Slashdot Mirror
A Teletherapy Startup Removes Barriers To Mental Health Care
waderoush writes "Is the digital age sending the old therapist's couch the way of the reference librarian, the CD, and the travel agent? Could be: several recent studies have found that therapy via the Internet is just as effective as face-to-face treatment. But it's taken online therapy startup Breakthrough about four years to convince venture investors and insurance companies that online therapy can remove many of the road blocks to mental health care, including the high cost, the social stigma, and the difficulty of access. So far, Breakthrough has partnered with 100 licensed psychiatrists and psychologists in Texas, California, Virginia, and Maryland; every provider on the site has a profile and a welcome video that allows potential clients to evaluate them before they even talk online. 'Now we have greater research supporting telemedicine, and people are more comfortable digitally,' says co-founder and CEO Mark Goldenson. 'I think the market is ready for it.'"
Did anyone else at first misread that first word as "Telepathy?" Because a Telepathy-based start-up for addressing mental health issues... now THAT would be cool.
Unfortunately no therapy transacted over the internet or the telephone system can, these days, be said to abide by the confidentiality agreement the therapist is supposed to abide by.
Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility. - Ambrose Bierce
Forcing people with social anxiety into uncomfortable situations is a piss-poor strategy. Mental disorders are not a "lack of skills", and it's beyond offensive that you would simplify it like that -- it's part of the reason we need remote care in the first place.