HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF TELEPSYCHOLOGY AND STEER CLEAR OF COMMON PITFALLS

BY REBECCA A. CLAY

APA Monitor on Psychology May 2017 Edition

When psychologist Keren Chansky Suberri, PhD, moved her practice from southern New Jersey to Philadelphia in 2015, she didn’t worry about finding office space convenient for her clients—primarily families of children with health-care problems. That’s because she switched from in-person meetings to videoconferencing.

“I had become acutely aware that families’ needs weren’t being met
because parents of children with special health-care needs
weren’t able to get to my office,”

says Suberri. It can be difficult for families of children with diabetes, seizure disorders and other serious issues to find appropriate childcare, she says. Plus, parents who’ve already taken a lot of time off for their children’s medical appointments are often reluctant to take off more to see a psychologist. Others simply live far too far away to make regular visits. Suberri’s other clients like videoconferencing, too.

 The technique works well with clients with agoraphobia, for instance, for whom “just going out of the house and into a doctor’s setting is like climbing the Himalayas,” says Suberri. Other clients appreciate the privacy of meeting with Suberri virtually from their own homes or offices.
And, says Suberri, “For the younger generation, this is very natural.”