Telepsychiatry A Growing Trend

More and more children and adolescents who have serious mental health problems like severe depression, bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder are getting treatment online via videoconference with their psychiatrist.  With over 7 million children in the United States who are dealing with psychological issues, half of whom receive no treatment at all, therapy over the internet might just be the answer to their mental health problems.

Telepsychiatry is a growing trend in mental health, says Dr. Kathleen Myers. As director of the telemental health service at Children’s Hospital, she points to one of the benefits of a videoconference: unlike a phone call, it allows doctors to observe a patient’s facial expressions and body language. “You can talk back and forth in real time — it’s off by a millisecond — so you get immediate reactions,” says Myers, who, with a $3 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), is conducting the first large federally funded randomized clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of telemental health in treating mental-health problems in childhood.

If the initial efforts at telepsychiatry prove successful, not only will it give mental health professionals a wider geographical reach, it may also eliminate the stigma associated with having to see a shrink.

Read the full article to find out where else telepsychiatry is being done. Do you think that therapy over the internet could be as effective as face-to-face interaction? Leave your comments below.