Telepsychology (and Online Internet service delivery) Resources

The term telepsychology will be used inclusively on this page to include providing psychotherapy and psychological assessment and testing using various electronic means such as videoconferencing, teleconferencing and telephone therapy, psychotherapy and counseling over the internet through various software packages with or without a video camera or webcam, counseling via email or internet chat, using social networking sites like myspace and facebook, etc. This is a draft of a resource page that is under development (therefore underdeveloped ;) Planned developmenta include Telepsychology definitions, a discussion of the term cyberpsychology, online internet service delivery, media psychology, The use of technology for rural psychological solutions, considerations regarding a low income population, the use of diverse media with an exploration of the different limitations (as well as positives) of each one, research and opinions on the proper use of the telephone in different contexts (as well as e-mail and other tools like Electronic Videoconferencing and teleconferencing, online chat- text based and video,instant messaging (IM), socialnetworking and web based applications, etc.). *Please note this is a draft webpage that I am currently working on, please feel free to use what I have up here now, however and check back again. Let me know of anything you think should be included on the site by emailing me at toddfinnerty@toddfinnerty.com. thanks.

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Telepsychology Guidelines and Ethics pages

Published guidelines and other ethical considerations in regards to telepsychology.

Discussion on Telepsychology, Cyperpsychology and the APA ethics code (as well as a look at the ethics codes of other disciplines)

APA STATEMENT ON SERVICES BY TELEPHONE, TELECONFERENCING, AND INTERNET

National Board for Certified Counselors The Practice of Internet Counseling offers definitions and standards for the ethical practice of internet counseling

Dr. Ken Pope's website has lots of great ethics resources.

International Society for Mental Health Online created Suggested Principles for the Online Provision of Mental Health Services.

Ohio Psychological Association TelePsychology Guideline- April 12, 2008as well as this presentation Telepsychology Guidelines Development powerpoint presentation

Information on TelePsychology from the California State Board of Psychology (Department of consumer affairs).

HIPAA, Laws, government reports and Polcies

legal concerns, insurance policy coverage for telepsychology services, etc.

APA Division 42 update about the HIPAA security rule

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) 2001 Report to Congress on Telemedicine

Relevant Research Studies, Journals and Articles

CyberPsychology and Behavior journal

Ethical Issues in Providing Online Psychotherapeutic Interventions Craig A Childress; full text available.

The Practical Aspects of Online Counseling The Counseling Psychologist, Vol. 33, No. 6, 776-818 (2005)

Recent Advances in Telepsychiatry: An Updated Review

older (1997) article- You can't do Psychotherapy on the Net (yet)

Koocher and Morray, 2000; Recupero, P., & Rainey, S.E. (2005). Forensic aspects of E-therapy. Journal of Psychiatric Practice, 11, 405-410 Ritterband, L.M., Gonder-Frederick, LA, Cox, D.J., Clifton, A.D., West, R.W., & Borowitz, S.M. (2003). Inernet interventions: In review, in use, and into the future. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 34, 527-534 Shaw, H.E., & Shaw, SF (2006). Critical ethical issues in online counseling: Assessing current practices with an ethical intent checklist. Journal of Counseling & Development, 84, 41-53.

Additional references on internet-assisted therapy and counseling

Relevant Continuing Education Courses

Telehealth: Ethics, Legal and Clinical Issues Jeffrey E. Barnett, Psy.D. and Ofer Zur, Ph.D.; 6 APA approved CE credits.

Therapy in Cyberspace: Law and Ethics, Myths and Realities, Technical Difficulties, Formulations and Processes of an Online Clinical Practice by Michael Fenichel, Ph.D.

Ethics for Psychologists in Medical Settings is a 3 credit ethics course with only a small section on telemedicine, e-therapy and Web-Based Treatment Interventions (WBTI). The text is available without purchasing the CE credits and it is a worthwhile read to skim through as a cautionary tale to not just jump right in.

The Psychology of Cyberspace, PsyBC administers a number of CE credits based on articles related to Cyberpsychology There are a number of articles here available to review for free.

AATBS Offers a number of very inexpensive online CE programs focusing on empirically supported treatments for various disorders. The empirically validated treatment series focuses on psychosocial interventions which are supported by research evidence.

Find More CE's at this online continuing education directory for Psychologists and other mental health professionals.

General Telepsychology Resources

CyberPsychology

Telehealth .net

Psychology of Cyberspace Online Book

Potential "Case Studies"

Many of these are Websites offering online counseling or psychological services.

Directories and Organizations

American Association of Online Psychotherapists

Metanoia .org

National Directory of Online Counselors

Websites that include offers for text based e-mail counseling, psychotherapy or consultation

Listings here are for informational purposes, Dr. Finnerty does not endorse or recommend going to these websites, I include them simply as examples of people practicing on the net:

There was a site at www.shrinkadvice.com as well as a myspace user by the same shrinkadvice.com name, but it appears to have shutdown and the myspace account cancelled as of 8/23/08. I did keep some info on the site and will keep an eye on it if you have some interest in it or you could contact the Michigan state board of Psychology who also likely has information on the site if you had concerns about it during the period of registration 11/15/06-11/15/08. It looks like the domain may have been cancelled and may expire earlier than 11/08, however, as of 8/23/08.

Psychology .com (Which according to this article is owned by a socialworker (there are multiple counselors, though, apparently)

Online Therapy Institute

ask the internet therapist .com"

A professor at "Cosmopolitan University" is offering e-mail advice for a price ("used to be free") reportedly as part of a research study.

Email therapy online with Dr. Carrie

Michele Lane advertises telephone counseling/ psychotherapy. Its interesting that her website notes about "Anonymity" that "For a variety of reasons, some clients wish to keep their identity secret. To facilitate communication, it is a good idea to get an email address that does not reveal your identity to me. Among the possibilities are Yahoo Mail, Hot Mail, and Gmail that provide email at no cost."

Complete Counseling Solutions looks like for a limited time you can get a free webcam with purchase.

Daphne Stevens offers on-line therapy via e-mail

General Internet Resouces and Discussions

Discussions and links to important resources in internet security for individuals performing or considering providing online counseling or psychotherapy services are on the way, with some of the highlights related to topics like: the hipaa security rule, record keeping, e-mail security, adware, virii, virus, spyware, trojans, key keystroke logging, phishing, malware, zeus kit, metaphisher kit, encryption technology, PGP, public-key public key encryption, signatures, https, secure servers, secure connections, storage of e-mail records, sending of email or web-based faxes, handles and hidden identity on email addresses, anyonymous remailers for email and remailer services which let people hide their identities, anyonymous phone calls- location of person in the event of a crisis- 911, location of the person you are practicing with out of the area/jurisdiction of your license, port scanner, IP trace, IP address lookup, whois who is domain name registration, etc. You wouldn't dream of submitting a credit card that wasn't over a secure connection- how about protected health information? information security for online psychotherapists.