Skip to main content
Loading
Sign In
Families and Youth
Toggle
Advocacy
Ethics
Facts for Families
Family Resources
Getting Help
Resource Centers
Youth Resources
Support AACAP
Medical Students & Residents
Toggle
Child Psychiatry Residents (Fellows)
Medical Student Resources
Member Resources
Toggle
Advocacy
Assembly of Regional Organizations
Award Opportunities
Become a Member
Clinical Practice Center
CPT and Reimbursement
Early Career Psychiatrists
Education Center
Ethics
International
Job Source
Life Members
Maintenance of Certification
Research
Resources for Primary Care
Toggle
Advocacy and Policy
Become a Member
Clinical Practice Center
Ethics
Information for Patients and Their Families
Integrated Care For Kids
Integrating Mental Health Care into the Medical Home
Practice Parameters and Resource Centers
CME & Meetings
Toggle
2021 Virtual Pediatric Psychopharmacology Update Institute
2021 Annual Meeting
Learning on Demand
Maintenance of Certification and Lifelong Learning Modules
Online CME
Pathways
My Profile
Store
Cart
Donate
Join AACAP
Toggle search
Toggle navigation
Quick Links
Telepsychiatry
Telepsychiatry Toolkit
Coding for Telemedicine Services
Telepsychiatry Clinical Update
Telepsychiatry Guidelines and Policies
Useful Telepsychiatry Websites
Telepsychiatry Glossary
AACAP Committee on Telepsychiatry
Clinical Practice Center
Developing a Virtual Therapeutic Space and Rapport in
Telepsychiatry with Children and Adolescents
Carol Rockhill, MD, PhD, MPH, DFAACAP and
Felissa Goldstein, MD, DFAACAP, DFAPA
Establishing virtual therapeutic space starts with the rooms at both the patient’s and psychiatrist’s sites. The rooms should be set up to establish a typical clinical experience.
The psychiatrist’s room should be conservatively appointed both to facilitate the camera’s focus and to not distract the patient.
The patient’s room should be of appropriate size to optimally conduct a mental status examination, including observation of gross motor and fine motor skills, affect, and relatedness.
Engaging youth entails the use of some toys or other implements. These items should be selected to provide the psychiatrist information about the youth’s development, clinical status, and personality. They should not interfere with audio communication or make additional work for the staff at the patient sites.
Telepsychiatrists working with children and adolescents typically use creative verbal and interactive techniques to ensure the youth and caregiver of their interest in the youth and his/her community and culture.
The technology may be used to establish rapport, eg to give the youth a tour of the psychiatrist’s office or for the psychiatrist to show the youth a close-up of his/her image on the monitor
References
Gloff, NE, LeNoue, SR, Novins, DK, Myers, K. Telemental health for children and adolescents. International Review of Psychiatry, 2015; 27(6), 513-524.
Goldstein, F, Glueck, D. Developing rapport and therapeutic alliance during telemental health sessions with children and adolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. 2016; 26(3), 201-211.
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##