Are Telephone & Video Sessions Effective?

This is an amazing time of transformation in addiction treatment. To an increasing extent new addiction studies are becoming accessible almost daily, and many advances continue to be made in the treatment of addiction and supportive medication that may contribute to you in your change. Millions of "telehealth" appointments (including phone and video sessions) are utilized every year through a broad variety of mental health and medical services. Evidence is showing these services are equal or even better than face to face in-person services. Sometimes people feel a bit awkward to meet by video, though most of my client’s report it’s more soothing and less tense than coming into an office on when having a first visit. One or two sessions and client’s state that it would be difficult to imagine meeting one to one the traditional way. 

Here are some of the additional benefits of meeting by phone or video?

• Lower overhead = lower fees.

• It’s easy to have a session during a lunch hour.

• No wasting time in traffic that depletes your gas.

• You'll never see someone you know from your personal life or work by chance.

• Access to key services no matter where you are.

• You will have my quality service while on travel, business trips, vacation or at school.

• There will be no more barriers for those without vehicles. or who are disabled.

Here are some great articles on the effectiveness of telehealth services:

"Does psychotherapy via the Internet work? Clinical researchers from the University of Zurich have studied whether online psychotherapy and conventional face-to-face therapy are equally effective"  

Psychotherapy via internet as good as if not better than face-to-face consultations

Does Online Therapy Actually Work? University finding great success with online anxiety treatment (Article) Online therapy can be just as effective as in-person treatment. “There are a number of studies looking at telemedicine for different kinds of disorders and they tend to be amazingly effective,” Mary Ann Dutton, professor and vice chair for research in the department of psychology at Georgetown University Medical Center, told The Huffington Post.

Online therapy is as Effective as face to face Therapy (Article) 

A growing wave of online therapy. “The growth in online therapy companies—nearly a dozen have launched in the last several years—doesn't surprise Lindsay Henderson, PsyD, Assistant Director of Psychological services at a Boston-based telehealth company offers therapy through video conferencing. The ease and convenience of scheduling a therapy appointment online and talking with a therapist from the privacy of one's own home—or wherever one may be—is a huge draw for consumers, many of whom are seeking therapy for the first time in their lives,”

A growing wave of online therapy (Article)

One for All: Internet-Based Therapies May Relieve Anxiety Symptoms for Many People. “To investigate these questions, Dr. Johanna Schröder and her colleagues13 at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf in Hamburg, Germany, examined 179 adults with anxiety to study the effectiveness of ConfID, a German iCBT program. Participants were randomly assigned to receive treatment either from ConfID or a wait-list control. “

The Internet Expands Treatment's Reach