Erin Bouchard
The convenience and security of teletherapy services can be a game-changer for clients unable to attend regular sessions.
Teletherapy offers accessibility and convenience for clients. Clients are likely to feel comfortable and relaxed in their own environment, which allows for increased engagement and in turn, better therapeutic rapport. Also, clients have more flexibility with their scheduling appointments since there is no factoring in travel time or dodging heavy traffic times. Regardless of a client’s location, they can get the care they need. “A 2019 analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that nearly 40% of Americans live in areas with critical shortages of mental health professionals, with poor and rural areas suffering the most (Weiderhold, 2020, p. 1). The convenience factor for rural communities that have very few service providers and public transportation is especially salient.
Regarding depression and anxiety, the two most prevalent mental health struggles, a report by the American Psychological Association shows teletherapy to be just as effective as traditional, in-person therapy (American Council on Education (ACE)), 2023). In a review published in World Journal of Psychiatry, clients who received mental health treatment through a video teletherapy platform, reported high levels of satisfaction (ACE, 2023).
Across the board, there has been growth in mental health services in 2023, but there has been a notable increase in virtual visits among groups who have not been known for taking advantage of mental health care in the past- namely men, patients over the age of 65, and Medicaid clients (Landi, 2023). Male teletherapy sessions have been outpacing women since 2020, with a 79% growth since January 2020, versus 75% for women (Landi, 2023). Especially notable are patients over sixty-five, who have seen their teletherapy visits increase 16% since June 2023 (Landi, 2023). Medicaid members with access to teletherapy mental health services more than doubled (Landi, 2023).
Teletherapy can be great platform for social anxiety sufferers, which often times is triggered by sharing physical spaces with other people, and the prevalence of social anxiety disorder is increasing (Rich, 2023). “Approximately 15 million adults in the United States are diagnosed with social anxiety disorder every year, totaling about 7.1% of the population” (Rich, 2023, p. 2). Teletherapy is also a winning therapy platform when it comes to confidentiality. There are still certain populations and cultures that feel public stigma when it comes to seeking mental health services, and for those people, there is more risk of getting caught walking to or from a counseling facility than doing teletherapy from their private homes (Fernbach & Papapatros, 2022).
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/cyber.2020.29196.editorial https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Critical-Considerations-Teletherapy-Vendor.pdf https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/demand-for-virtual-mental-health-soaring-here-are-notable-trends-who-using-it-and-why https://www.psychology.org/resources/virtual-therapy-vs-in-person/ https://seattleanxiety.com/psychiatrist/2023/2/24/exploring-the-recent-rise-of-social-anxiety-disorder
https://behavioralhealthnews.org/increased-access-to-telehealth-as-a-means-of-reducing-stigma/
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