Online Therapy: Adaptation of Clinical Skills for Effective Telehealth Sessions

Many of us trained pre-COVID, and would not have considered holding (non-emergency) sessions that were not face-to-face, in the same room. Then the world changed, and we had to model the flexibility we endorsed for our clients! And now we have shifted toward a professional world that expects both ability and facility in conducting effective online therapy. We’re inches away from a screen, miles away from our clients – with the same need for observation, a felt sense of our clients, and empathically supporting them as they change.

Paul Springer, PhD, will discuss the challenges and solutions for effective ways to adjust our clinical skills to the on-screen environment.  Dr. Springer is professor and department head at Virginia Tech University’s Department of Human Development and Family Science.

Workshop participants will:

1. Learn about the multiple therapeutic environments inherent in online therapy and how to effectively address them.  
2. Learn the essential skill for effective online therapy, necessary to overcome the auditory and visual limitations inherent in this modality.
3. Learn how to adapt experiential interventions for online therapy.

2 CEs