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What is Telehealth? How do you get started?

We offer all of our services via Telehealth, which is a way for you and your child to participate in therapy via secure video from the comfort of your own home.

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Services we are offering via Telehealth include but are not limited to:

  • Starting therapy with new families
  • Ongoing Therapy- Including Parent Training, CBT, PCIT, PCIT for SM, and for all conditions and situations
  • Consultation with your other behavioral and medical health providers as needed

The idea of starting services online or switching to a video format can feel daunting or unusual for some. Rest assured that we have experience using this format for all types of treatment we provide. We have been successfully using Telehealth in our practice since 2016. For many of the evidence-based treatments that we offer there is also evidence that they can be just as effective when delivered remotely via Telehealth. We will help guide you in getting everything set up to make this type of service delivery possible for you and your family.

Call us at 212.658.0110 ext 122 or email info@kurtzpsychology.com for more information or to get started

Is telehealth effective? Does it work as well as therapy in the office?

Research & Clinical Findings:

  • Internet therapy works very well compared to in-office therapy. Yes, we were surprised to see this too! We see this in our clinical practice as well as in the peer-reviewed published research studies.
  • In the graph to the right you’ll see that Internet-delivered Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (I-PCIT) had a higher percentage of patients rated as Much Improved and Very Much Improved. The % rated as Excellent Responders was significantly higher in the Internet group!
  • It is a smooth process if the therapist prepares you properly and you are flexible in learning to manage this technology. We always have a Plan B backup if the technology fails.

Click on the image below of the Wireless Mic setup to purchase through Amazon. This setup is key to good quality telehealth sessions, along with your wireless earbuds. This particular set up is good for iPhones and Android phones, and has 2 mics included.

What do I need to get started with Telehealth?

Equipment:

  • Electronic device: You can use any computer, tablet or smart phone with video and audio capabilities. We do suggest something more than phone if possible though.
  • First intake session with parents only: You won’t need an ear bud but may use one if you like. Your regular speaker on your device will be fine.
  • Ear piece for parent coaching sessions when child is present: It is helpful to have a bluetooth ear piece that can connect to your device, or ear buds or standard headphones that can plug into your device to allow for more privacy during your session when we are coaching you while you are working directly with your child.

Software:

  • We use Zoom as our HIPAA compliant platform for Telehealth sessions.
  • We will send you a link to our private, secure Zoom room in advance of the actual session.
  • If you haven’t used Zoom before, you will be prompted to download the app when you get our email with the Zoom link , which takes only a brief minute or two, on either your smartphone, tablet, or computer. We can easily walk you through this if you have not done this before.
  • Please do this download step in advance of the first Telehealth session if you haven’t done it before so you don’t lose valuable session time when your scheduled time starts.

Location:

  • Your therapist can help advise you as to the best location for sessions. Often times it is best to find a place as free from distractions as possible. If you are going to be coached with your child then you will want to set up your device where the therapist will be able to see you and your child together.
  • Make sure you are near an outlet and/or your devices are fully charged.

PCIT Telehealth Sessions

PCIT Coaching sessions via Telehealth will have some additional components that other types of sessions may not have. There will be forms emailed to you by our administrative team the day of your session for you to complete and return to us, in advance if possible. If we get them in advance, we will try to review and score in advance to have them inform our session for that day. If we cannot score in advance, then we need to do this at the beginning of our session, as if you were in our waiting room.

Forms to expect by email:

  • ECBI forms (each caregiver to complete for each session; please write your name on both side of the form)
  • CDI Homework form (each caregiver complete each session)
  • PDI Homework form (each caregiver complete each PDI session for families that have advanced to PDI)

Structure of the PCIT coaching session is:

  1. We first need to review and score your forms if you did not return them ahead of time or if we could not score them ahead of time.
  2. Please set your child up with a toy or someone to be with them so we can do our “check in” undisturbed for approximately 5-10 minutes.
  3. Check-in time
    1. We’ll ask you about stressors unrelated to the parent training, to get a sense of other factors affecting your family life
    2. We’ll talk about your Special Play Time (SPT) practice for the past week
  4. Coding: We’ll code for 5 minutes while you use the PRIDE skills in the CDI play. The clinician will not be speaking during this time.
  5. Coaching: We’ll coach the first parent for approximately 15 minutes (coaching will last longer if only one parent is participating in the session.)
  6. Coding and Coaching for second parent: Coding and coaching will then be conducted with second parent for families with two parents/caregivers participating
  7. Debrief/check-out: We’ll discuss our observations of the session and plan what to work on in the coming week.

*Please know in advance that daily homework practice of SPT is absolutely critical and if you have fewer than 4-5 days out of 7 (< 64%) homework the first few sessions that we will need to enroll you in our Homework Enhancement Project to boost your home practice. Research shows that families that do their daily practice get their parenting skills to mastery quicker and graduate quicker!

 Telehealth set up:

  1. We will provide you with a Telehealth link by email.
  2. The link will be for the computer/phone in the play area. This computer/phone should be placed where there will be a clear view of the play area. If you are concerned your child will be bothered or distracted by seeing themselves on the screen, please cover the screen with a paper/book. Make sure the camera is clear.
    1. Pair your bluetooth headphones to computer/phone to directly communicate through the Telehealth program without your child being distracted by hearing us. If Bluetooth headphones are not available, we can have you turn off the volume on the computer and use regular headphones in your phone, where the clinician will call you to coach you.
    2. Once you enter the Telehealth session, turn on the volume and video.

Preparations if our internet connection drops: It’s important that we have a Plan B if our internet Telehealth connection drops or fails for any reason. Your clinician will create a back-up plan with you of what to do if this happens. It’s important that we have a way to reach each other if the connection fails.

Telehealth Therapy Sessions | Kurtz Psychology