Is Telemedicine Right for Mental Health?

Given a shortage of providers and a lack of insurance coverage, it’s only natural to consider telemedicine as a step to increase mental health care for thousands. Patients are able to get help conveniently and on their own terms. This increases accessibility for patients like me who struggle with mobility issues or live in rural locations.

Services like Talkspace allow for more access to therapists, regardless of where you’re at. Many providers appreciate the ability to meet patients in their environments, feeling out stressors patients encounter every day. Talkspace isn’t the only teletherapy service. Similar standalone companies include Better Help and 7 Cups. The majority of these services only provide therapy, not medication management — which means many patients who need medications to manage their mental health are fricked.

Unfortunately, there are drawbacks to teletherapy apps like Talkspace. These third-party apps aren’t necessarily therapist-friendly. Even when children are in danger, there is no easy way for therapists to access patient data and use it to alert local authorities. Therapists are treated as contractors with little input, high expectations, and low pay. Additionally, there are concerns that Talkspace isn’t following various laws and standards.

I’ve tried Talkspace. At first, I felt like it was a great option for me. I’m constantly on the move but always have my phone on me. It was one more appointment that I didn’t have to fit into my schedule. I got along really well with my therapist who knows a lot about sex education and appreciated the work I was doing. Soon, though, I started to avoid texting my therapist back. It felt like I was being talked to as a peer because of my work — but that’s not what I needed.

In my last traditional therapy setting, my therapist was too motherly and concerned about me even learning about BDSM and kink — something that’s a part of my job to talk to others about. She also would’ve been incredibly against me being flogged which is something that has stopped my fibro at its worst.

After trying both, I believe part of the problem is talk therapy (including interpersonal and cognitive-behavioral or CBT). We’ve made it the norm, but it’s something that isn’t very effective for many people and conditions. On top of that, abuse survivors like myself will do exactly what prey animals do when injured — avoid even bringing up the very thing they need to work on.

Just like talk therapy doesn’t work for everyone, neither does teletherapy. It’s important to be mindful of how well long-distance therapy may work for you. I also highly suggest researching potential companies you’re interested in utilizing before making the move.