In this video interview, Dr. Katherine M. Hertlein talks with Ray Barrett of TCI about integrating technology into couple and family therapy sessions. Dr. Hertlein uses her experience as a Professor in the Couple and Family Therapy Program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to emphasize the importance of telebehavioral health competencies when training counseling graduate students - and what skills practicing clinicians can learn to optimize client care.
In general, the couple and family therapy fields were slow to embrace telehealth as a worthy format for clinical work. According to Dr. Hertlein, “there was a fear around [using telehealth]” because of the significance placed upon the therapist-client relationship. But when COVID-19 set in, there was a stronger wave of acceptance for online counseling.
In this video interview, Dr. Dominguez, the Founder of Shaping Change, describes how she uses applied behavior analysis with her clients. According to Dr. Dominguez, therapists aim to teach clients new skills while also addressing challenging behaviors with this “hands-on type of therapy.”
Examples include adapting to client learning styles through “visual cards” that cue clients to a therapist’s instruction, or by determining a client’s preferred method for communicating. In Dr. Dominguez’s experience, she’s noticed that when you teach practical skills to clients, there is usually a corresponding decline in challenging behaviors.
Maybe you tried telehealth for your counseling practice during the COVID-19 shutdown, and you’ve decided you would like to stick with it. Or maybe you’ve always wanted to go all-in on telehealth but weren’t sure you could get enough clients to sustain your business.
The good news is that many counselors are successfully carrying a full caseload of telehealth clients.
How do they do it? And how long does it take to get a full caseload if you only see clients via telehealth?
Over 3000 Professionals Gather for the Virtual Telemental Health Preparedness Summit
In May 2020, as a response to the global coronavirus pandemic, the Telehealth Certification Institute hosted the first Telemental Health Preparedness Summit, a large-scale virtual training, in cooperation with national behavioral health associations, telehealth infrastructure companies, and expert clinical trainers.
COVID-19 significantly accelerated the need for behavioral health providers to serve clients virtually, requiring that the vast majority of clinicians become immediately trained in the technical, legal, and ethical aspects of telehealth. As national experts in certifying professionals in Telemental Health, the summit offered training and CE hours, in addition to opportunities for Telemental Health Certification. The Telemental Health Preparedness Summit brought together behavioral health professionals across disciplines (including therapists, psychologists, social workers, professors, chaplains, students, etc.) to quickly and competently train on critical remote services.
In the midst of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, there has not been a greater moment in time for telehealth services to be utilized with a variety of individuals who are experiencing feelings of isolation, stressors from the social and economic impact of the virus, restrictions with their day to day movements, and also the potential added level of control associated with domestic abuse and violence that has been brought to the forefront as a result of the virus.
Join us in examining and discussing the impact that the Covid-19 crisis has had on the state of mental health services and its subsequent impact on domestic abuse and violence with Therese Hugg, the Vice President of Therapy Services at Community Violence Intervention Center (CVIC) in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Ms. Hugg provides insight into how telehealth is being incorporated into the services that are being provided to clients of domestic abuse or violence.
HIPAA-compliant video conferencing is when a HIPAA-covered entity meets all of the requirements of the HIPAA and HITECH laws when using video conferencing with clients. The totality of HIPAA compliance is too large of a topic for this one article but we will cover specifically the HIPAA considerations of using video conferencing technology with clients.
In early 2019, the Georgia Senate passed two bills addressing telehealth and telemedicine. Both bills address comprehensive healthcare reform in order to reduce costs, increase access, and enhance quality care for Georgia residents. Since 2006, the state of Georgia has addressed telehealth parity law, and continued to address the need and coordination of telehealth care. The most recent bills (Senate Bill 115 and Senate Bill 118) continue to demonstrate how Georgia legislature has updated and revised existing laws.
"The Medical Practice Act of the State of Georgia" (SB 115) became effective on July 1, 2019. SB 115 allows for the provision of telemedicine licenses for physicians licensed and located outside of Georgia to provide care to patients who are located within the state at the time of service. SB 115 adds a new Code that defines the requirements for a telemedicine license.
Louisiana's LPC Board of Examiners has enacted their Teletherapy Guidelines for Licensees, which requires telemental health training prior to licensees providing teletherapy. The new regulation is clear, helpful, and reasonable to comply with.
Hear what it is like for an expert counselor who specializes in working with clients who have been affected by difficult relationships to provide psychotherapy online.
Georgia is using telemental health for assessments, treatment, supervision, coordination of care, school-based services, and many other facilities. The Partnership Georgia Partnership for Telehealth had 240,000 telehealth patient visits in 2014, and it currently includes over 600 locations with over 200 specialists and healthcare partners. Georgia has had a telehealth parity law since 2006. Georgia has been requiring counselors, social workers, and MFTs to receive 6 hours of CE training in telemental health. Georgia’s Office of Telehealth & Telemedicine is establishing a new sophisticated telemedicine network.
If you want to start offering telebehavioral health services in Georgia, I highly recommend earning a telebehavioral health credential. A training credential in telebehavioral health will not only teach you important best practices but will inform referral sources of your credibility.
Are you a behavioral health educator?
Can you effectively connect with students online?
Will students truly be prepared to provide behavioral health services after attending an online program?
In this interview, learn from Corinna Costello, PhD, LCPC, ATR-BC, a seasoned faculty member, what it's like to educate behavioral health students online.
If you lead or teach within a graduate behavioral health program in counseling, family therapy, social work, or psychology, consider offering your graduate students TeleMental Health Training that will prepare them to reach their future clients through telehealth: Graduate Programs & TeleMental Health Training
The results are coming in from the Georgia Telemental Health Rule. Should other states follow suit?
Georgia requires that Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Licensed Professional Counselors, who provide telemental health services, attend at least a 6 hour CE training on telemental health counseling. Clinical supervisors are required to take an additional 3 CE hour course on how to supervise telemental health counseling.