Teletherapy/Telepsychology at Arbor Psychology Group

A developing area of psychological service provision is teletherapy, or telepsychology. The American Psychological Association defines this type of service as “the provision of psychological services using telecommunications technology. Telecommunications is the preparation, transmission, communication, or related processing of information.” This may include use of telephones, mobile devices, and interactive videoconferencing. For more information, please see the recently updated “Guidelines for the Practice of Telepsychology” from the American Psychological Association.

In light of recent global health concerns related to COVID-19, Arbor Psychology Group, PLLC has developed a telehealth program where you can receive your counseling/therapy services via telecommunications technology.

We have worked hard over the past few days to make sure that our telecommunications platform is convenient, easy to use, and of course HIPAA compliant. As always, your confidentiality is of utmost importance to us.

We have been notified from the insurance carries we participate with (BCBS and BCN) that teletherapy is a covered benefit under many plans. We have also been notified that some health insurance companies are being proactive and allowing telehealth services to be provided, even if your plan does not normally allow this; however, as always, please contact your insurance carrier for details about your individual plan.

Your APG Clinician will go over all of the potential benefits and risks associated with teletherapy/telepsychology during your first appointment, though please keep in mind that any form of telecommunications is not the right solution for you if any of the following is true:

• You have thoughts of hurting yourself or others
• You are in an urgent crisis or an emergency situation
• You have been diagnosed with a severe mental illness, or if you have been advised to be in psychological supervision or psychiatric care
• You were required to undergo therapy or counseling either by a court order or by any other authority
• You do not have a device that can connect to the Internet or you do not have a reliable Internet connection

If you have any questions regarding your rights as they pertain to teletherapy/telepsychology, please review our teletherapy/telepsychology informed consent form here.