Telepsychiatry is a branch of telemedicine that focuses on mental health care. It can include psychiatric evaluations, therapy (in the form of individual, family or group therapy), providing the patient with information to help them deal with mental health issues and prescribing medication to manage their psychiatric condition.
Telepyschiatry services can be provided by a psychiatrist directly with their patient, or they can consult with other healthcare providers to offer mental health care advice. Sessions can be conducted in real-time, where support is given to patients or caregivers via live, interactive conversations; or it can involve the recording and transmission of images or videos for assessment by a mental health professional at a later stage.
What Benefits Does Telepsychiatry Offer?
Telepsychiatry via video can help patients to easily access helpful and affordable mental health care without having to visit a facility that offers psychiatric services. Telepsychiatry offers multiple benefits to mental health patients. It allows patients to receive mental health care in the comfort of their own home, without having to travel to a hospital to receive the care they need. This reduces transportation costs and makes mental health care more accessible, especially to patients living in remote areas where transportation may be a problem. It also allows patients who work, or who have to look after children, to receive mental health care without having to take time off work or find child care while they attend their appointment. Being able to access mental health services from home means patients don’t have to deal as much with the stigma associated with seeking psychiatric care, and it improves the likelihood that the patient will continue to seek and receive ongoing care and follow-up consultations.
How Effective Is Telepsychiatry?
Studies suggest that telepsychiatry via video link is just as effective as in-person consultations for treating patients with mental illness, and offers a suitable alternative when an in-person consultation or therapy session is not an option. A 2020 study that was conducted during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic found that participating psychiatric patients felt more comfortable participating in remote sessions via video link or telephone in the comfort and safety of their own home. More than 60% of the participants agreed that they would continue to seek remote therapy once the pandemic was over.
However, some patients felt that telepsychiatry did not offer the same level of professional support due to the distance between the patient and the psychiatrist, which left them feeling disengaged, and concerned that their psychiatrist would not be able to detect non-verbal cues such as body language and physical symptoms that could be key indicators of disease. Some patients struggled to find a quiet setting for conducting the telepsychiatry session undisturbed, while others had trouble getting forms or tests completed, faced frustrating technical challenges, or didn’t have a suitable device for meeting remotely. Some respondents indicated they would prefer to resume in-person consultations as soon as possible and/or opt for a hybrid model of in-person and remote care.
To overcome these challenges, patients should have a choice between in-person and telepsychiatry sessions, and the latter should preferably make use of video conferencing rather than telephonic sessions. Telepsychiatry sessions should be tailored to meet the individual needs of the patient. Patients with impaired senses or cognition, such as mute patients, patients with visual or hearing difficulties, and patients with cognitive limitations may benefit from additional technologies or human assistance.
Telepsychiatry Post-Covid-19
Mental health practitioners were already making use of digital technologies and pushing for the adoption of telehealth in treating mental health issues prior to Covid-19. The Covid pandemic has accelerated its rollout and brought about revolutionary changes to telemedicine regulations, but there is the possibility that these could revert back to pre-Covid-19 rules as the pandemic winds down.
There is no doubt that telepsychiatry will continue to be offered after the pandemic. However, patients’ concerns and frustrations need to be considered and addressed, while their positive experiences need to be acknowledged and embraced. The experiences gained during Covid-19 provide mental health care practitioners with an opportunity to evaluate the pros and cons of telepsychiatry, and to learn valuable lessons that can help shape its future. This could lead to a scenario that breaks down some of the barriers to implementation, and takes advantage of all the benefits that telepsychiatry has to offer while still maintaining a strong interpersonal human connection between patients and mental health practitioners.