Dr. Suresh Kumar Murugesan is a professor of psychology who specializes in psychometry, counseling, and psychotherapy. The document discusses tele counseling, which involves providing counseling services remotely using technologies like phone, video chat, or online messaging. Tele counseling can help increase access to mental healthcare by reducing barriers like transportation, privacy concerns, and stigma. However, it also faces challenges regarding client privacy, building rapport without in-person interaction, and legal/ethical issues of practicing across state lines. The document provides an overview of how tele counseling works, including obtaining consent, booking appointments, conducting sessions, and follow up care.

1. Tele Counselling
Dr.Suresh Kumar Murugesan PhD
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2. About the Presenter
● Dr.Suresh Kumar Murugesan is a passionate Professor, researcher
and Mental Health Practitioner from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
● At present he is Heading the department of Psychology, The
American College, Madurai and Adjunct Professor of School of
Behavioural Sciences and Education at TAU
● He is very keen in learning new research studies in behavioural
Sciences and open to learn.
● His ultimate aim is to make impression in the field of Knowledge
● His area of specializations are Psychometry, Counselling &
Psychotherapy
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3. Disclaimer
● This presentation is prepared
for learning purpose only and
all the images and pictures
used in this presentation are
taken from google image
search.
● Due recognition was given to
all the material collected from
the various sources.
● Any name or reference is
missed kindly bring it to the
notice of the presenter for
inclusion.
● Email -
sureshkumar800@yahoo.com
Thank you
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4. What?
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5. Tele Counselling
Telephone counseling refers to any type of psychological service performed
over the telephone.
Teletherapy is mental health counseling over the phone or online.
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6. Other Close Terminology
● Teletherapy
● Telehealth
● Tele Psychotherapy
● Telemedicine
● Telephone Counselling
● Tele mental Health
● Tele Psychology
● Tele Guidance
● Telepsychiatry
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7. Telephone Counselling
Telephone counseling ranges from
● individual,
● couple or
● group counselling
with a professional counselling to psychological first aid
provided by professional counselors
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8. Modes of Tele
Counselling
Tele Counselling refers to the provision of counselling
services using telecommunication technologies including
● email,
● text messaging,
● video conferencing,
● online chat,
● messaging, or
● internet phone.
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9. Tele Counselling
Tele counselling is any remote counselling that uses
technology to help the counsellor and client communicate.
Some examples of teletherapy include:
● doing counselling sessions over the phone
● having a group chat for group therapy
● using videoconferencing for individual, couples, or
group counselling
● receiving counselling via email or instant messenger
● using apps that connect clients to counsellors and
offer counselling within the app
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10. Who?
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11. Who can provide tele
Counselling?
Although anyone can offer to support another person
online or over the phone, only trained professionals can
describe their services as therapy. Professionally qualified
Counselors can provide tele counselling .
Some examples of professionals who may provide tele
Counselling include:
● Qualified professional counselors
● Qualified marriage and family therapists
● Qualified clinical social workers
● Qualified psychologists
● Qualified psychiatrists
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12. Why?
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13. Telehealth and Counselling
Use of telehealth, especially for mental health care, has increased rapidly
because of the desire to provide health care to underserved populations,
reduce health care costs, and meet consumers’ desires (Glueckauf et al.,
2003).
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14. Barriers to Face to Face
Counselling
A number of barriers to traditional face-to-face counselling
may prevent people from obtaining the help they need,
including transportation issues, need for childcare,
perceived stigma, and difficulty leaving work (Bee, Lovell,
Lidbetter, Easton, & Gask, 2010; Mohr et al., 2005).
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15. Barrier to Counselling
Over two thirds of depressed patients in a primary care
setting reported at least one practical barrier (e.g.,
transportation difficulties) that hampered their ability to
attend counselling/psychotherapy regularly (Mohr et al.
2006).
Telephone-delivered psychotherapy can minimize such
barriers, either as the primary method of delivering
psychotherapy or as an adjunct to face-to-face
psychotherapy.
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16. Convenience
Telephone-delivered psychotherapy offers increased client convenience with
respect to location and flexible timing of appointments (Simon, Ludman, Tutty,
Operskalski, & Von Korff, 2004; Tutty, Ludman, & Simon, 2005; Tutty,
Spangler, Poppleton, Ludman, & Simon, 2010).
