Teletherapy, or online therapy, has become more and more popular for many school districts in virtual and brick-and-mortar settings. From rural to inner city schools, teletherapy helps many districts solve the issues they have around hiring and keeping therapists to serve their student population. If you’ve considered adding teletherapy services to your school, or wondered if it would be right for you, you are not alone. Increasingly, school districts are seeking out teletherapy as an alternative to searching for hard-to-find and hard-to-keep therapists each year. But even as you start to look into teletherapy for your district, you might not be aware of how it really works and what benefits teletherapy can offer.
Here are the top 5 things every school district should know about teletherapy :
- Therapy services offered: PT, OT, SLP, and Counseling
- Teletherapy offers the full range of therapy services, including speech, physical and occupational therapy, also counseling services such as social work and psychological services.
- Students participate in group or individual sessions with licensed, certified therapists, the same that an on-site therapist would conduct.
- Saves you money: While this depends on the particular district and budget, teletherapy often saves school districts money.
- Instead of paying a full time salary, insurance, travel time, and other expenses, you are contracting with a company like E-Therapy to fill the needs you currently have. This allows you to hire exactly what you need, spending only what you are able to.
- Teletherapy saves on the additional costs that districts face when they have a shortage of therapists, or have therapists working in different campuses across the district. The cost of providing materials, travel and gas expenses, and even the extra cost of the therapy room are lessened with online therapy.
- Saves you space: If you are short on physical space it gives you an “extra” room in your building to use.
- If your district struggles to find a spot to fit all of your teachers, admins, therapists and support staff, teletherapy offers you the perfect solution. Your students get the services they need, while only needing access to a computer, not an entire therapy room.
- Students can login from a quiet computer room or even use the computers in an empty room or quiet, private location within the classroom. This frees up additional rooms for others who may need the space.
- Students love it!
- Students love using computers and technology. With online therapy, they get to use the computer to “play games”, listen to stories, or watch videos, which are all part of their therapy sessions. It makes the session feel less like “work” and more like a fun break during their day. And because of this, it becomes very interactive and motivational.
- In High School and Middle School, it is often difficult to get students to engage and attend therapy sessions, due to schedules, social stigma, and the students not being as interested in “another class”. With teletherapy, older students are more engaged due to being able to use technology vs going to the speech room to do a worksheet or play a “childish” game.
- It works: Bottom line.
- Teletherapy is proven to be as effective as in-person therapy in study after study. Since you are video conferencing, therapists and students are still face-to-face using additional document cameras or sharing screens as needed to share and work on materials and games.
- Teletherapy helps you connect your schools and therapists easily, because it is as simple as sending out an email to connect and collaborate on students progress and needs. Many therapists report that they are more connected with teachers and families working in the teletherapy setting than when they worked in traditional school or clinic settings.
No matter what your needs may be for therapists, teletherapy can be the solution you’ve been looking for.
How to get started with teletherapy
If you are ready to add these services to your school, or want to know even more about how it works, please reach out to E-Therapy at Info@electronic-therapy.com to schedule a time to meet with us.
