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Telehealth: We love it and you will too
Therapy can greatly help people, but it is a lot of hard work; telehealth can take some of that stress away and make it an easier process for all. Because therapy can be so challenging, we want to minimize the time required to make therapy work for you. This means that you will have more time and energy to pay attention to the things that matter to you. The ease and convenience of telehealth may be the answer we’re all looking for. This post will walk you through what is telehealth, the benefits of telehealth, and if it is right for you.
Telehealth explained
By this time in the pandemic, most of us are familiar with some form of telehealth. Telehealth is simply remote healthcare provided via phone or video conferencing. Telehealth rapidly gained popularity in 2020. However, it’s been around for over a century and has a substantial amount of research supporting its use across many fields. In addition to being backed by science, telehealth has greatly improved the accessibility of quality mental health care. Along with this, we’ve noticed it has many benefits for our patients. Below we’ll discuss what providers and patients love about telehealth and if it is appropriate for you.
What we (and our patients) love about telehealth
Telehealth services for most medical and mental health care were effective long before 2020. However, for insurance, privacy, and other reasons it either couldn’t be used by providers or there was a stigma against it. Now that telehealth has been widely used with patients for years, and science firmly demonstrated that it is just as good as in-person most of the time, we want to point out what makes it so great for us and those we treat. Telehealth:
- Makes therapy more accessible
- Therapy is more convenient
- Allows for patients, both adults and children, to feel safer at home
- Provides invaluable symptom information, as many symptoms present within the comfort of one’s home
- Allows for more time and energy to be put towards other important areas of your life
Accessible
First, and possibly most importantly, telehealth makes therapy more accessible. Not only is it more accessible for many providers, it is more accessible for many patients as well. For example, patients dealing with agoraphobia or trauma may have difficulty leaving their home. Remote appointments mean they don’t have to face their biggest fears just to make it to a session. Those who are physically disabled, chronically ill, or have chronic pain can access the care they need without bringing on a symptom flare. Individuals who are deaf/hard of hearing, have a learning or other cognitive disability can greatly benefit. Remote options allow for the use of captions, screen sharing, chat functions, and more. Remote therapy options (along with legislation like PSYPACT), means we can treat patients in over 30 different states. This provides access to effective care which might not be available in many areas. This list isn’t comprehensive, but you get the idea. Remote options make accessing mental health care possible when, in the past, it might not have been an option for many.
Convenient
Second, telehealth therapy is more convenient. Even if you’re close to your provider’s office, getting to an appointment once a week can be quite the hassle. Parking, gas, traffic, delays at school or work can all impact getting to your session on time. If your child is the one in treatment, convincing them to go to the office after a long day at school could be a struggle. If you’re very busy, it might be hard to find a regular time that works with your demanding schedule. This is especially true if you have to factor in the additional time for commuting. For college students, scheduling therapy between classes allows opportunities to work on mental health without compromising school performance or social life.
Safe/Informative
Third, most adults and children not only feel safer at home. Home is often where symptoms are most frequently occurring. With the type of therapy we offer at AWCC, therapy within our patients home can provide invaluable information. Working with someone where they feel safe and experience the most symptoms provides therapeutic opportunities. This allows providers to address specific symptoms in ways that are much more difficult in an office setting. In the past, working with a patient in their home meant we had to charge for travel time. The more time we spend time commuting, the less time we have to see patients. Despite being a small practice, we are passionate about helping as many people as we can. Telehealth allows us to help more patients, across various settings, in ways that work for them.
Leaves time for other things in life
Lastly, as we already stated, therapy is hard. What you get out of therapy is directly linked to what you are willing and able to put into it. Telehealth options are often more accessible, convenient, and can allow for more targeted treatment. This means leaves you with more time and energy to put in the hard work to achieve your treatment goals. Because remote sessions are easier to attend and schedule, they also decrease the likelihood that someone will cancel or miss appointments. This means they won’t be set back a week simply due to scheduling conflicts. Remote sessions also mean that you can still attend an appointment when you otherwise may not have been able. For example, if you have to watch your kids or you’re not feeling well, you can usually get to your computer/phone while at home. Therapy is only effective if someone can engage, so whatever makes it more likely that you can make it to sessions and put in the effort will make it more likely that you will succeed and start to feel better.
Is telehealth right for me?
Do you or your family member deal with symptoms of an anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, depressive, sleep, or trauma disorder? Need help managing a chronic health condition, chronic pain, or an eating disorder? Have ADHD, struggle to keep organized, have trouble keeping up with work/school, or possibly have a hoarding problem? Find that fear or worry keep you from doing the things you want to do in life?
If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, then you/your family member might be a good fit for telehealth at AWCC.
In addition to wanting help managing one of the many conditions we treat, telehealth requires access to a few things. First, you need a device, such as a smartphone, tablet, or computer, that has a working camera and microphone. Second, you need an internet connection that’s stable enough for video calls. Third, you need a private space to have the sessions in. This can be a home office, empty conference room, car, bedroom, or wherever you have privacy and feel safe.
Telehealth is a fantastic option for almost all of the patients we see at AWCC. However, it isn’t appropriate for all diagnoses and in all situations. Sometimes, people with more severe symptoms, various disabilities, and/or children younger than 10 years old may require either in-person services or a hybrid option. People with symptoms or a condition that would prevent them from being able to effectively engage in treatment via a video conferencing format are similarly unlikely to be appropriate for telehealth.
All in all, telehealth therapy is a fantastic option for almost all of the patients we treat at AWCC. Time and time again, studies have shown that Cognitive Behavior Therapy, the primary treatment we provide at AWCC, provided via telehealth is just as effective as in-person treatment for the types of patients we see and conditions we treat.
TLDR
All in all, telehealth can be a great option for most of the patients we see at AWCC. Telehealth can increase access and allow you to engage in treatment where you’re most comfortable. As fall approaches, getting your child to weekly appointments can be a nightmare with after school activities and evening traffic. Telehealth can also mean fewer missed appointments, more flexibility, and more time for you to focus on getting better rather than getting to session. Telehealth can be the difference between being able to get care or having to continue to suffer without it. Patients with a history of trauma, suffering from conditions such as agoraphobia, who are physically or otherwise disabled, or in locations with few treatment options are prime examples of this.
Most importantly, telehealth mental health treatment is proven to be effective for most, if not all, of the conditions we treat at AWCC. We have seen this first-hand with many patients over the last few years. We would not offer it if we did not believe in it.
Everyone knows video calls can suck, but so can facing the hard stuff in therapy; why not do it in sweatpants?