Treatment of mental health and drug abuse is increasingly a video chat or a telephone call

More Californians talk to their therapists about a video screen or by phone with their therapists as personal and mark a profound shift in mental health care if the numbers of records are looking for help.

While patients and providers say that telEdom therapy is effective and easier to maintain than personal services, experts in this area found that telecommunications often need a qualified mental doctor who is trained to accept subtle communication instructions.

Almost half of the approximately 4.8 million adults who visited a medical specialist for mental health or substance consumption in 2023 did this exclusively through teles therapy, according to a KFF health news analysis of the latest data from the California Health Interview survey by UCLA.

Around 24% of adults used a combination of face to face and telescopic in 2023, while around 23% only received help personally, according to the survey of around 20,000 California households.

A recently carried out national study with patients in the healthcare system of the Ministry of Veteran affairs showed a similar pattern: five-fifty percent of mental health care were still provided by telemedicine, a number that had shifted to telescopic as required.

Teleing therapy is certainly more convenient and enables patients to see their therapists from home.

“It is really effective,” said Joshua Heitzmann, President of the California Psychological Association. “I think part of it is that it only makes it possible to convenience – people are willing to work a little more if they are comfortable.”

Studies back that the teles therapy patients with similar rates that receive personal therapy are better.

“In principle, studies have shown that there is no difference between teles therapy and personal therapy-in reason as effective as personal therapy,” said Tao Lin, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, who recently carried out an analysis of several studies in comparison to teles therapy and personal therapy.

But Lin said it can be difficult for a therapist to see hand movements during a video call or to read body language, which could cause therapists to lack non -verbal references to the emotional conditions of their patients. Lin's most recent research, which is still to be published, suggests that therapy is less effective by telephone due to the “more loss of information” than video conferences.

And some people have problems combining emotionally with a therapist without seeing them personally, said Lin. Not unusual technical difficulties can also affect customers who build a therapeutic relationship.

David Bain, who lives in Sacramento, relies on teles therapy to treat his depression because mobility problems make it difficult for him to personally visit a therapist.

“It is almost the time that I could not get the service if I didn't get it from Telehealth,” said Bain, Managing Director of Nami Sacramento, a non -profit organization that offers people with mental illnesses support and advocacy.

Bain said that his individual television sessions helped, but that he was less successful with online group therapy. He recently participated in a 10-week dialectic behavioral therapy class, but he did not receive the connection and support that he received in previous personal group environments, he said.

“I was likely and two or three other people who actually showed us on the screen,” he said. “Everyone else had their screens.”

Teleing therapy is increasingly being offered via mobile phone applications such as Betterhelp and Talkspace. Patients who use these applications often pay a subscription fee that the insurance can partially cover in exchange for regular sessions and contact with therapists.

Eunkyung Jo, a researcher at the University of California-Irvine, has also made a study published in 2023, in which the reviews of patients from eight of the most popular teles therapy apps were examined. Many patients were satisfied with their therapists, but the team also discovered negative patterns.

Some patients did not receive the therapy for which they paid, often due to technical difficulties. Other patients reported that their therapists had disinterested or unprofessional.

And several users mentioned in ratings that their therapist suddenly disappeared from the app without explanation. She said therapists in more traditional “Pay-As-You-Go” regulations rarely put the treatment without warning.

Nikole Benders-Hadi, Chief Medical Officer from Talkspace, said that patients can often use their insurance to receive therapy on the platform at a typical price of $ 10. Regardless of this, Talkspace spokesman, Jeannine Feyen, said that the salary has increased for therapists since the JO study carried out and that full-time talkspace therapists earn between $ 65,000 and $ 90,000 a year.

At Betterhelp, the therapists earn up to $ 91,000 and the average patient valuation last year for a live meeting on the platform was 4.9 out of 5, said spokesman Megan Garner. A significant majority of patients reported on reliable improvement in symptoms or remission.

The number of Californians who attended a medical specialist for mental health problems rose by around 434,000 or 10%from 2019 to 2023, as UCLA data show. It rose by almost 2 million or 69%from 2009 to 2023.

Nevertheless, the transition from personal therapy to teles therapy left some behind.

The UCLA data show that Californians, who live within 200% of the federal poverty -, for example, a family of four with a household income of around $ 60,000 or after 2023 – less likely to use telecommunications.

The data also show that the residents in rural areas where access to telemedicine should give a blessing did not use it as much as the residents of urban areas.

For example, around 81% of the residents of the Bay Area, who visited a medical specialist for mental health care in 2023, did either completely or partially by telescopic. About 62% of the residents of the state's rural districts did the same.

These differences indicate gaps that are observed in long -distance work patterns: Richer, urban Californians work more often from home than from an income with lower incomes. In a broader sense, Californians have more ways to arrange online dates online and can feel more comfortable with them.

In comparison, people with low incomes tend to go to the office for visits to the doctor, said Heitzmann.

Californians with a lower income and rural Californians cannot be missing the reliable internet service that is required for good telemedicine. A recently carried out analysis by KFF Health News showed that millions of Americans live in places with a lack of doctor and poor internet access.

Californians with lower incomes also live in tight quarters, which makes privacy difficult for intimate therapy session.

Regardless of this, teles therapy is now dominant. And they are not just patients who enjoy the convenience. Many therapists have demolished expensive office areas to work from home.

“Covid allowed that,” said Heitzmann. “Many people really got rid of their offices and were completely happy to convert their home into a kind of office and do it all day.”

This article was produced by Kff Health NewsWhat published California healthan editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.

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