Why telehealth?
It is an important and an exciting time in telehealth. About two years ago, we opened our doors as a ‘telepsychology’ organization.
By that we mean that we set out to use technology to enable our services to occur without the need to be in person. We wanted to offer services around the country, in rural areas, or simply in a time and place that is convenient for the families.
After decades of clinical practice, we realized that we could do EVERYthing we do in person on-line, and in some ways we could do it even better.
As we got started, we wanted to follow the rules set out by our governing organizations.
However, we also knew we would have to push the envelope a bit.
Although legal and ethical guidelines clearly state that given the proper consents in place, clinicians CAN and SHOULD provide telepsychology services, many states are slow to adopt the practice. Sometimes, to get anything worthwhile done, you just have to be a bit of a rebel.
WHY?
Some policymakers worried that the practices would be less standardized or comprehensive than in-person services. Is that the case? NO. The research continually points to the fact that doctors who practice telemedicine are actually more thorough and standardized in their practices. Our clients say that it’s easier, much more natural, and much more effective to have their children evaluated at home <see testimonial>
Still, many states are far from hospitable to telemedicine businesses.
SO NOW WHAT?
As my mom would say, “hear what your critics say…and then do it anyway.”
CLEAR offers the following through telehealth and has been doing so for about two years.
- On-line assessment. Get your questions answered. We created an 80 item questionnaire that underlies a knowledge base of ready intervention ideas, at-home tips, and therapy recommendations
- Reports. Don’t expect the school and other therapists to take your word for it. Do an assessment and print up a report
- Consultation. Want to talk to a psychologist about your child’s strengths and needs? We can do this via Zoom on YOUR schedule. Simply click on the calendar and schedule your appointment
- Progress monitoring. How do you know if what you are doing is working? Is this a good therapy? If it seemed like it was working and now seems to be stalling out, what is that about? Using the on-line assessment, you can track your child’s skills over time.
- Diagnostic assessment. We literally wrote the book on diagnostic assessment of autism and related issues. We are pioneers in virtual assessment and have been testing kids at home for a couple years. You can fill out a survey, ask for others to do the same, work ‘live’ with a psychologist and get a diagnostic assessment in a matter of days, not months or years.
