Telemental health

Telemental health is the process of providing traditional mental health services through digital means, such as through video conferencing applications, text messaging, or voice calls. It was greatly popularized during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020, during which travel restrictions made in-person mental healthcare services impractical or impossible. Many services, such as psychotherapy, diagnostics, and counseling, have subsequently been offered digitally in addition to in-person. This provides a more convenient experience for patients, who may access medical services without leaving their homes. However, carrying out confidential communications through unsecured digital services may make patients more vulnerable to invasions of their privacy. Additionally, some insurance providers offer different levels of coverage for in-person treatments and telemental health treatments.

Background

Mental health is the measure of someone’s psychological, social, and emotional health. It affects many parts of people’s lives, including their decision-making skills, stress levels, and interpersonal relationships. Mental health begins in early childhood, when young children first experience emotions and develop personal coping skills. It remains an important consideration throughout the entirety of humans’ lives.

Many people experience mental illnesses or mental health conditions. These disorders can make maintaining a healthy mental state much more difficult. They may also cause individuals afflicted with the disorders significant emotional suffering, elevated levels of stress, difficulty accomplishing tasks, and many other negative effects. Some mental health conditions are caused by biological differences in the body, particularly differences in brain chemistry. These conditions may be genetic, meaning that they have the potential to reoccur throughout a family line. Other mental health conditions may be caused by trauma and abuse. Still, other mental health conditions can be caused by physical injuries, most commonly including head trauma. Common mental health conditions include depression, anxiety disorders, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Many people with mental health conditions seek mental healthcare to alleviate their symptoms or address the roots of their concerns. Because of the wide variety of mental health conditions that affect people throughout the world, mental healthcare must be tailored to individual patients. Though self-diagnosis can be a useful tool, most treatment plans begin with a detailed diagnosis from a mental health professional.

Mental health conditions can be treated through a variety of medical practices. Psychotherapy involves the exploration of thoughts, memories, feelings, and behaviors to gradually create an increased sense of emotional well-being for the patient. It may also teach patients specialized coping skills to better manage the symptoms of their illness. Common forms of psychotherapy include dialectical behavior therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and exposure therapy.

Many mental health professionals treat mental illnesses by prescribing specialized medications. Medications cannot cure mental illnesses. However, they are often capable of reducing the severity of a patient’s symptoms. Many mental health professionals prescribe both medication and psychotherapy, giving the patient multiple means to pursue improved mental health. In particularly severe cases, patients may undergo hospitalization for mental illness. During hospitalization, patients can be closely monitored by medical staff, ensuring that they can be accurately diagnosed in a safe, secure environment.

Overview

Telemental health refers to the use of telecommunications tools when providing mental health services to patients. Traditionally, mental health services were provided on an in-person basis. For example, psychotherapy sessions typically involved personal meetings between patients and mental health professionals. However, modern technology now allows for high-quality, convenient digital communication between medical professionals and their patients. This allows mental health professionals to provide patients with some services through voice calls or various video conferencing platforms.

Telemental health rapidly increased in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020. Localized travel restrictions intended to limit the spread of COVID-19 made it difficult or impossible for many mental health professionals to physically meet with their patients. This could leave patients without important treatments, diagnoses, or medications, drastically reducing their quality of life. In order to continue to serve their patients in an effective manner, many mental health professionals began offering their services through telecommunication instead of ceasing practice until the pandemic had passed. After the restrictions had concluded, many mental healthcare providers continued to offer telemental health services.

Long-distance mental health services offer many advantages over traditional methods. Removing commuting times offers a more convenient service for many patients, making it easier to schedule appointments around work, school, transportation, childcare, and so on. This increases access to mental healthcare for many patients. Additionally, allowing for long-distance treatment allows patients to work with specialized or particularly well-suited mental healthcare providers regardless of their physical proximity to the patient. This has the potential to grant more patients access to specialized or higher-quality treatment.

Telemental health allows patients to meet mental healthcare providers without leaving the safety and comfort of their own home, thus reducing feelings of anxiety. However, it is much more difficult for patients and mental health professionals to ensure that communication remains private and confidential when it is conducted through digital tools. Patients may worry that mental health professionals are not taking the necessary precautions to avoid being overheard when sessions are conducted digitally. Additionally, the digitization of healthcare may make patients worry that data-mining, hacking, or other vulnerabilities might allow unauthorized persons to access their private healthcare sessions.

During the pandemic, some insurance providers did not immediately adapt their policies to cover telemental health services. Though many insurance providers later altered their policies to allow for such coverage, some plans still make significant distinctions between in-person mental healthcare services and telemental health services. While this has the potential to restrict access to telemental health services, experts expect that coverage will continue to increase as telemental health services become a more common part of mental healthcare.

Bibliography

“Introduction to Telehealth for Behavioral Health Care.” Telehealth.HHS.gov, 2023, telehealth.hhs.gov/providers/best-practice-guides/telehealth-for-behavioral-health. Accessed 31 Aug. 2023.

“Mental Health Treatments.” Mental Health America, 2023, mhanational.org/mental-health-treatments./ Accessed 31 Aug. 2023.

“Telemental Health.” ATA, 2023, www.americantelemed.org/community/telemental-health/. Accessed 31 Aug. 2023.

“What Is Mental Health?” SAMHSA, 2023, www.samhsa.gov/mental-health. Accessed 31 Aug. 2023.

“What Is Telemental Health?” National Institute of Mental Health, 2023, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/what-is-telemental-health. Accessed 31 Aug. 2023.