What is TeleHealth?
Telehealth is the use of electronic communications to connect people to health and wellness professionals through interactive audio and video communiations. Teletherapy means to carry out a therapeutic session (e.g. individual, partners, family) using Telehealth.
Important Teletherapy Information
Prior to beginning Teletherapy, please take a moment to read over the following information.
Confidentiality. The protections of, as well as the exceptions to, confidentiality also apply to Teletherapy. I take judicious steps to ensure your privacy on my end of the screen. For more information, review the Notice of Privacy Practices.
Benefits & Risks. One of the benefits of Teletherapy is the ability to participate in a therapy session without havig to be in the same place as the therapist. This may mean that extra steps are needed to make sure no one’s listening in on your end.
Appropriate Use. By law, therapists are resposible for determining whether Teletherapy is appropriate for the concerns that are brought to them. If this is the case, we will discuss options for in-person sessions or referral to another provider.
Third-Party Access to Communications. If we use electronic communications methods, such as email, texting, online video, and possibly others, there are various technicians and administrators who maintain these services and may have access to the content of those communications. In some cases, these accesses are more likely than in others.
Of special consideration are work email addresses. If you use your work email to communicate with me, your employer may access our email communications. There may be similar issues involved in school email or other email accounts associated with organizations that you are affiliated with. Additionally, people with access to your computer, mobile phone, and/or other devices may also have access to your email and/or text messages. Please take a moment to contemplate the risks involved if any of these persons were to access the messages we exchange with each other.
Technological Safety
There are unique risks to your privacy when Telehealth is involved. Regardles of the steps we take, an unauthorized person may obtain access to the transmission of audio/video communication or to the electronic storage of your health records.
To minimize these risks, I use apps and software that are covered under a business associate agreement with Google Workspace and SessionsHealth. To connect for Teletherapy sessions, I use Google Meet.