During the COVID-19 pandemic, many consultants adapted to advising customers via video, while face-to-face appointments were not possible or were severely restricted. Accordingly, insurance coverage has been expanded and the regulations on the health of tele behavior have been loosened of necessity in many countries.
Now that pandemic restrictions are being relaxed and some professionals are helping to return to personal office settings, many advisors are wondering about the future health status of tele behavior. Will all the "old" regulations suddenly come back or will the changes introduced during the pandemic remain long-term?
Lynn Linde, chief knowledge and learning officer of the American Counseling Association, says a number of factors suggest that telehealth health remains a viable option for counselors for the months and years to come.
"People have found that customers have a tremendous desire to continue telehealth and that will drive that forward," says Linde, who is also a past president of ACA. "I think states are not going to be fast enough to get back to the way they were. … Consultants traditionally have not received much training on tele-behavior health. We all had to learn how to zoom in and out works remotely – and people's perspectives [about telebehavioral health] have changed. "
Telehealth regulation for professional counselors varies from state to state. Prior to the pandemic, a handful of states had laws allowing tele-behavior health to be used as part of counselors' practice. During the pandemic, other states relaxed and expanded the regulations for the health of tele behavior through executive ordinances issued by governors of supervisory bodies, explains Linde.
Now, more than a year later, lawmakers in several states are considering collective bills that would allow long-term use of Telehealth, says Linde.
“The governments of [state] put a lot of pressure on health insurance companies to cover telehealth. I think now that the effectiveness of telehealth is being demonstrated, insurance companies will see things differently, ”says Linde. "As telehealth grows, they need to rethink some of their policies on reimbursement. Some of them already are, and some states are also pressuring them to change. This is a big change in the medical field as well It is partly advisors and clients who are getting used to doing things differently, and regulators and insurance companies who notice the difference. "
The health of tele behavior is also an important aspect of the intergovernmental advisory compact project, which gained momentum this spring. The pact, an initiative that would enable advisory practice across national borders, has been concluded and will take effect as soon as 10 states have passed laws to be passed. Georgia became the first state to pass such laws in March, followed by Maryland.
The language in the agreement ensures that any state that passes the pact enables advisors to make long-term use of the health of tele behavior, says Linde. The compact project, launched in 2019, is a partnership between ACA and the National Center for Intergovernmental Agreements of the Council of State Governments. As soon as a 10th state passes the pact, it comes alive and these 10 states will form its governing body.
Executives involved in the project, including Linde, expect the pact to reach the 10-state threshold in the summer of 2022. There is a "critical mass" of states – more than 20 – that have shown interest in joining the state compact in the coming year, she says.
"It's not about whether we have a contract, but when," says Linde. "We are really seeing progress and there is excitement [among those involved]."
Convenience and improved access
The increased use of tele-behavioral health by counselors in the past year has shed more light on its benefits and shown how it can improve access for clients who are faced with obstacles to personal treatment, notes Linde.
"The pandemic has shown the deficits in our mental health system in many ways," she adds.
The health of tele-behavior made it easier for customers who struggle with transportation and other obstacles, as well as customers who live in communities or areas without a consultant, to access advice. It has also helped college students who had to return home – often to a different state – when many campuses closed in the spring of 2020 and classes were relocated online, Linde notes.
“Necessity is the mother of invention. When everything was blocked, everyone started thinking about how to continue the services. A year later, [telebehavioral health] is no longer a unique piece. It's more of a way of doing things, ”says Linde. “Consultants are trained to provide face-to-face advice. This is our training. However, we have seen that it is possible to take up some of these clues that we normally rely on when we see them in person [during sessions]. It's not the dire situation many counselors expected. In fact, it can be very positive and there can be benefits and time savings for both consultants and clients. "
Read more on this subject in an article entitled "Pandemic Telehealth: What Have We Learned?" in consultation Today's May magazine.
For more information on Telehealth Ethical Standards and other important information, please visit ACA's COVID-19 resources page here.
See also Section H, “Remote Counseling, Technology, and Social Media” of the 2014 ACA Code of Ethics at Counseling.org/ethics.
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Bethany Bray is a senior writer and social media coordinator for Counseling Today. Contact her at [email protected].
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Opinions and statements in articles appearing on CT Online should not be assumed to reflect the opinions of the editors or guidelines of the American Counseling Association.
