Best Online Therapy Platforms for Your (Virtual) Private Practice In 2020
Introduction
Are you a licensed mental health professionaland looking for the best online therapy platform to manage your privatepractice? If so, you’re among hundreds of thousands of US therapists lookingfor their online therapy home. In this article, we’ll provide you with anoverview of some of the best therapy platforms online.
Talkspace
The number one therapy platform offers newtherapists who join their ranks access to online therapy opportunities designedto help promote your virtual therapy practice online. According to Talkspace,more than 70% of new therapy clients have never received any form of mentalhealth care. As times and our world are rapidly changing the demand for morequalified mental health professionals like psychologists, licensed social workers,and licensed professional counselors is growing.
Online therapy platforms like Talkspace offertherapy providers a secure website to provide virtual therapy services online.The therapists on the Talkspace platform are required to meet mandatory stateminimums for providing clinical mental health care treatment and servicesonline. Talkspace has also designed its’ own virtual online library that offerscontinuing education options for therapists on the platform.
BetterHelp
The world’s leading online therapy platform iscurrently BetterHelp. This online therapy powerhouse provides always-on accessto users (therapy clients) and providers (online therapists). BetterHelp hasbeen receiving rave reviews from mental health professionals and platform usersalike for providing seamless, affordable, and always-on therapy options.Therapists who work on the BetterHelp platform gain access to a worry-freeplatform that includes session-management, billing, and technical support.
When you choose BetterHelp, getting started onthe platform is easy. There are no third-party software downloads to contendwith and the major features that you use to provide therapy services to yourclients are already pre-built into the platform. The BetterHelp platformcurrently boasts a roster of over two-thousand licensed mental healthclinicians that include Psychologists, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists,Licensed Clinical Social Workers, and Licensed Professional Counselors.
All therapists on the platform have met requiredindustry standards in the areas of education, hand-on clinical training hours,and state licensure within their state of residence. To learn more about how tobecome a therapist on the BetterHelp platform, follow the link below.
Become a Therapist at BetterHelp
Doctor-On-Demand
The Doctor on Demand platform offers remotetherapy positions for doctorate-level candidates who hold a Psy.D, Ph.D. orEdD. The platform hires remote psychologists for video and audio sessions withmental health clients within their state of residence. Doctor-on-Demand is anonline telemedicine service that provides patients and mental health clientswith medical doctors and advanced-degree therapy professionals online.
This platform may not be as flexible asTalkspace or BetterHelp when it comes to staffing licensed mental healthprofessionals who don’t hold an advanced degree. Licensed mental healthcounselors and similarly degreed mental health professionals may fare better byseeking out online private practice therapy options with one of the otherplatforms mentioned here. Continuing education and degree-seeking students whoare pursuing an advanced degree in psychology such as Psy.D, Ph.D., or EdD, cangain more hands-on experience in private practice independently or by joiningTalkspace or BetterHelp as an online therapist.
The alternative to joining an online therapyplatform is to manage your own private practice online. There are manycomponents to owning and operating an online private practice that independenttherapists are required to manage. Important factors for independent therapiststo consider are therapy session management, scheduling, accounting and billing,and insurance coverage for malpractice. Therapists who opt to partner withleading online therapy providers gain access to an out-of-the-box automatedsolution that includes insurance, billing, technical support, and onlinesession management.
Conclusion
Online therapy providers like BetterHelp offerpartnering therapists the opportunity to view and manage their entire therapypractice and caseload online. Using existing platforms makes it easy for newand transitioning therapists to hit the ground running with fewer worries abouttechnical support issues, administrative tasks, and insurance billing.
Research each platform to learn which offersthe best benefits for helping you to manage a growing online independenttherapy practice. Options for providing e-counseling, online therapy, anddistance therapy using major online therapy platforms are SMS messaging, audiomessaging, and video messaging conducted via a secure and encrypted therapyplatform. Online therapists are bound by the same rules and confidentiality regulationsas their offline counterparts.
More therapists are opting to providee-counseling and distance therapy than ever. In some cases, the rise of COVID--19 is rapidly forcing major upheavals in how healthcare services are delivered.As such, telemedicine and online therapy offer affordable options for bothclients and therapists to connect and get the services they need without anyoneever having to leave the comfort of their private home or office. Majorinsurance providers are stepping up to the plate and covering the cost ofonline therapy under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Act andindependently.