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How Might You Check Out An Online Therapist?

You finally found a counselor or therapist who might just be able to help you online. The price is right, she is available, but you stop for a minute and want to check  out her credentials (smart). You want to be sure she is  legitimate, and not just some woman working out of a corner of her fancy laundry room. How do you figure out if she is the real thing? It's easy. Check out their...

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Is Your Therapist Using Skype and Billing Your Insurance Illegally?

Many therapists are already using technology to extend their reach online, but aren't being honest with the insurance companies about the location of the services they bill. Telehealth services, that is, online therapy, online counseling, Internet therapy, etherapy, webtherapy, Skype therapy – all these terms mean the same thing, and they typically require a special...

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Online Therapy, Online Counseling and Web Therapy — 5 Ways to Make Sure You Are Safe

Good News Help comes in all shapes and sizes, as do people and their challenges. Similarly, online therapy, online counseling and web therapy are being practiced in many research-based and viable forms by responsible practitioners. The scientific literature supporting "telemental health" and "behavioral telehealth" is over 50 years old, and shows that benefits  often parallel...

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Online Avatar-based Therapy for War Veterans?

Many military personnel spend hours on the battle field playing virtual games, and are already quite comfortable using these virtual interfaces as ways to relax and de-stress. At a military-sponsored conference in Seattle last October, I spoke about legal and ethical issues for therapists working in virtual environments with military personnel and veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress...

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Anonymity in Online Therapy or Online Counseling?

Should you work with a therapists who doesn't collect identifying information from you about who you really are or where you live? In many professional circles, working with anonymous clients and patients is akin to illegal or unethical practice. Why? Therapists (like teachers, other health care practitioners, and public servants) are "mandated reporters," that is, they have to...

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