Pursuing The Best Teletherapy Option
When trying to offer their students the best teletherapy option, many conscientious brick and mortar school administrators asked the simple question, “How do I choose a teletherapy clinician?” In answering that critical question, the following tips from insiders in the profession may prove useful.
1. Expertise
There are two types of online therapists – generalists and specialists. Generalists have extensive and varied teletherapy experience. Their breadth allows them to be helpful with a smattering of problems and as such gives them great versatility. However, there are times when the student needs a specialist in the particular area of need.
2. Exudes A Good Feeling
You need to get a feel for the therapist to determine if this clinician is someone that the children in your school will get along with. As you undoubtedly know, a good rapport between therapist and child is critical for the session to be successful. A therapist can have all the clinical ability in the world, but if she isn’t fun and pleasant, the therapy will fizzle out.
3. Child-Friendly
Being a child-friendly therapist may seem like a no-brainer, but when your students’ success is on the line, and there is so much at stake, nothing can be taken for granted. Simply put, if the child isn’t comfortable, the therapy is going south. So you need a therapist that enjoys making the session fun while integrating the necessary skills.
4. Knowledgeable and Experienced
If you are the administrator with such varied responsibility, you don’t have the time nor the interest in micro-managing the therapy that your students receive. So you need a therapist that, upon evaluation, will know exactly which intervention is required for every student with whom she works.
This decision can’t be based upon a sense or a hunch but needs to be the product of the solid research and the online therapy clinician’s experience. The therapist needs to know exactly what she is talking about.
5. Sees The Parent As A Partner
Any therapist worth her salt realizes that as excellent as she may be, her time spent with the child is limited. So to maximize the benefits of the therapy, she will need to solicit, encourage, and maintain the parents’ involvement with the student. Parental intervention is key to the success of the entire effort.
But this doesn’t end with working with the parent in the therapy itself. Instead, the parent needs to be included in the decision-making process as well. The parent who is always being told by the therapist what to do and isn’t made to feel integral to the process is not a real partner and as such will only be of limited if any assistance at all.
Bottom Line
No one ever said that being a school administrator was easy. But those who truly appreciate the awesome responsibility they carry on their shoulders are always on the lookout for ways to perform their jobs better, which often means improving services for their students. Selecting the best teletherapy clinicians is just that.
