I am pleased to offer secure online counseling, sometimes called distance counseling or telementalhealth, to clients. I have received training in providing confidential and effective online counseling to ensure that sessions are conducted in a HIPAA compliant and helpful way for my clients.

Online counseling has definite advantages in certain circumstances such as when clients have physical limitations, don’t have transportation or the weather is terrible so they can’t make it to my office, when clients need my specialized services but live too far away to meet at my office, when a client is traveling away from the Kalamazoo area or when a client is sick but needs to have a session. It’s so convenient and many clients who use it for their counseling really like it.

While many states don’t require insurance companies to cover online counseling, Michigan does. In 2012 Michigan passed House Bill Number 5408 mandating such coverage. However, because of state law I cannot provide online counseling to residents of other states.

Confidentiality is just as much a concern for online therapy as it is for in office counseling. I used doxy.me for all my online counseling sessions. It is confidential and HIPAA compliant.

There are some definite cons to online counseling. Technology can present problems even with the best planning. Power outages can occur, internet slow downs happen, computers and routers can fail. In such cases we can try to hold a session by phone, but that isn’t always an option.

When a crisis happens I need a way to contact a nearby support person or service. If that isn’t possible online counseling isn’t an option. If you have a serious psychiatric illness I don’t offer online counseling. If you don’t have access to a camera so I can actually see you I can’t offer ongoing online counseling. Phones counseling is only for internet failures.

If you think you are a good fit for online counseling, please contact me for a free 15 minute consult where we can explore together the appropriateness of online therapy for you.