Training in Telepsychiatry with Children and Adolescents
Daniel Alicata, MD, PhD, DFAACAP 

  • Official guidelines for training competencies in the practice of telepsychiatry have not yet been established.
  • Nine primary skill areas for competent telepsychiatric care have been identified:  technical skills, relational skills and communication, assessment skills, collaborative and interprofessional skills, administrative skills, medico-legal skills, community psychiatry and community-specific knowledge, cultural psychiatry skills, and knowledge of health systems--all of which have special applications for children and adolescents.
  • Trainees will need to clearly assign, or confirm, roles for individuals at the patient site and ensure that each individual is able to fulfill these roles.
  • Trainees should learn how to help staff at the patient site to appreciate the value of telepsychiatric care with youth.
  • Trainees will profit from learning to be flexible in the role they play in the youth’s system of care and to vary their own role depending on the resources available at the patient site.
  • Prior to undertaking any telepsychiatric services, trainees must learn the legal, policy, and regulation guidelines at the federal, state, and county level.

References

  1. Clinical update: Telepsychiatry with children and adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 2017;56(10):875-893
  2. Sunderji N, Crawford A, Jovanovic M. Telepsychiatry in graduate medical education: a narrative review. Academic Psychiatry. 2015;39(1):55–62.
  3. American Telemedicine Association. Practice Guidelines for Videoconferencing-Based Telemental Health. Available online. http://www.americantelemed.org/resources/telemedicine-practice-guidelines/telemedicine-practice-guidelines/videoconferencing-based-telementalhealth#.Vh6SDSTI5UQ (accessed on 02 May 2018).
  4. Yellowlees, P., Shore, J., & Roberts, L. Practice guidelines for videoconferencing based telemental health – October 2009. Telemedicine and E Health. 2010; 16(10), 1074–1089.
  5. Turvey, C., Coleman, M., Dennison, O., Drude, K., Goldenson, M., Hirsch, P., Bernard, J. ATA practice guidelines for video-based online mental health services. Telemedicine and E-Health. 2013;19(9), 722–730.

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