During these difficult times, there are lots of changes that we need to understand and deal with. But we don’t have to do this alone. Social distancing rules mean that the way we interact with healthcare providers has changed, but it doesn’t mean that it’s gone away.
Telehealth is another way of saying “therapy at a distance”. You can speak to one of our qualified therapists through video chat software. This is convenient not only for those of us concerned about spreading illnesses, but for anyone whose life is too fast-paced to make it possible to visit a psychotherapist.
Instead of having to brave a strange new environment for taking the big step of reaching out to a mental health specialist, you are able to log onto a video chat with them instead. It’s as simple as calling a family member or friend.
We think this is a brilliant aspect of modern convenience, because we’re able to help people further out in rural communities that possibly didn’t have access to this kind of service before now; similarly anyone who is housebound for any reason is also now within reach.
This is a relatively new area of psychotherapy and that means that we’re still evaluating the best practices to go alongside this new method of approaching therapy. Study needs to be done on exactly how well this method holds up against traditional in-person therapy. This basically means that telehealth won’t replace other forms of therapy, but will go hand in hand.
Pacific CBT is a telehealth provider, and we have the means to engage in telehealth with our clients. You should always consider, if you are not in the San Francisco area, that telehealth providers must be licensed practitioners in the State in which you reside. This means that if you’re travelling, you may still be able to attend a telehealth session, but you should use a therapist licensed in the State you live in first and foremost.
It’s also important to consider that health insurance providers, such as the Blue Cross Blue Shield association, may or may not cover telehealth therapy sessions. This is because they may not cover “out of office” sessions, which telehealth might fall under; so check with whoever provides your cover first.
When possible, we’d like to invite you to make an in-person session with your therapist because that connection a face to face meeting can provide is invaluable for both you and the therapist.
This emerging field of therapy definitely has the potential to grow larger, and if you’re interested in speaking with someone further about this contact us now, call us at (415) 689-4131, or make an appointment through our online service.
