As a psychologist, telepsychology is a rapidly emerging discipline.
But sometimes, knowing how to navigate these new capabilities can be tricky… that's why we've put together this comprehensive set of telepsychology guidelines and principles to assist psychologists in adopting this practice.
The key to ensuring your telepsychology journey is successful and pleasant is utilizing the right software platform. Carepatron is the best online mental health and telepsychology software on the market. Better yet, it was designed in coalition with psychologists to rest assured it'll be a pleasure to use in your day-to-day practice.
What Is Telepsychology?
Telepsychology, like telehealth, is a new form of behavioral and mental health support provided through technological capabilities such as cell phones, laptops, or tablets. Telehealth enables interviewing or meeting via audio call, video call, email, text, or tracking applications such as a mood state monitoring app. In the year 2021, we are facing uncertain times meaning that people are and will continue to experience mental health difficulties. The need for Mental Health services is extraordinarily high, but we struggle to support this increased demand because of lockdowns and social distancing. Telepsychology has become increasingly more common as the most efficient and effective solution to this ongoing problem.
The Need For Telepsychology Guidelines For Psychologists
The role of technology in the field of mental health and psychological services is expanding. The ongoing creation of new technology that is useful in the practice of psychology presents new possibilities, things to consider, and challenges to overcome. With the development of new software and technology and an increased number of psychologists using telepsychology in their practice, guidelines are imperative to ensure practitioners can seamlessly manage this transition. We have created this article to:
- Educate and guide practitioners in adopting new software
- Help implement technology without harming their clients or clinical practice.
- Provide hints and tips on which software may be best for your psychological practice.
Who Developed The Guidelines?
The guidelines in this article were informed by relevant American Psychological Association (APA) standards and guidelines, from these sources;
- Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct ("APA Ethics Code") (APA, 2002a, 2010)
- Record Keeping Guidelines (APA, 2007).
Evidence-based practice has informed these guidelines in the hope to make sure that any psychologist who reads them can practice telepsychology in a way that is beneficial to both the client and the practitioner… don't worry, we've shortened them up a bit for you to make them more digestible!
To Whom Are The Telepsychology Guidelines Applicable?
We use the term guideline in this article to inform and support psychologists in achieving the best telepsychology practices. Guidelines differ from standards in that they are not enforced but instead demonstrate what psychologists should aspire to.
These guidelines apply to psychologists practicing in any setting and should not exclude psychologists practicing in any particular area. These guidelines apply to;
- Private psychologists
- Clinical psychologists
- Child and family psychologists
- Community psychologists
- Developmental psychologists
- Educational psychologists
- Forensic psychologists
- Health psychologists
- School psychologists
What Do The Telepsychology Guidelines Say?
Competence of psychologists so that technology doesn't impact the patients
Ever run a failed Zoom meeting or been unable to take yourself off mute? Yeah, us too… but it's important not to have these hiccups in your practice. As a psychologist providing telepsychology services, it is important to take reasonable steps to ensure you are competent with the technology you select and its impact on the clients. As a psychologist, you have a primary ethical obligation to provide professional services only within the realm of your competence based on your education, training, and experience. As with all new and emerging areas in which standards for training do not yet exist for psychological practice, psychologists utilizing telepsychology should aspire to apply the same standards in developing their competence in this area.
Psychologists should ensure standards of care while providing telepsychology services
In our day-to-day practice, we make every effort to met professional and ethical standards… why should telepsychology be any different?
Psychologists who deliver telepsychology services need to apply the same ethical and professional standards of care and professional practice required when providing face-to-face psychological services. The use of technology in the delivery of psychological services is a new and evolving area. Therefore you as a psychologist need to take particular care to investigate and assess the appropriateness of utilizing these technologies before adopting and using telepsychology practice to determine if the modality of service is appropriate, efficacious, and safe for your clients.
Psychologists should ensure there is informed consent
As a psychologist, you should obtain and document informed consent that addresses the unique concerns related to the telepsychology services you hope to provide. That means you need to be aware of the applicable laws and regulations, as well as requirements that control informed consent in this area (yikes!).
It's important because the process of discussing and obtaining informed consent creates the groundwork for you as a psychologist and your client.
It's essential to create and share policies and procedures and explain how they will affect your clients using the specific technology you have involved in your practice.
Information confidentiality should be maintained
As a psychologist who hopes to provide telepsychology services, you need to continuously protect the confidentiality of the data and information of your clients. Informing them of any risks of loss of privacy relating to the use of the technology.
With the rapid advances in technology, you may face some unique challenges in protecting the confidentiality of your clients. That means you'll need to get the appropriate training and assistance from technology experts or support teams from your selected software platform to apply security measures in your practice that will protect and maintain the confidentiality of your clients.
Data security should be maintained for the transmission of information
Data security? Yikes! Not to worry, choosing the right software platform should mean they are up to date with all the guidelines for the practice of telepsychology. That means any potential threats to the privacy and confidentiality of data and information such as viruses, hacking, theft, damage, failure of security systems, or outdated technology should be considered and removed by the platform. There are many other threats to privacy, like the policies and practices of technology companies. Targeted marketing from email communications should be at the forefront of your mind, and you should take steps to ensure that security measures are there to protect and control access to your client's data within the mental health software system you've chosen. A tricky one to keep on top of if you are not super tech-savvy! That's why it's imperative to use software that you know and trust. Be sure to look out for the HIPAA compliance certification.
Effective disposal of data to avoid unauthorized access
As a psychologist, you should develop policy and supporting procedures around the disposal and destruction of the client data you no longer need. When practicing telepsychology, that means the secure destruction of software and hardware that could impact the privacy and confidentiality of your clients. When selecting a software platform to use for your telehealth, be sure to look into the fine print about what happens to client data within the system and what happens when you delete it. In addition to this, you'll want to make sure your disposal protocol and software are in keeping with the federal, state, or national regulations applicable to you.
Carry out testing and assessment while providing telepsychology services
When you conduct a test or other assessment procedure through telepsychology, it's best to make sure that the protocols of the psychometric properties of the test or assessment procedure. Things like reliability and validity and the conditions you did in the testing guidelines are followed when adapted for telepsychology. It's wise to think about making changes to the testing conditions to ensure that the test's integrity is maintained. For example, suppose your client has a cell phone or is online or talking to other people during an assessment. In that case, it will have an impact on the validity and reliability of their responses.
Psychologists should ensure that jurisdictional laws are complied with
Finally, you'll want to be sure to be compliant with all of the relevant laws and regulations that apply to you as a psychologist practicing telepsychology within a particular area. One thing that would be a good idea to do would be to look at this website which clearly outlines all of the different guidelines. Follow these to ensure you are providing the best service to your clients and ensuring you don't run into any issues with compliance. Each jurisdiction will have specific requirements for psychologists practicing telehealth, so make sure your protocols are correct for your area!
Ready To Switch To Telepsychology?
Although switching to telepsychology can be a daunting prospect, it's one that nearly every psychologist will face shortly. Whether it be due to a global pandemic or purely through efficiency and access for clients, it's something you'll want to do once and do properly. The best advice we can give here is to choose the right software platform at the outset and avoid changing in the future.
Carepatron is the best option for any psychologist looking at telehealth as an option. Here's why...
- HIPAA compliant
- World-class telehealth
- Workflow manager
- AI-Powered speech to text medical transcription
- Fully functional free version available
- Unlimited 24/7 support
- Intuitive, user-friendly interface
What's holding you back then?
Join Carepatron for free and become the Telepsychologist everyone looks up to!
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