I am always on the lookout for new opportunities and exciting options through which to share my mission of promoting positive mental health. I have been a psychotherapist for over 31 years. Working with adolescents has taught me many things, foremost among which is to expect the unexpected and be open to whatever is happening in the digital world. And it’s not like I’m a dinosaur who’s ignored trends in the digital world, but when did texting become the new form of talking, and can it possibly be an effective form of communication? For therapists?
Along came Talkspace (TS), a highly sophisticated digital therapy platform which provides for communication with clients through audio and/or video messaging and live video sessions. I thought it was an opportunity, but even more so, a resource, I could not ignore. The “on-boarding” process, as it is called, required a significant commitment including providing my professional credentials, proof of liability insurance and completion of their comprehensive Talkspace University+ training, so that I could understand and effectively use their digital platform. Yes, it is HIPAA compliant.
Clients provide informed consent along with emergency contact information. One hopes to never have to use the emergency contacts, yet it is reassuring to have them readily available, if needed. Talkspace handles all financial transactions, including insurance, private pay and EAP (employee assistance program) fees. Clients are paired with therapists or can choose their own clinician. They complete a general application outlining their presenting problem(s) which triggers an assessment designed to establish a baseline of the frequency and or intensity of the presenting problem(s). Once client and therapist are paired, the therapeutic relationship begins. Rapport building beings and expectations related to frequency and mode of communication are agreed upon. For me, it involves five twice-daily visits to my “room” each week. The client has 24/7 access to their “client room” which is where we maintain contact. The relationship can form surprisingly quickly compared to some of the typical live sessions I have had in my on-ground or in-school clinical work.
Has it been significantly different for me from the traditional face-to-face therapy that I have practiced for so long? Yes and no! The convenience for myself and my clients is incredible. If you have an iPhone or iPad with a wireless connection, you can provide psychotherapy through the Talkspace platform. Italy, here I come! Yes, that does make it sound easy, however just as I have in my on-ground office, it has been important to trust in and use the experience I have accumulated to read through the message in the messages. Do I miss the nonverbal cues? Well, yes! This introduces the challenge of asking additional questions that I might not otherwise ask in my face-to-face work. For example, “What are your feelings about this? How are you processing all of this?” Yes, you ask these questions in face-to-face therapy, however it is typically more in the flow while you are reading the client’s nonverbal cues that insight into their feelings is acquired.
Most of us do not audiotape/review our sessions, we use notes and memory, right? Think about what YOU use to recollect your session. The nature of this digital therapeutic communication is very similar to in-person communication, but the entire exchange is right there on the screen. Client and therapist can read re-read the entire communication. This has allowed me to use the CBT model with greater impact. I encourage my TS clients to reread and review some of our previous messages to reinforce interventions, sometimes cutting and pasting in order to highlight and reinforce a concept. Here is an example of part of an interchange I had with a client:
Client: “I value my friends a lot and I genuinely do whatever I can to make them feel as good as I can get them to be.”
Me: “I am wondering if you can apply that thought/ideal to yourself. I value me a lot and genuinely do whatever I can to make me feel as good as I can for myself. How would that statement/thought feel? Try it on.”
Of course, I asked my client permission to use this. Within my message to ask permission, I once again copied and pasted the previous message for the client—an effective way of reinforcing and restructuring some of the negative thinking that occurs for her. One of the advantages of this platform is the ability to go back with accuracy to reinforce while highlighting the possibility of change. Additionally, I like the use of visuals in therapy such as the CBT triangle (thought, behavior, emotion), but as yet, it has been a challenge to bring these into the Talkspace room. I’ll get there.
The one constant in life, and no less in my evolving professional role, is change. Talkspace has challenged my preconceived ideas about digital therapy and enabled me to bring my clinical skills into the digital sphere. I welcome the research and data to support this work. I recently asked one of my digital international clients to articulate their experience with me on Talkspace. She said, “I don’t know if this could be of any use, but face-to-face therapy here in Saudi Arabia is really limited…I was faced with ignorance and people didn’t know how to handle me.” She continued, “With Talkspace, I truly felt heard and comforted in ways I couldn’t in face-to-face therapy. I’m sure professionals here are extremely good at what they do, but I was blessed to have you as my therapist and like I’m taking a huge step into bettering myself.”
Face-to-face and digital therapy both include rapport building, the establishment of baseline through careful assessment, the development of treatment goals, the creation and implementation of interventions and assessment of treatment outcome. Talkspace has brought me and my therapy room to clients who I, more than likely, would never have had the opportunity to work with. The clinical effectiveness, affordability and accessibility of Talkspace have worked for both me and my clients, allowing me to continue my mission to promote positive mental health. Therapy is not about a room, it is about creating a space for connection and healing. Welcome to the new therapy room.