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17. Privacy
Clients can complete sessions at home in privacy, which
may reduce concerns about stigma related to mental
health treatment (Mozer, Franklin, & Rose, 2008; Simon et
al., 2004) and potentially be less threatening than face-to-
face sessions for some clients.
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18. Cater all
In essence, psychotherapy by telephone makes treatment available to people
who may not otherwise receive mental health care (Mohr et al., 2010; Simon et
al., 2004).
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19. Older / Rural Client
Clients who could benefit from improved
access to psychotherapy include older
adults, individuals who lack local service
providers (especially rural residents),
homebound individuals or those with
chronic medical illnesses, active military
personnel who may prefer care from
military providers, and incarcerated clients
(Glueckauf et al., 2003).
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20. Benefits
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21. Benefits of Tele
Counselling
For clients
Most research suggests that tele counselling can be as
effective as in-person counselling. The benefits of seeking
research-supported tele counselling with a professional
counsellors include:
● Greater access to care:
● Lower costs
● High satisfaction
● More privacy
● Better public health
● Positive Mental Health
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22. Greater access to care
Some people are unable to use traditional counselling due
to
● physical disabilities,
● geographic location, or
● scheduling issues.
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23. Lower costs
● Tele counselling may help clients save money on
treatment.
● Clients are also likely to incur fewer counselling-
associated expenses when they do not have to
travel to receive treatment or pay for child care.
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24. High satisfaction
Users of quality tele counselling report high satisfaction with treatment.
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25. More privacy:
People who choose tele counselling do not have to sit in busy waiting rooms
but can seek treatment in the privacy of their own homes. For some, this
alleviates privacy concerns.
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26. Better public health:
The COVID-19 health crisis demonstrates that the ability
to seek medical care at home can slow the spread of
illness and protect vulnerable populations.
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27. Mental Health
Tele counselling allows people to get mental health treatment and positive
mental health training at home without risking the spread of infection during
epidemics and pandemics.
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28. For therapists
Some therapists may find that teletherapy suits
their personal style and allows them to meet their
practice goals. Some benefits include:
● Reduced overheads
● The ability to reach more clients.
● A shorter commute
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29. Reduced overheads:
● Maintaining an office can be expensive.
● Counsellors who switch to a telehealth-
only model can eliminate many of their
overheads.
● Those who offer part-time tele
Counselling may be able to rent office
space on just a few days of the week,
lowering costs.
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30. The ability to reach
more clients:
● Telehealth may improve access to
therapy for people with disabilities,
financial worries, transportation
difficulties, and other barriers.
● This improved access enables
counsellors to help more people.
Widening their potential consumer
base can help therapists earn more
money.
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31. A shorter commute:
A therapist who exclusively offers tele
counselling may be able to support clients
from home, reducing or eliminating their
commute.
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32. Challenges
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33. Challenges in tele Counselling
Challenges Suggested Ways to Address Challenge
Lack of control over
environment
Set boundaries and require privacy at the start of the relationship
Privacy/confidentiality Complete written informed consent for treatment reviewing service that will be provided and
limits of confidentiality when using electronic communications (e.g., wireless telephones, cell
phones); verify that person on phone is the client
Therapeutic alliance Set expectations for psychotherapy; inform clients that they will have the psychotherapist's
undivided attention; provide picture of psychotherapist; carefully attend to nonverbal cues
Ethical/legal issues Practice only in state in which licensed; review informed consent for treatment prior to the start
of treatment
Crisis situations Exclude patients who are actively suicidal at intake; have knowledge of resources available to
clients within their county/town
Psychotherapist adjustment
to telephone psychotherapy
Provide training that focuses on strengthening and modifying reflective listening skills, use of
psychotherapist's voice to convey warmth and emotion, and attentiveness to solely auditory
cues from clients
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34. Limitations
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35. Limitations and
disadvantages of tele
Counselling
For therapy clients
Telet Counselling is not for everyone. Some
drawbacks include:
● Compliance
● Therapy environment
● Technical difficulties
● Communication
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36. Compliance:
The Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires healthcare
providers, including counsellor, to protect
patient or client privacy.
Unsecure chat and other programmes may
expose sensitive data, so clients should work
only with counsellors who encrypt data.
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37. Therapy
environment:
For people with little privacy at home,
finding the time and space for therapy can
be stressful.
Treatment in the office may offer a low
stress alternative to treatment at home.
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38. Technical
difficulties:
● Slow internet connections, glitches in
video software, and communication
delays can make online therapy feel
more stressful and less personal.
