Telemental Health

What is Telemental Health?

“Telemental health” means, in short, a provision of mental health service with the provider and recipient of services being in separate locations, and the services being delivered over electronic media.

Services delivered via telemental health rely on a number of electronic, often Internet-based, technology tools. These tools can include videoconferencing software, email, text messaging, virtual environments, specialized mobile health (“mHealth”) apps, and others.

What are the Risks or Benefits of Telemental Health?

Telemental health allows you to:

Receive services at times or in places where the service may not otherwise be available.
Receive services in a fashion that may be more convenient and less prone to delays than in-person meetings.
Receive services when you are unable to travel to the service provider’s office.
The unique characteristics of telemental health media may also help some people make improved progress on health goals that may not have been otherwise achievable without telemental health.

Receiving services via telemental health has the following risks:

Telemental health services can be impacted by technical failures, may introduce risks to your privacy, and may reduce your service provider’s ability to directly intervene in crises or emergencies. Here is a non-exhaustive list of examples:
- Internet connections and cloud services could cease working or become too unstable to use
- Cloud-based service personnel, IT assistants, and malicious actors (“hackers”) may have the ability to access your private information that is transmitted or stored in the process of telemental health-based service delivery.
- Computer or smartphone hardware can have sudden failures or run out of power, or local power services can go out.
Interruptions may disrupt services at important moments, and your provider may be unable to reach you quickly or using the most effective tools. Your provider may also be unable to help you in-person.

There may be additional benefits and risks to telemental health services that arise from the lack of in-person contact or presence, the distance between you and I at the time of service, and the technological tools used to deliver services. I will assess these potential benefits and risks, sometimes in collaboration with you, as our relationship progresses.

Online Therapy Preparation for Clients

The following information is provided to help get us set up for success prior to our first online therapy session. There are some special considerations we have to make for both setting up our space and getting our technology set up in a way that's most conducive to a safe and successful session.

A special thank you to Person-Centered Tech for providing these suggestions (for more information and an informative video, see: https://personcenteredtech.com/tmh/clients/)

Creating a Confidential Space:

Things to consider:

Is the space private?
Can you lock the door?
- If not, will others who have access to the space respect your request for privacy and not enter the room?
  - Can you/have you had a conversation with them?
  - Were they receptive?
Can others outside the room hear you talking?
- If so, can you create white noise with a fan or other form of background noise? (Preferably placed outside the doorway of the room you’re in).
- Consider using headphones or earbuds so that your provider’s voice is kept private and is only hearable by you.

If you have a hard time finding confidential space, here are some examples that others have used. These are not ideal, but should be considered secondary choices if an ideal setup is not available. If you use any of these, please make sure that the space is comfortable to you. Being comfortable is also highly important.

Laundry Room
Walk-In-Closet
Basement
Attic
Actual last resort: your car parked in a safe, private spot. (We want to emphasize that private does not mean secluded. Please do make sure you are in a safe location.)

Technical Setup:

A laptop or desktop computer are ideal — preferably the biggest screen size that you have available to you (that you can also have in a comfortable, confidential space).
If you’re using a tablet or phone, please prop up the device so that it is stable and that the camera is about level with your eyes.
Whatever device you’re using, please make sure that the camera is about level with your eyes. It may require propping up your device or monitor on other items, such as books.
Please make sure that you’re well lit and don’t have a bright light source directly behind you.

Clear Your Internet:

Be sure to move your computer as close as you can to your WiFi router (the box that makes the WiFi.) Or better yet — plug your computer into the router with a cable!
After that, you’ll want to close out of any programs you don’t need which use your Internet connection. This video will show you some examples of doing that (and this article will explain it.)

Thrive Therapy