Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards Teletherapy and Telesupervision Guidelines II
The Covid-19 pandemic increased the demand for counseling services delivered through technology since traditional face-to-face sessions were no longer viable. The pandemic also increased the need for mental health services as people dealt with the impact of the disease worldwide. It soon became apparent that there was a need to address training, licensing, and guidelines to structure, deliver, and regulate technology in therapy practice. The Association of Marital and Family Therapy Regulatory Boards (AMFTRB) Teletherapy Committee took up the challenge, and member boards began a review of state regulations, training and supervision components, complaints to state boards, and current research publications on telebehavioral health practice among other sources. The Teletherapy and Telesupervision Guidelines II (AMFTRB, 2021) were developed to address the need for a comprehensive set of standards with specific strategies for promoting the ethical implementation of technology- assisted counseling and therapy. Though it was developed by the AMFTRB, it is applicable to counseling practice and aligns with state law and national association standards and ethics codes. The commission presented the following clarification on certain types and conditions of therapy that were not addressed in the teletherapy guidelines as follows (AMFTRB, 2021): Please be advised that the committee did not draft specific guidelines regarding the appropriateness of telemental health and working with domestic violence victims, completing child custody evaluations, treating cyber addiction, or using technology for supervised sanctions as the research in each of these areas was limited. As well, the question remains to be addressed of state board’s established rules for a limited number of teletherapy experience hours and of telesupervison hours that are accepted to attain licensure. The teletherapy guidelines are quite extensive and cover and address areas of potential ethical dilemma covered in the course from the perspective of teletherapy. Due to the length of the document, only the key concepts are highlighted here in abbreviated form. It is strongly advised to review these guidelines in their entirety because teletherapy, or technology-assisted therapy, is now widely used throughout counseling disciplines. This document is highly informative and applicable to all counseling and therapy practices considering or implementing a technology-assisted practice. It was formulated with cross-disciplinary input and 1. Adhering to Laws and Rules in Each Jurisdiction 2. Training and Continuing Competency Requirements Areas to be covered in training must include, but not be limited tow, the following seven competency domains as researched and identified by (Maheu et al., 2021): Interprofessional Telebehavioral Health Competencies Framework: Implications for Telepsychology Telebehavioral Health Domains: ● Clinical Evaluation and Care ● Virtual Environment and Telepresence ● Technology ● Legal & Regulatory Issues
references from mental health providers, social work, and HIPAA. Teletherapy and Telesupervision Glossary (AMFTRB, 2021). ● Asynchronous: Communication is not synchronized or occurring simultaneously. ● Electronic communication: Using websites, cell phones, email, texting, online social networking, video, or other digital methods and technology to send and receive messages, or to post information so that it can be retrieved by others or used later. (National Association of Social Workers, 2017). ● HIPAA compliant: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), sets the standard for protecting sensitive patient data. Any company that deals with protected health information (PHI) must ensure that all the required physical, network, and process security measures are in place and followed. This includes covered entities (CEs), anyone who provides treatment, payment and operations in healthcare, and business associates (BAs), and anyone with access to patient information who provides support in treatment, payment, or operations. Subcontractors, or business associates of business associates, must also comply. ● HITECH: The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 addresses the privacy and security concerns associated with the electronic transmission of health information, in part, through several provisions that strengthen the civil and criminal enforcement of the HIPAA rules (HITECH Act Enforcement of Interim Final Rule, 2016). ● Synchronous: Communication which occurs simultaneously in real time. ● Telesupervision: Refers to the practice of clinical supervision through synchronous or asynchronous two- way electronic communication including but not limited to telephone, videoconferencing, email, text, and instant messaging, for the purposes of developing trainee marital and family therapists, evaluating supervisee performance, ensuring rigorous legal and ethical standards within the bounds of licensure, and as a means for improving the profession of marital and family therapy. ● Teletherapy/technology-assisted services: Refers to the practice of marriage and family therapy of diagnosis, evaluation, consultation, intervention, and treatment of behavioral, social, interpersonal disorders through synchronous or asynchronous two-way electronic communication including but not limited to telephone, videoconferencing, email, text, and instant messaging. ● Evidence-Based & Ethical Practice ● Mobile Health Technologies Including Application ● Telepractice Development 3. Diversity, Bias, and Cultural Competency 4. Establishing Consent for Teletherapy Treatment 5. Identity Verification of Client 6. Informed Consent 7. Acknowledgement of Limitations of Teletherapy 8. Confidentiality of Communication 9. Professional Boundaries Regarding Virtual Presence 10. Impact of Social Media and Virtual Presence on Teletherapy
The Teletherapy and Telesupervision Guidelines II (AMFTRB, 2021). Due to the length of the document, only key concepts are included here:
11. Documentation/Record Keeping 12. Payment and Billing Procedures 13. Emergency Management
Page 89
Book Code: PCTX1325
EliteLearning.com/Counselor
Powered by FlippingBook