TELE-THERAPY
Tele-Therapy
In 1972, at a conference in California, there was a simulated psychotherapy session between two computers—one at Stamford and one at UCLA. This was the beginning. It was not long after that self-help groups began forming on the computer. Now, computers are everywhere. People work at home on computers, people attend conferences all over the world while sitting at home in front of their computer and tele-therapy has come into its own. The pandemic necessarily has pushed tele-therapy into the world of therapy.
Tele-therapy is not like in-session therapy. It is different-- like apples and oranges. Both are good, just different. And like apples and oranges, there are good points to both.
Tele-Therapy Is Available Throughout New York State
The good points to tele-therapy
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You are at home and can write off an e mail to your therapist at any time—night or day.
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Via face time or zoom, you can be in the comfort of your own home and talk to your therapist as though s/he were in a therapy room.
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When you put your thoughts into the written word, there is often a deeper exploration into the issues that are of concern to you.
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Tele-therapy can be just as confidential as in-session therapy and in some situations even more so. There is no worry about people seeing you at your therapist's office. Managed care is not involved so you don't have to worry about the managed care clerk knowing the intimate details of your life, etc.
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Tele-therapy can be less expensive than in session therapy.
Is Tele-Therapy for me?
If you are in a severe crisis or are considering hurting yourself, then online therapy may not for you. In this case, it would be good for you to go to your local hospital emergency room or to call a therapist and ask for help.
Tele-therapy is appropriate for you if ...
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you have a relationship and/or family issue
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you are having anxiety or depression that is not of a crisis level
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you are experiencing parent-teen conflict, separation, divorce, blended family issues
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you are coping with illness or disability
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you have bereavement issues, or
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if you want help with an issue you are struggling with.
In these cases, then tele-therapy may be for you.
Also, in order to do tele-therapy, you have to be comfortable with the Internet and typing on the keyboard.
Please do NOT send us any information about your situation until arrangements have been made with your consultant-therapist. We will try to respond to you within 24 hours. This response time might be slightly longer over weekends.
Please keep in mind that we are NOT a crisis intervention hotline and cannot respond to any request that is urgent.
Suggested Resources
Tele-therapy might be good for you if…
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you have trouble leaving your home due to disability, care-giving responsibilities, or some other reason.
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you live in an area where there are few or no licensed helping professionals such as psychologists, mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists and/or social workers.
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you live in a community where you are uncomfortable revealing the fact that you wish to go to therapy.
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you are too busy to schedule appointments and go to weekly sessions in a therapist's office.
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your work schedule varies each week and you don’t have scheduling flexibility to make weekly appointments.
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you are deaf or hard of hearing and feel more comfortable typing with your therapist. Or if you are blind and face to face contact with a therapist is not important to you.
How to Arrange an Tele-Therapy
To start an e tele-therapy session or an mail session, first send me an e mail listing specific information and making payment arrangements (jatwood@optonline.net).
Frequently Asked Questions
What about confidentiality?
I will protect your name, address, and information the same as I would if you were coming to therapy in my office. No one else will see any information that you have written to me or I have written to you. You need to protect your files at your end. Sending e mails over the internet may be intercepted by hackers but this is highly unlikely.MFT NY will not sell, give or trade your e mail or personal information to a third party.
As applied to face to face therapy sessions, the same procedures apply to on-line therapy. No information will be released unless you have provided me with written consent, or if there are threats to your safety or the safety of
others, such as a child protection issue, or suicidal or homicidal thoughts.
How old do I have to be?
You must be over 18 years of age.
How long does tele-therapy last?
That depends on you. You decide when the issue that you started therapy for is worked through and you decide when you want to stop therapy. You can stop therapy at any time. It may be a one time consultation or a series of on-line or e-mail sessions. It is up to you to decide what is helpful.
How quickly will I get a response?
Within 24 hours.
What are the costs?
All payments are made in advance. Therapy sessions lasting 60 minutes are $100. Half hour sessions (30 minutes) are also available ($50). Sessions are defined by how long the sessions last on face time or zoom or it takes me to read your e mail and how long it takes to write back to you.