Introduction to Telehealth for Clinical Psychologists: a Novel Course Designed to Improve General Knowledge and Hands-on
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Introduction to Telehealth for Clinical Psychologists: a Novel Course Designed to Improve General Knowledge and Hands-on Expertise with Technology-Based Modalities Jonathan G. Perle 1 Received: 27 February 2020 / Revised: 6 June 2020 / Accepted: 11 June 2020 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract Telehealth, or the integration of technology with healthcare services, has been identified as a rapidly developing field with implications for both clinical psychologists and patients. While some on-site trainings, as well as post-doctoral continuing education and professional certificate programs exist, research has identified the importance of formalized technology-focused training throughout one’s graduate school career. Unfortunately, minimal formalized coursework has been recognized for clinical psychology doctoral programs. To remedy this gap, the Introduction to Telehealth for Clinical Psychologists course was designed to enhance general evidence-informed knowledge and provide hands-on experiences with various applicable modalities. The development, instructional techniques, and pilot evaluation of a doctoral-level clinical psychology-focused course are detailed. Pre- to post-class evaluations suggested increases in student self-reported telehealth-related knowledge, as well as high satisfaction. The pilot course may serve as a template for future telehealth courses. Keywords Telehealth . Telepsychology . Technology . Clinical psychology . Training
Telehealth, broadly defined as the integration of technology with healthcare services, has demonstrated exponential growth over the last decade (Wangelin et al. 2016). Such developments have fostered increased utilization of technology among clinical psychologists, including, but not limited to, novel interventions involving telephones, email, smartphones, and videoconference modalities. When conducted responsibly and under specific standards, mental health-focused telehealth (i.e., telepsychology/telemental health) services have been demonstrated to be efficacious and effective with often equal satisfaction and clinical outcome to those provided face-to-face for a wide range of populations, diagnoses, and age groups (Dorsey and Topol 2016; Hilty et al. 2013; Jenkins-Guarnieri et al. 2015; Langarizadeh et al. 2017; Phelps et al. 2017). Despite increasing usage and interest among both providers and patients, many have documented how there continues to be inadequate preparation among clinical psychologists, creating challenges for proper implementation (Glueckauf et al. 2018; Perle et al. 2014). As indicated by Blignault and Kennedy (1999), * Jonathan G. Perle [email protected] 1
Department of Behavioral Sciences, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, IL, USA
installing equipment and leaving a manual are not sufficient to encourage or maintain the use of telehealth. Unfortunately, educational institutions sometimes assume that providers will gain knowledge post-graduation, or that the younger generation (e.g., Millennials, Generation Z) that has grown up wit
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