Teletherapy

Teletherapy is available to provide services to individuals in Eastern Ontario and surrounding areas.

According to the Ontario Psychological Association (2015), telepsychology (i.e., teletherapy) is defined as follows:

The provision of psychological services using telecommunication technologies that allow for the preparation, transmission, communication of processing of personal health information by electronic means. These technologies may include telephone, mobile devices, videoconferencing, email, text, chat, and internet-based services (e.g., social media) (p. 3).

As with face-to-face therapy, teletherapy will allow the planning of therapeutic activities and the sharing of strategies that will meet the needs of individuals. It is important that you be informed of the benefits and inconvenients/risks to be considered for its use so that you can make an informed decision about what is in your or your child’s/adolescent’s best interests.

Benefits:

• Therapy can be performed while practising social distancing (i.e., in pandemic times).
• Most children and adolescents are “experts” in digital communication and enjoy using technology. 
• It does not require travel and therefore allows more time to accomplish other tasks at home.
• Services can be provided anonymously in the comfort of your own home (i.e., not have to wait in the waiting room and to arrange for a babysitter, if necessary).
• Services can accommodate people with physical needs.

Inconvenients/Risks: 

• Data and confidentiality may be breached. 
• Technological difficulties (e.g., slow Internet connection, communication delays, etc.) can make sessions more stressful or less personal.
• Interpreting body language can be more complex.

During the first session, the steps that are used to mitigate these risks will be discussed with you. Your questions will also be answered.

How teletherapy works 

• The platform used for teletherapy is Owl, which is secured. 
• Thirty-minutes before the teletherapy session, the link will be activated.
• At the time of the session, you will click on the link. The session will begin.
• During the teletherapy session, if you are expelled or if you lose audio, try to disconnect from the session and then reconnect.

For more information on practical considerations for teletherapy, please see the document in the ¨Resources¨ section.