File under: Therapy & Technology, Online Therapy
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Along came Talkspace (TS), a highly sophisticated digital therapy platform which provides for communication with clients through audio and/or video messaging and live video sessions. I thought it was an opportunity, but even more so, a resource, I could not ignore. The “on-boarding” process, as it is called, required a significant commitment including providing my professional credentials, proof of liability insurance and completion of their comprehensive Talkspace University+ training, so that I could understand and effectively use their digital platform. Yes, it is HIPAA compliant.
Clients provide informed consent along with emergency contact information. One hopes to never have to use the emergency contacts, yet it is reassuring to have them readily available, if needed. Talkspace handles all financial transactions, including insurance, private pay and EAP (employee assistance program) fees. Clients are paired with therapists or can choose their own clinician. They complete a general application outlining their presenting problem(s) which triggers an assessment designed to establish a baseline of the frequency and or intensity of the presenting problem(s). Once client and therapist are paired, the therapeutic relationship begins. Rapport building beings and expectations related to frequency and mode of communication are agreed upon. For me, it involves five twice-daily visits to my “room” each week. The client has 24/7 access to their “client room” which is where we maintain contact. The relationship can form surprisingly quickly compared to some of the typical live sessions I have had in my on-ground or in-school clinical work.
Has it been significantly different for me from the traditional face-to-face therapy that I have practiced for so long? Yes and no! The convenience for myself and my clients is incredible. If you have an iPhone or iPad with a wireless connection, you can provide psychotherapy through the Talkspace platform. Italy, here I come! Yes, that does make it sound easy, however just as I have in my on-ground office, it has been important to trust in and use the experience I have accumulated to read through the message in the messages. Do I miss the nonverbal cues? Well, yes! This introduces the challenge of asking additional questions that I might not otherwise ask in my face-to-face work. For example, “What are your feelings about this? How are you processing all of this?” Yes, you ask these questions in face-to-face therapy, however it is typically more in the flow while you are reading the client’s nonverbal cues that insight into their feelings is acquired.
Most of us do not audiotape/review our sessions, we use notes and memory, right? Think about what YOU use to recollect your session. The nature of this digital therapeutic communication is very similar to in-person communication, but the entire exchange is right there on the screen. Client and therapist can read re-read the entire communication. This has allowed me to use the CBT model with greater impact. I encourage my TS clients to reread and review some of our previous messages to reinforce interventions, sometimes cutting and pasting in order to highlight and reinforce a concept. Here is an example of part of an interchange I had with a client:
Client: “I value my friends a lot and I genuinely do whatever I can to make them feel as good as I can get them to be.”
Me: “I am wondering if you can apply that thought/ideal to yourself. I value me a lot and genuinely do whatever I can to make me feel as good as I can for myself. How would that statement/thought feel? Try it on.”
Of course, I asked my client permission to use this. Within my message to ask permission, I once again copied and pasted the previous message for the client—an effective way of reinforcing and restructuring some of the negative thinking that occurs for her. One of the advantages of this platform is the ability to go back with accuracy to reinforce while highlighting the possibility of change. Additionally, I like the use of visuals in therapy such as the CBT triangle (thought, behavior, emotion), but as yet, it has been a challenge to bring these into the Talkspace room. I’ll get there.
The one constant in life, and no less in my evolving professional role, is change. Talkspace has challenged my preconceived ideas about digital therapy and enabled me to bring my clinical skills into the digital sphere. I welcome the research and data to support this work. I recently asked one of my digital international clients to articulate their experience with me on Talkspace. She said, “I don’t know if this could be of any use, but face-to-face therapy here in Saudi Arabia is really limited…I was faced with ignorance and people didn’t know how to handle me.” She continued, “With Talkspace, I truly felt heard and comforted in ways I couldn’t in face-to-face therapy. I’m sure professionals here are extremely good at what they do, but I was blessed to have you as my therapist and like I’m taking a huge step into bettering myself.”
Face-to-face and digital therapy both include rapport building, the establishment of baseline through careful assessment, the development of treatment goals, the creation and implementation of interventions and assessment of treatment outcome. Talkspace has brought me and my therapy room to clients who I, more than likely, would never have had the opportunity to work with. The clinical effectiveness, affordability and accessibility of Talkspace have worked for both me and my clients, allowing me to continue my mission to promote positive mental health. Therapy is not about a room, it is about creating a space for connection and healing. Welcome to the new therapy room.
File under: Therapy & Technology, Online Therapy