TeleMental Health Counseling Is Safe, Effective, And Accessible

For an initial appointment, please complete the top section of intake forms on the forms page. You'll need a good Internet connection, a reliable smartphone or computer with a webcam, and private space where you can talk. Email tom@choicesmhc.com or call 845-513-5002 with any questions.

Are you wondering if talking with a counselor individually or in group therapy via an online video platform is "the same as” face-to-face? Of course not. How could it be? There are some differences and some important similarities in the process. The really important questions are: Is it safe? and Is it effective? Short answers to both are: Yes and yes.

The first question is easy. During a pandemic, social distancing in the group room at our office would be nearly impossible. Meeting together with peers using an online platform like GoToMeet.Me offers a safe alternative presenting zero risk of coronavirus infection. The same is true for individual therapy sessions online whether on the platform just mentioned or Doxy.Me.

Telemental health therapy has been heavily researched over recent decades. It is not new. Data supports it as an evidence-based, cost-effective form of treatment for relapse prevention for those with a history of substance use disorders, as well as for mental health conditions like anxiety, depression, and more. Physicians with many medical specialties, including psychiatry, primary care, cardiology, rheumatology, pulmonology, and others use these identical telehealth platforms with great success. Psychotherapy too.

Online individual and group therapy are is available from the safety and comfort of your home. You need a good Internet connection, a computer or smartphone with a webcam, and private space where you can talk.

Is there less of a need for mental health and relapse prevention treatment in Sullivan County than before the COVID19 pandemic? Obviously not. The opioid epidemic continues to destroy and end countless lives. Information from before the pandemic showed 350 opioid related inpatient hospital admissions in Sullivan County, NY during 2019 (McGraw, 2019). As of last year, local opioid overdoses in people aged 18 to 24 had more than doubled since 2014. Exact figures since the pandemic are not yet available, but reports from EMS and police confirm that local relapses and overdose deaths have spiked sharply since earlier this year after social distancing began. We know this tragedy first-hand!

Other mental health impacts have also been widely reported. A medical journal reports: "...the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with distress, anxiety, fear of contagion, depression and insomnia in the general population and among healthcare professionals. Social isolation, anxiety, fear of contagion, uncertainty, chronic stress and economic difficulties may lead to the development or exacerbation of depressive, anxiety, substance use and other psychiatric disorders in vulnerable populations..." (Sher, 2020).

At our local level here in Sullivan County, we at Choices Mental Health Counseling have reached out to maintain contact with everyone who was in treatment with us when the shutdown occurred. Most have responded. Many still attend. Some seem to have dropped off the grid, or have told us they have "too much going on right now". We are not giving up. If you were with us in the office before the pandemic and have not yet joined us online, it's not too late. If we haven't met yet, now is a good time!

Online Therapy eases access to treatment for those with an Internet connection, a working PC or smartphone with a webcam, and a private space to talk. Research supports that Telemental Health is different, but as safe and effective as face-to-face talk therapy (see Langarizadeh [2017], Whaibeh [2020], and Benavides-Vaello, et al. [2012]).

Many find that they prefer seeing a therapist online rather than packing up their car, or calling a cab, to drive to an office visit.

Insurances and many EAPs are accepted, including MVP, Fidelis Care NY, HealthFirst, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, NYSHIP, United Health Care, and numerous others. Call our office at 845-513-5002 if you have any questions.


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