There is a major shift and movement occurring changing the ways mental health services are being delivered. The trend and shift is Telehealth or Telemedicine. Psychiatry, psychology, employee assistance, forensic evaluations and even medical consults are now occurring over the Internet. With a computer, broadband connection, webcam with microphone and speakers, you can get counseling and coaching services online. Since I am an early adopter, I have been at the forefront of this movement. With my good friend Marina London, a social workers and employee assistance professionals, we have been conducting a 7 hour training on the use of social media in mental health. For several years now, I have been doing coaching and psychotherapy over several different platforms that provide security, confidentiality and meet HIPAA standards for ethical practices. There are of course advantages and disadvantages in the Telehealth movement. For example, face to face is a preferred treatment method, but what about someone what may be living in a remote area where counseling services are not available, or when someone is homebound or has a physical problem, transportation difficulties or other problems preventing the opportunity to get treatment. There are now a variety of forms of online therapy including chat rooms that are private, substance abuse recovery meetings, 12 Step Meetings, email therapy sessions, and even Avatar Therapy or a virtual reality called Second Life. You can actually engage in Avatar Therapy with a virtual therapist in real time. Pretty amazing stuff.
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| Avatar Therapy |
I have been conducting coaching sessions using video formats for several years. In fact, I have visited via Skype severn different countries over the last several years providing supervision, trainings, and providing consulting t professionals, corporations and expatriates. If you want to know more about it, give a call. We would love to talk with you about this therapeutic approach. If may well be just what you need.
