Even in Mental Health the Market is Driven by the Consumer

Written by Darlene Ouimet Monday, 01 June 2009 00:00

I spent the better part of a week at the Canadian Counselling Association Conference in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. I had an exciting week meeting lots of interesting people and discovering what mental health professionals, counselors and therapists are discussing about the practice of online counseling and distance therapy.

I was at the ImageFaceToFace exhibitor booth along with Tammy Morales and Neva Quantz. One of the first things I noticed is that there is a lot of confusion about what online therapy is exactly. Some think it is email therapy, others think it is text chat. Although those are both a part of the whole picture, at our exhibitor booth we were raising awareness about the platform used within our Business and Education Hub which includes full video and audio, and with all the other available tools our system replicates the in person session experience. We were able to have our Director of Tech Support, Rumilio Morales join us at the booth via the internet where he met live with many of the conference attendees and he gave them a demonstration of how the online counseling platform works. Ninety-five percent of those that took the tour with Rumilio were surprised such technology existed, and were excited about the prospect, realizing all the possibilities even aside from online counseling and group therapy. It was fun to see them comprehend that by utilizing this conferencing system, large or small meetings could be done online instead of in person. Board meetings could happen more frequently without the expense of hotel and travel, and since our technology is capable of recording meetings, if for some reason the meeting was missed, the recording will always be available. Having a recording is easier and more efficient than relying on just the meeting minutes.

Conference attendees realized how effective this system would be for supervision and training. Continuing education could be offered and accessed online, or recorded and offered over and over. Many found the thought of a passive income for therapists a very appealing idea!

Overall I came away realizing that mental health professionals are aware that online counseling therapy exists and that it is the way of the future and although many therapists and counselors are apprehensive about practicing online, clients are demanding it. It was obvious to me once again, that the clients are the biggest concern for psychotherapists and all mental health professionals. These counselors really want to make a difference, the client comes first and if the industry is moving online because that is what clients want, then I am certain that these helping professionals will get on board!

To Your Success,
Darlene Ouimet


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