND many insurances companies treat teletherapy the same as office-based therapy. If you participate with commercial health insurance, you may be able to use your insurance for virtual counseling.

Equipment

You only need to have a smartphone or laptop and a secure internet connection to participate in virtual counseling.

Considerations

Virtual counseling is not the same as office-based therapy. Your therapist is only able to see your face and is not able to read non-verbal cues about your emotions (e.g. posture, fidgeting, etc.). Therefore, your therapist will modify counseling in order to obtain more feedback about your reactions.

Privacy is the most valuable and privileged protection of therapy. Your therapist will always participate in virtual counseling in a confidential and secure place, but therapists cannot guarantee the security of the place where you (the client) may be receiving therapy. It is the client’s responsibility to ensure they are in a safe and secure place when engaging in virtual online counseling.

There are other considerations as well that your therapist will explain.

Otherwise, teletherapy can be an incredible tool to increase access to therapy for those with serious barriers to therapy such as geographic location, lack of transportation, phobias, lack of childcare, and busy schedules.

Our virtual counseling has benefited:

• Clients living in rural and remote places where there may not be a therapist with expertise in a specific treatment area.
• Clients without transportation who wanted to keep knowledge of their therapy confidential
• Parents who couldn’t find or afford reliable childcare during session times
• Clients who needed non-traditional appointment times (Late or very early)
• Clients who wanted to include a family member who could not attend therapy
• Many more