Counselors' Perceptions of Their Preparedness for Telemental Health Services: A Phenomenological Examination

• Published in: Telemedicine reports Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 279 - 285
• Main Authors: Holland, Daniel C., Moe, Jeffry L., Schwitzer, Alan M. “Woody”, Pribesh, Shana, Franklin, Jeanel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 140 Huguenot Street, 3rd Floor New Rochelle, NY 10801 USA Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers 01.10.2023; Mary Ann Liebert
• Subjects: counselor education; distance counseling; Original Research; phenomenology; technology mediated; telemental health
• ISSN: 2692-4366; 2692-4366
• DOI: 10.1089/tmr.2021.0011

BackgroundTo examine counselors' perceptions of their formal preparation for engaging in telemental health (TMH) counseling with the intent of gaining an understanding of their lived experiences.Materials and MethodsSemistructured interviews were conducted with seven seasoned counselors who regularly engage in technology-mediated distance counseling.ResultsThe results highlighted themes within two emerging categories: the counselor and training/education. Themes related to motivation and specific counselor attributes emerged from the first category and themes of availability, inadequacy, and modality emerged from the second category.DiscussionThe implications from this study suggest a lack of availability and standardization of effective training on TMH delivery.ConclusionThis study identifies areas of potential future research related to counselors' preparation experiences as well specific areas of need for TMH training in counseling graduate programs and other natural opportunities.