During COVID, we were forced to get used to doing our health appointments by phone and video, due to fear of infection and lockdowns. Since COVID times and the return of face to face appointments, there are two main “camps” of people. Those who swear by it…….. and those who don’t.
Here at The Psych Professionals, we thought we would bust some myths about telehealth psychological services and weigh in on it’s effectiveness.
There is a growing body of research that supports the effectiveness of telehealth psychology (including both phone and video sessions). Here are some key findings:
Is Phone & Virtual Psychology Effective?
Telehealth therapy can be just as effective as face-to-face therapy
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 studies found that telehealth therapy is just as effective as face-to-face therapy for a range of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. This means that, after reviewing all the studies, the main take away was that there was little or no difference between the outcomes related to face to face therapy, as there was to telehealth psychology.
Telehealth therapy can improve access to care
Telehealth can increase access to mental health care for individuals who have difficulty accessing in-person therapy, meaning that people are able to not only able to access more frequent sessions (positively impacting on their results), but also often able to get appointments sooner, as they can avoid long waiting lists.
Telehealth therapy is cost-effective
Research has shown that telehealth therapy can reduce costs associated with mental health care, such as travel expenses, parking costs and missed work days.
People like telehealth!
Studies have found that people generally find telehealth therapy to be satisfying, and some even prefer it over in-person therapy. The claims that you “can’t connect” to your psychologist over telehealth are false! Remember, psychologists are trained in not only the provision of therapy, but also how to engage and support their clients using a number of different ways.
Telehealth therapy can be effective across different modalities
Telehealth therapy can be delivered using different modalities, including video conferencing, phone calls, and messaging platforms. Studies have shown that each type can be effective for different types of mental health concerns.
So if you are waiting for psychological therapy, and haven’t yet made the jump, now is the time! The Psych Professionals have psychologists who ONLY offer telehealth sessions, making this their special interest and passion. If you want to know more about telehealth sessions or to book in with one of our team, give our Client Relationships Team a call today on 07 3801 1772.