The growth in online counseling over the past two years has been astonishing. Ensure you and your clients benefit from this practice by implementing the best tools and processes.
Take control of your schedule and calendar from your desktop or mobile app. Use automated appointment reminders and our fully integrated video calling tool to maximize your productivity.
Store all your patient information, clinical notes, and documentation safely in your secure clinic system. We autosave, so you'll never lose work again.
Carepatron online or mobile payments make it easier for your clients to pay for your bills. You save time a massive amount of time while getting paid twice as fast. What a great way to improve your day and cashflow!
With the global pandemic, and extensively rising living costs, online therapy has rapidly skyrocketed in popularity. With online counseling, it’s never been easier to connect with clients from the comfort of your own home, and at any place and time. It’s a whole new level of flexibility that allows you to be your own boss, and deliver the same services without sacrificing on quality. Considering that online counseling can lower costs, and increase both customer satisfaction and clinical outcomes, it’s no surprise that healthcare practitioners are quickly becoming on board with the idea. We understand that it can feel overwhelming when evaluating whether or not to use telehealth services, however, with this guide you will hopefully become more acquainted with online counseling services and their benefits. Online counseling does not need to be complicated, and with the right resources, you can successfully implement its services and prioritize client health.
Online therapy sessions have obvious benefits that can greatly elevate the quality of your practice, with this telehealth counseling guide including the following.
Online counseling sessions increase accessibility for those living in rural or isolated communities and eliminate the need for transport. They’re a highly convenient option, which makes them a popular choice for counselors to broaden their client base.
Because the sessions are virtual, counselors don’t need to pay for overhead costs, such as office rent. As a result, the costs of overall sessions can be significantly reduced, which makes them a great cost-efficient option for clients.
As mentioned, using online counseling sessions can significantly cut down on time and money costs, which makes them convenient for most clients.
Depending on the service, many counseling sessions offer the option for clients to remain anonymous if they wish to. This choice may see clients filtering less information, and maintaining a higher level of honesty during their appointment, which can work towards greater treatment outcomes and plans.
For online counseling in written forms, such as messaging services, both parties have more time to respond with their answers, which can lead to better wording and transmission of information.
Sometimes hearing information from a therapist’s point of view can help put things into perspective, and so the following pointers have been collected from the expertise of a licensed mental health professional. Implementing these ideas can help you work towards a level of online counseling that consistently maximizes your resources and efficiency, as well as prioritizes your client's health.
It’s always important to be comfortable in your surroundings, as this will translate to the clients that you see. Ideally, it is always recommended to stick with your therapy room, which presumably, is a light and inviting space. However, we acknowledge that this isn’t always possible, and that if you need to seek an alternative, it should also emphasize a warm and intimate atmosphere. Appearances do matter for online sessions, just as much as in-person.
Make sure that you are always honest with your clients, as the camera may not capture everything that you’re doing. For instance, if you start a session, it’s best to show the client the room to reassure them that the meeting is confidential and that no one else is in there. Additionally, if you take physical notes, tell your client that you are doing so. Building trust is key within professional relationships, and being transparent is one of the best ways to do so.
Naturally, when working with technology, you may encounter some technical difficulties. Technology can be a finicky system, and it isn’t infallible 100% of the time. For instance, your platform may not be compatible with the browser you typically use, or some updates may need to be installed in order to function. Regardless, make sure you set up a time to check that all the technology is working to avoid wasting time in your sessions.
One of the most important aspects of setting up an online counseling session, is ensuring that you are HIPAA compliant. This means that you have the appropriate security measures and systems in place that significantly reduce the risk of information being hacked or leaked. Only authorized users should have access to relevant information, and virus safeguards should be in place to constantly protect client data. Failure to do so could result in significant legal repercussions, which affect your billing processes.
Your client deserves your full attention, especially when it comes to the discussion of sensitive issues. As a result, you need to make sure that you are on do not disturb mode, and that you aren’t easily distracted by your environment.
When it comes to online counseling services, there are various formats you could consider implementing, with each having its own respective benefits.
Through audio, you can communicate with your clients, and simply have a chat over the phone. This can be a highly convenient option for synchronous contact.
Because you can type information, you can spend time thinking of responses that you truly want to say, and sustain conversations and contact over a long period of time.
Written messages provide a great way to immediately contact clients, with a chat history record of all points of communication. It’s highly convenient and allows you to connect instantaneously.
Video-based methods are an excellent way to see your clients without having to maintain physical distance. You can immediately connect without having to wait for responses, and it allows you to chat how you would normally.
Information could also be exchanged through social network platforms, which make for a highly convenient option when considering that most clients utilize social media in one way or another.
With virtual or cloud computing, all communication records can be stored online at minimal cost, and with highly secure safeguarding systems.
As briefly touched on, when it comes to online counseling sessions, you must ensure that you’re HIPAA compliant and consistently protecting client data and information. You must implement the right safety protocols that prioritize client health, and contain the right antivirus software to prevent data leaks and hacks that can severely impact your counseling services. Failure to comply with HIPAA protocol can result in high legal costs, which can damage your reputation, liability, and accountability. Especially considering reviews from your counseling patients, you must ensure that you are in an appropriate business agreement (BAA) that fulfills international standards and regulations. Upholding ethics is an absolute must when it comes to online counseling sessions, and you must make every effort to ensure your protocol is up-to-scratch. Clients need to be assured that their data is protected, and at minimal risk of leakage to external parties.
Online counseling sessions have a lot involved in their operations, and it takes a considerable amount of research to effectively implement them within your services. However, with the help of this guide, you’re sure to be on your way to increasing customer satisfaction, lowering costs, and elevating the quality of your counseling practice overall. Providing clients with the convenient option of communicating from any time and place will provide immeasurable value to your practice, and enable you to broaden your clientele and expertise when it comes to healthcare delivery.
Further reading:
