Online Counseling, also known as teletherapy, is the newest, smartest way to access help when you are in need of a professional therapy services.  You may also see online counseling referred to as telehealth or telemedicine.  These terms simply refer to the broader scope of healthcare administered from a distance.

Will my insurance cover this?

Maybe, we would love to give you a definitive answer, but to be honest, online counseling or teletherapy is so new that not all insurance companies are currently on board (or paying for the service).  Some states require health care plans to pay for online counseling or teletherapy, but unfortunately, many customer advocates at insurance companies are not really familiar with online counseling or teletherapy so we received mixed answers when inquiring about compensation. 

Are you there any benefits to accessing online counseling or teletherapy?

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1. Have therapy via a secure teletherapy platform at a time that works for you.

2. Use your phone, tablet or computer to meet with me.

3. You can have “therapy for lunch” during your lunch time.

4. When bad weather strikes or your babysitter is on strike, your therapy time can still occur.

5. You don’t have to dress up, but you do have to dress!

6. Online counseling or teletherapy is affordable.

7. Online counseling or teletherapy may be paid or reimbursed by your insurance,

8. You will never run into “the next client” because your session and participation is completely private because it occurs online between me and you.

9. If you move to a different city (within Texas) you can still keep me as your therapist.

10. Are there any down sides to online counseling or teletherapy?

11. You don’t get to sit on the “therapy couch”.

12. You may miss the face to face in person interaction.

13. Even though we use doxy.me, a secure, HIPPA compliant platform that provides end to end encryption without the middleman listeners, you still need to make sure that you secure things on your end by making sure you are in a private environment in which no one can hear our session. Using earbuds also helps because if someone in your environment does walk in on our session, they will not hear me. (Learn more about the security doxy.me uses.)

14. We could have problems with our connection or get disconnected. I advise all clients to please check their connection on doxy.me so they can insure things are clear on their end. If we get disconnected, I will call you back. If we can not re-connect, we will re-schedule.

15. There is a chance that your insurance company will not pay for the session :-(. If this happens, you will be responsible for the contracted rate.

16. Is there anyone who should not seek online counseling or teletherapy?

17. People who are not comfortable with technology

18. Young children who are incapable of interacting via video are not good candidates.

19. Those who are experiencing either non-suicidal self harm thoughts, suicidal help thoughts, or homicidal thoughts are not candidates for online counseling.

20. Those who suffer with chronic mental illness and require intense treatment.

21. Are same day online appointments available?

22. Quite possibly.

23. Can I request a time that is not listed as your regular hours?

24. Yes, you can.  That is the wonderful thing about online counseling.  We get to break the “9-5 office hours” rules.  If you would like to schedule an evening or night appointment and it is not listed, send us an email.