I checked my emails the other day and saw that a client wanted to change his appointment for the following week.  I swiftly responded affirmatively. Next I shot an email to a client asking her whether she could change her appointment next Monday from 10 AM to noon.  Within seconds she responded with a one-word response, "Yes."   Don't you like these emails? I do!  They are simple, quick and effective. Long gone are the days when we played phone tag with clients.  With email, we needn't start the phone conversation with "How are you?", opening ourselves to a long-winded response.  We also avoid the time-wasters of getting busy phone lines, being put on hold, and dealing with overworked, low-paid, and sometimes irritated receptionists or operators.   As therapists, many of us love the flexibility gained by receiving and sending emails from our computers, Blackberrys, or iPhones.  With email, we can communicate during working and non-working hours, from the office, living room, beach, boat, or even from another country: in short, from whenever or wherever.  Emails have saved us therapists time and energy so we can focus on what is important. Then I woke up the other day to a short email from a depressed client: "Doc, I cannot take it any longer!!!!!" I noticed it was sent at 2 AM. Now what am I to do?  Send an email, call the patient back, call her listed emergency contact (not a good idea, as her contact happens to be her toxic friend), call the local crisis team or 911, or what?  To read more, click "I Love these Emails, or Do I?". The article, "I Love these Emails, or Do I?", answers the following questions: Are emails between therapists and clients considered psychotherapy? If I give my email address to my clients, must I check my emails often? Does using email with clients mean you must be HIPAA Compliant? What about confidentiality and privacy of emails? Must emails be encrypted? What is an email signature and do I need one? If we email to clients, does it mean we are conducting tele-health or e-therapy? Are these emails part of the clinical records? Can these emails be subpoenaed just like any other chart notes? What are the guidelines to using email in therapy? RELEVANT ONLINE COURSES FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS: Telehealth Confidentiality HIPAA Compliance Record Keeping

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