Telemental Health and Distance Counseling: A Counselor's Guide to Decisions, Resources, and Practice

This timely text provides foundational knowledge and skills pertaining to ethical and evidence-based practice for mental health providers engaging in or considering using distance modalities to treat clients. Targeting day-to-day application, the book explains the core functions of Telemental Health counseling (TMH) and its use across a broad spectrum of mental health modalities and settings. Using the framework of the ACA divisions, ASCA, and CACREP core areas to examine TMH, the text provides instructions to develop skills that readers can apply directly to their own counseling interactions. Providing a wealth of information based on empirical and impartial views, the book helps readers examine the benefits and risks of distance counseling in various settings. It encompasses the history of TMH, ethical codes, legal guidelines, and recent research.

Case studies and opportunities for self-reflection enable readers to envision distance counseling in real-world contexts, ask critical questions, and form conclusions about its utility in their practice. Of particular value is the "Voices from the Field" feature, where practitioners from different settings describe using distance counseling. The "Challenges and Opportunities" features discuss the pros and cons of telemental health practice. The book is written through the lens of professional counseling which makes it an ideal companion to Counselor Education program courses in Counseling Skills, Pre-Practicum, Advanced Theory, or elective coursework pertaining to distance counseling and telemental health.

The purchase of the book includes digital access for use on most mobile devices or computers.

Key Features:

• Includes critical content pertaining to the COVID-19 crisis
• Expands the view of distance counseling to include such varied professionals as mental health, school, family, couple, rehabilitation, addiction specialists, etc.
• Presents abundant case studies to provide context and practical application
• Addresses the positive and negative aspects of practicing distance counseling
• Includes ethical issues in each chapter pertaining to designated core areas or specialty
• Presents "Questions of Practice" to foster critical thinking regarding the use of TMH in specific roles or functions,
• Offers "Voices from the Field" with real-world examples focusing on practicing TMH within the designated core areas or specialties
• Emphasizes ethical, practical, and logistical TMH practice in all chapters
• Written through the lens of a professional counselor who is also a board-certified telemental health provider
• Includes digital access for use on most mobile devices or computers.

Heather C. Robertson, PhD, LMHC, LPC, CASAC, CRC, NCC, ACS, BC-TMH is an Associate Professor of Counselor Education at St. John's University located in Jamaica, New York. She is the program coordinator for the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program in the School of Education. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC, CT), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC, NY), Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC), Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC, NY), Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS), Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF) and Board Certified Telemental Health Provider (BC-TMH).

As BC-TMH and a former Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC), Dr. Robertson's areas of research include telemental health counselor competence and distance counseling practices. She was awarded a 2018 North Atlantic Region Association of Counselor Education and Supervision research grant for her research entitled Practice and instruction of distance counseling: Educator, supervisor, and counselor perspectives. Her research has resulted in national and regional conference presentations on the topic of telemental health, specifically examining the preparation of professional counselors, counseling supervisors, and counselor educators.

Dr. Robertson's research and advocacy efforts include Telemental Health Counselor Preparation, Substance Abuse, Military and Veterans, Career Transition, and reducing the stigma of Mental Illness and Addiction. She earned a Ph.D. in Counselor Education &; Supervision from Virginia Tech, an M.S. in Counseling & Guidance from Texas A & M University at Corpus Christi, and a Bachelor's degree in Policy Studies from Syracuse University. Dr. Robertson has served as the past-president of the American Counseling Association of New York (ACA-NY) and of the New York State Career Development Association.