GENERAL COURSE DESCRIPTION Telehealth, TeleMentalHealth, E-Counseling or E-Therapy may encompass the practices of not only those providing avatar or phone therapy, but also the use of video-conferencing, emails, chats, or texts with clients. Many therapists came of age and trained before the era of widespread technology – and many more, who trained in the digital era, simply did not receive instruction in the areas of legal, ethical, and clinical aspects of telehealth. Indeed, these areas are continually developing. The ethics and protocol for digital communication are growing rapidly as new technologies come out every day. This course brings the most current information from telehealth experts in the wide and varied areas of telehealth, telemedicine, and related ethical, technological, practice, and other considerations. With clients in rural areas, prisons, clients who do not wish to be seen walking into a therapist's office, clients who find frequent-intermittent communication more useful than a weekly block of time, clients who feel freer to connect in text form than face-to-face - all of these populations, and more, can benefit from receiving telehealth services. While many in the field of psychotherapy have resistance to telehealth, consider that we as a society have been using crisis phone lines for dozens of years and in so doing have saved thousands of lives. These crisis phone lines are a version of telehealth. Consider the homebound patient or the LGBT youth living in a homophobic environment; these and millions of other people may go without mental health services rather than seek them out face-to-face. Finally, we have the issue of culture. Digital natives are accustomed to seamlessly transitioning between work, play, and personal development. A static face-to-face session that occurs no matter what the week brings runs contrary to the Web 2.0 culture of spontaneity and flexibility. This Introductory level course includes seven engaging and informative audio interviews and several articles. The first section includes three audio interviews: Dr. Ofer Zur on an overview of telehealth issues, Dr. William Doverspike on the ethics of telehealth, and Dr. Larry Drude on telehealth guidelines and other e-therapy ethical considerations. This section also includes an in-depth introductory article by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on the provision of telehealth services. The second section includes six content-rich short articles on telehealth, Skype, HIPAA, conducting therapy across state lines, reimbursement, and other pressing issues. The third section discusses issues related to the delivery of telehealth services. It includes audio interviews with Jay Ostrowski, MA, LPC and Willie Miska on the logistical, technological, and practice aspects of providing telehealth services. The fourth section discusses online marketing and social media issues and includes audio interviews with marketing experts Dr. Joe Bavonese and Casey Truffo, MFT. The fifth section is composed of a single, in-depth article on the psychotherapy of cyberspace, with telehealth scholar Dr. John Suler. The sixth section includes information on telehealth ethics and regulations, with work by the Canadian Psychological Association. This section includes relevant codes of ethics, relevant state laws, and a sample telehealth disclosure form. And finally, the course includes a comprehensive resources list for more information.

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