Career Paths in Telemental Health by Marlene M. Maheu Kenneth P. Drude & Shawna D. Wright

Author:Marlene M. Maheu, Kenneth P. Drude & Shawna D. Wright
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham

Training Required

In terms of educational training required of treatment providers, a graduate degree corresponding to state credentialing criteria for entry-level practice should be considered a bare minimum for treating this population via telehealth . In most states, this translates to a PhD or PsyD in Clinical or Counseling Psychology for licensed psychologists and a master’s degree in Social Work or Counseling Education for social workers and licensed professional counselors. Though these degrees and their corresponding licenses are necessary entry requirements for such practice, they would arguably be insufficient in the absence of specialized, trauma-focused training. Ideally, providers—regardless of discipline or professional degree—would seek intensive (e.g., multiday workshop) training in empirically supported trauma treatments such as prolonged exposure (Foa et al., 2007) or cognitive processing therapy (Resick & Schnicke, 1993) and would seek out ongoing supervision or consultation with experienced providers of these treatments. For work with individuals currently in abusive relationships who are actively contemplating leaving the relationship, we would recommend training and experience with motivational interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2013).

The WTTTC clinic utilizes secure, encrypted videoconferencing technology to provide psychotherapy and assessment services. However, little technology training is required for the therapists, clients, or staff at the distal domestic violence/rape crisis centers. The clinic would be neither viable nor successful if substantive training was required or if the interface was not very intuitive and user friendly. The WTTTC and each of the distal sites are equipped with Polycom VSX3000 videoconferencing units . These units are approximately the size of a flat panel computer monitor and are easily accommodated on any desktop. They strike a nice balance between excellent video and audio quality and affordability as each unit costs approximately $3000. The only additional requirements that distal sites had to adhere to were the availability of a high-speed Internet connection and the availability of a small, private room that could be used by clients for sessions.

It is helpful to have informational technology (IT) support at the proximal end—preferably provided by an individual with some familiarity with videoconferencing technology. In terms of training and experience required by the local technology support professional, a specific degree (e.g., computer science)—though perhaps helpful—is not essential. Rather, it would be necessary for such a person to have formal training and expertise in networking and prior experience working with various videoconferencing technologies. With respect to establishing an initial connection and occasional troubleshooting, the distal sites do not need to identify a technology support person with extensive videoconferencing experience. The local Internet service provider technician can typically confer with the primary site technical consultant to resolve any issues with connectivity that may arise—even without prior videoconferencing support experience. The distal sites were able to work with our IT consultant to establish connections in approximately an hour or two per site.

Technical difficulties, although rare, are a realistic possibility when providing services electronically. Accordingly, a backup plan for service provision should be discussed with the client to avoid interruption with service delivery. For instance, therapists from the WTTTC inform

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