TeleMental Health: The New Standard – Ethical, Legal, Clinical, Technological, and Practice Considerations

Fulfills Requirement: Ethics for CA Psychologists & States Other Than CA Law and Ethics for CA MFTs & LCSWs

This course is also offered as part of the TeleMental Health & Digital Ethics Certificate Package

Telehealth, TeleMental Health, E-Counseling or E-Therapy may encompass the practices of not only those providing video or phone therapy, but also the use of emails, chats, or texts with clients. Many therapists came of age and trained before the era of widespread technology – and many more, who trained in the digital era, simply did not receive instruction in the areas of legal, ethical, and clinical aspects of telemental health. Indeed, these areas are continually developing. This course brings the most current information from telemental health experts in the wide and varied areas of telemental health and related ethical, technological, practice, and other considerations.

The research basis for telemental health indicates that it is extremely effective. The US government, and most private payers, aren’t holding back on expanding telemental health services as much as they can!

This introductory level course includes 13 engaging and informative video interviews and 1 audio interview (transcripts available for all videos and audio), as well as several articles. The eight sections of the course will take you through orientation to telemental health practice; basic legal-ethical issues; presenting effectively over video; HIPAA issues specific to online work; client crisis protocols and assessing clients for appropriateness for the medium; technical failure plans; email and texting with clients; the online disinhibition effect and how you can use it to enhance therapy; working with couples, families and groups by video; how to conduct online therapy sessions according to professional standards; and how to start and expand a successful telemental health practice. Additional resources and references are provided for further study, but they are not part of the course.

Disclaimer: This course is purely educational and does not intend to serve as a license (or permission) to mental health professionals to prescribe or practice any of the approaches discussed in this course unless they fall within the scope of practice of your profession. Check with your licensing board about the scope of practice of your profession to make sure you practice within that scope. It also does not serve as a permission to title yourself in any specific way.