How Do We Get Started?

Participating in telemental health and wellness services has lots of benefits:  

• An increased level of confidentiality. 
• More convenient scheduling options including location and time.
• Reduction in the overall cost and time of therapy due to not having to drive to and from an office. 

But there are also limitations that need to be considered:

• We need to be on video because I need to see you, your body language, or your non-verbal reactions to what we are discussing. 
• Due to technology limitations I may not hear all of what you are saying and may need to ask you to repeat things.
• We may get disconnected because technology might fail before or during our session.
• Although every effort is made to reduce confidentiality breaches, breaches may occur for various reasons, like a patients participation in a non-private space where others may hear what is discussed. 

To reduce the effect of these limitations, I may ask you to describe how you are feeling, thinking, and/or acting in more detail than I would during a face-to-face session. You may also feel that you need to describe your feelings, thoughts, and/or actions in more detail than you would during a face-to-face session.