How many sessions in total should be given to a person having severe anxiety over the telephone (Telecounselling)? Also tell what should be the duration of each session?
1 Answers
Dr. Poornima Bhola, Dept. of Clinical Psychology, NIMHANS Expert answered 3 years ago
Telecounselling or Telepsychotherapy sessions are similar to in – person sessions in many ways. The duration of sessions and total number of sessions can be planned based on your assessment of the client’s needs and response to the interventions. Before starting tele-sessions, it would be important to spend time to do a detailed evaluation of the levels of anxiety and how much it is affecting the person’s functioning. After this, you could decide if the person is suitable for the tele-mode or not. Based on your evaluation, you may decide that a psychiatric referral is needed for possible medical management of anxiety. You may also assess if in – person sessions or a blended format (in-person + tele-sessions) are more appropriate for the client’s needs. If there is an option, you could also consider including some video-conferencing sessions to facilitate demonstration of certain anxiety management techniques. Since the person has severe anxiety, it would be helpful to track and evaluate his/her needs and response to tele – sessions at every stage.
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