Telehealth: Its effectiveness and what you can do to ensure you have a great session!
The current pandemic has led to restrictions in many areas of our life, including face to face contact with others. However in protecting our health through social distancing, other stresses have emerged such as job uncertainty, isolation, grocery shortages and bombardment of media regarding the coronavirus! It is understandable that stress, anxiety, and panic levels are increasing. This places even greater importance on increasing the access to mental health services, and one of the ways to do so is via telehealth.
In order to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19, the Department of Health has now allowed all Australians with a Medicare card to access essential health services in the comfort of their home while social distancing measures are in place. These services will be available to Australians until 30 September 2020, which will be reviewed in light of the need to continue our battle against COVID-19. Telehealth refers to technologies that enable practitioners to provide immediate real-time services to patients to improve the management of mental health concerns. It can be conducted via telephone or videocall. This mode of service delivery has existed successfully in Australia for a number of years to provide access to mental health services to individuals located in remote or rural areas however people local to their psychologist were not able to use their Mental Health Care Plans to videocall their psychologist. This policy has (thankfully!) been removed during the COVID19 crisis.
While there are many people who feel comfortable with transitioning from face-to-face sessions to teleconferencing, there may be others who are skeptical of its effectiveness. If you have been wondering “Does it still work?” or “Will I still receive the same therapeutic benefits?” The short answer is YES! While technology isn’t always a replacement for face-to-face treatment for mental health concerns, it can offer increased choice and flexibility, especially at times like these.
The research evidence into telehealth is very large. In fact, mental health is the most researched area of telehealth. Studies have shown that teleconferencing is effective for treating all populations including children, adolescents, adults, and families. There is no significant statistical difference between teleconference sessions and in-person sessions in terms of overall satisfaction, with some clients indicating that they prefer teleconferencing to face-to-face therapy, saying that it increases their level of comfort. Research also indicates that clients quickly adapt and establish rapport with their clinician and are able to provide information via teleconferencing exactly as they would in person. Most importantly, teleconference sessions produce similar outcomes in psychotherapy treatment – this covers conditions such as mood disorders, anxiety disorders, PTSD, eating disorders, and psychosis.
There are some added benefits to telehealth, particularly for people with anxiety. Telehealth means avoiding driving, parking, waiting rooms and new places. This can ease the transition into therapy- which may be confronting enough on its own.
Of course there can also be some barriers to telehealth. Since the restrictions and guidelines have been changing rapidly many of us haven’t had a chance to properly set up space, time and technology to transition to telehealth.
While communicating about sensitive subjects via a virtual mode may be nerve-racking or intimidating at first, (which is totally normal by the way!), telehealth certainly offers many benefits as well as being clinically proven to be just as effective as face-to-face sessions. Here are some tips to get the most out of your telehealth sessions:
Set up and do a practice video call:
If you don’t use tech too often, it may help to have a friend or family member assist you to establish your wifi signal is strong enough, your camera and speakers are connected and you have access to the video platform via an account name and password.
Find a suitable area to do your session:
Consider where you will be located for the duration of your session. Do you have an office? A bedroom? If you live by yourself, this may be easy for you. It’s important to ensure that your environment is free from distractions. So, if you live with housemates or family, you may need to have a good think about the best place for you to have your session. Do you need to remind your housemates prior to your session that you are not to be disturbed? Perhaps you can place a “do not disturb” sign on your door. Maybe, you need to set the kids up with some fun activities to keep them occupied! Please don’t stress about where you are taking the call on your psychologists account- we see people who even sit in their cars to get some privacy!
Communicate with your psychologist about your preferred platform:
If you have an account and are used to a certain platform- we are happy to use that! Many clients choose Skype- where your psychologist simply calls you at the appointment time. Others prefer Zoom, where a meeting link is sent via email to connect you with your psychologist. It’s as easy as that!
The use of headphones or earphones:
If you know that you are going to be in a noisy environment throughout the session (perhaps your kids will be home!), it may be beneficial to use headphones or earphones. This will block out any background noise and keep the conversation between yourself and your psychologist.
Ensure your device is charged:
There is nothing more distracting than being halfway into your session and realising your battery is about to die! This results in an interruption of the flow of the session and may throw you off. Ensure that your device is charged and ready to go.
Setting yourself up:
It’s a good idea to ensure that you have a glass of water, notepad and pen, and anything else you need nearby before the session begins. This includes bringing along any homework, or even a list of questions that you may have for your psychologist. Oh, and don’t forget to put your phone on silent! This ensures that you are prepared for a seamless experience.
Our clinicians are experienced at facilitating teleconferencing sessions and will be more than happy to guide and support you- we recognise the first time may be stressful and will happily guide you through set up. Our most important priority is ensuring people have access to mental health treatment while eliminating the risk of COVID19 exposure. We do not want you to miss the support you need due to overwhelm regarding telehealth!
We miss seeing our clients face-to-face also. We have heard from many of you that visiting our cosy and comfortable rooms is a welcome moment of peace in your daily routine! We look forward to returning to face-to-face sessions in the future, and will keep you updated as to when this is safe to occur. In determining this time frame we are keeping tabs on government policy and scientific research. As this virus may be transmitted when people are asymptomatic- it is not as simple as telling clients or psychologists to cancel if they feel unwell. Indoor spaces with limited airflow or recycled air, for extended periods of time (like the hour we spend together!) appear to have higher risk of transmission as opposed to outdoor encounters, for brief periods of time (see link to article below).
If you have any questions, or would like to book a telehealth session, please get in touch!
By Karen Craddock and Sariah Scott
References:
Australian Department of Health (2020). Coronavirus (COVID-19) National Health Plan.
Backhaus, A., Agha, Z., Madlione, M. L., Repp, A., Ross, B., Zuest, D…(2012). Videoconferencing Psychotherapy: A systematic Review. Psychological Sciences, 9(2), 111-131.
Hyler, S. E., Gangure, D. P, & Batchelder, S. T. (2005). Can telepsychiatry replace in-person psychiatric assessments? A review and meta-analysis of comparison studies. CNS Spectrums, 10(5), 403-415.
Kay, Jonathan. (2020). COVID19 superspreader events in 28 countries- critical patterns and lessons. Quillette.