● For people who lack technological
proficiency or do not trust digital
platforms, telehealth may not be a
good option.
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39. Communication:
Communicating across a digital channel
can make it more difficult to read body
language and other subtle cues.
Email and phone therapy eliminate these
forms of communication.
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40. Limitations For Tele
Counsellors
Some challenges that counselors may
face with digital therapy include:
● Ethical and legal issues
● More client anonymity
● Client privacy
● Communication barriers
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41. Ethical and legal
issues:
● Therapists must comply with state
licensing board regulations in both the
state where they practice and the state
where they treat a client.
● This compliance can require significant
legal knowledge, and violating the law
could endanger a therapist’s license.
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42. More client anonymity:
● When therapists meet with clients on
a digital platform, it may be more
difficult to support those who pose a
danger to themselves or others.
● Clients may even be able to conceal
their identities.
● Therapists have a duty to warn the
proper authorities if a client is at risk
of harming themselves or others,
and client anonymity can make this
more difficult, potentially interfering
with the therapist’s ethical
obligations.
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43. Client privacy:
● Therapists must comply
with Ethical guidelines and
other privacy laws.
● Choosing the right
platform and taking
proactive steps to secure
client data demands time
and technical proficiency.
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44. Communication
barriers:
● It can take longer to establish a
strong rapport with clients over digital
networks.
● Some therapists may struggle to
read body language and other subtle
forms of communication, making it
more difficult to offer high quality
treatment.
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45. How?
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46. How Tele Counselling Works?
In this stage, the organization should promote what are
the services will be provided?, What are benefits?, Who
can access? Etc in Social Media, in Person, other channels
Awareness
1. Consent form
2. Booking an appointment
3. Collection of Preliminary data and
4. Sharing the session link to the client
Initiation
● Rapport building - Counsellor and Client,
● Applying counselling skills to make the client to
understand the current state and enable them
to make their own decision
● Feedback and Evaluation
Counselling Process
Termination of the session and Follow up
Termination
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47. How a teletherapy session works
While it is possible to do teletherapy via email or phone, contemporary telemental health sessions typically use video chat.
The therapeutic process is similar to in-person therapy. It usually begins with a few initial sessions during which the therapist and client
get to know one another and discuss treatment goals. After that, the therapist may dig more deeply into the client’s issues, make
recommendations for behavioral changes, and encourage the client to reflect on their emotions.
The therapist may ask the client to take steps to ensure confidentiality. These might include:
● logging on from a private network
● keeping their computer locked to prevent others from viewing the session
● accessing therapy via an encrypted therapy platform
Clients should also ask their therapists what specific steps they take to protect client confidentiality and prevent third parties from
viewing sessions or session notes.

48. Counselling Session Recording Form
(Name of the Institute/Hospital/Centre with address)
Client record no._____________
COUNSELLORS SESSION NOTES
Client name:
Age:
Gender:
Psychometric Assessment:
Session number & date:
Duration of session:
Session Participants:
Counselling technique / method:
Individual Objectives of the session:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Key issues/themes discussed: (Psychosocial
stressors/Interpersonal problems/Intrapsychic
conflicts/Crisis situations/Conduct difficulties/Behavioural
difficulties/ Emotional difficulties/ Developmental
difficulties/ Adjustment issues/ Addictive
behaviours/Others)
Counselling techniques used:
Counsellors observations and reflections:
Plan for next session:
Date for next session:
Counsellor Name:
Qualification:
Date
Signature:
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49. References
1. Zawn Villines (April 20, 2020). Teletherapy: How it works. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/teletherapy
2. TelePsychotherapy Guideline by NIMHANS. https://nimhans.ac.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Guidelines-for-
Telepsychotherapy-Services-17.4.2020.pdf
3. Therapist (21st February, 2014). Learn more about telephone counselling. https://www.counselling-
directory.org.uk/memberarticles/learn-more-about-telephone-counselling
4. Arteo (Unknown). Telephone counselling pros and cons. https://www.uktherapyguide.com/news-and-blog/telephone-
counselling-pros-and-cons/nblog1180
5. SNEHA Tele Counselling Manual. https://snehamumbai.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Telecounselling-Manual.pdf
6. Brenes, G. A., Ingram, C. W., & Danhauer, S. C. (2011). Benefits and Challenges of Conducting Psychotherapy by Telephone. Professional
psychology, research and practice, 42(6), 543–549. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026135