Telehealth for Counselors: Zooming into a New Era

Description: 

On a statewide poll of 137 counselors in Florida, 95% of counselors who were providing direct client services reported that they were providing telehealth sessions, whereas only months earlier only a small percentage of counselors offered telehealth. The COVID-19 pandemic created a rapid shift among counselors, but many of us have little training or experience with telehealth and lots of questions, such as: 1. What platforms am I allowed to use for telehealth? 2. What are some of the unique clinical, ethical, and legal considerations for telehealth? 3. What should a telehealth consent form include? 4. How can I make telehealth sessions more personal, engaging, or interactive? 5. What happens if my client is in another state and wants to do a telehealth session? 6. How do I bill insurance for telehealth? This 3-hour presentation seeks to answer these and similar questions about telehealth services.

CE Broker Tracking #: 20-799873

This is an event sponsored by FMHCA. This course is approved by the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling, LMHC, LMFT, LCSW – FMHCA CE Broker #: 50-748

Learning Objectives:

1. Summarize ethical considerations and legal considerations for telehealth as depicted in the AMHCA 2020 Code of Ethics and Florida Statutes.

2. List several telehealth platforms and describe the functions of each.

3. Apply telehealth etiquette and best practices to maximize outcomes.

About the Presenter:

Aaron Norton is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy serving as Executive Director of the National Board of Forensic Evaluators, Adjunct Instructor at the University of South Florida, Southern Regional Director for the American Mental Health Counselors Association, and President of the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association. He has nearly 20 years of clinical experience at Integrity Counseling, Inc., was awarded Mental Health Counselor of the Year by the American Mental Health Counselors Association and Counselor Educator of the Year by the Florida Mental Health Counselors Association in 2016, Research of the Year by Florida Mental Health Counselors Association in 2020, and has been published in several social science journals and professional magazines in clinical mental health counseling.