Telemental Health

Course overview

Telemental health has become an increasingly established modality for delivering behavioral health services through secure, interactive audio-visual technologies. As clinical practice continues to expand beyond traditional office-based settings, mental health professionals must be prepared to evaluate when virtual care is clinically appropriate, ethically sound, and responsive to client needs. This course examines the clinical, ethical, and practical foundations of telemental health practice. Topics include definitions and models of telemental health, potential benefits and limitations of virtual service delivery, client appropriateness and screening considerations, risk management, informed consent, confidentiality, emergency planning, and relevant professional ethical standards. The course also introduces reimbursement and documentation considerations that may affect the delivery of telemental health services across practice settings.