Therapy Apps

[Woodsjd]

Anyone with experience providing services on therapy apps like Better Help or Doctors on Demand? Does it seem legit and is the compensation worth it?

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[summerbabe]

Bumping this thread. When COVID first hit, I sent in a CV to Doctors on Demand and a recruiter followed up recently to set up a 30 minute call. Does anybody have first, second, or third hand info about psychology on this platform?

I currently work for a VA and am fairly satisfied, generally enjoy agency work, really enjoy teleworking (no commuting, more time with dogs, etc), and thankful I don't have immediate pressures to bring in more income (nor do I know if I want to do more patient care beyond my VA hours or would give up my VA gig for something else FT right now).

 

[R. Matey]

Not through apps, but I've given apps as homework. CBT thought tracker is a good one. It's free and the UI allows for clients to reframe their own thoughts using the classic list of cognitive distortions. Good for homework in the beginning stages of CT or CBT when people are learning to categorize their automatic negative thoughts.

 

[ClinicalABA]

Bumping this thread. When COVID first hit, I sent in a CV to Doctors on Demand and a recruiter followed up recently to set up a 30 minute call. Does anybody have first, second, or third hand info about psychology on this platform?

I currently work for a VA and am fairly satisfied, generally enjoy agency work, really enjoy teleworking (no commuting, more time with dogs, etc), and thankful I don't have immediate pressures to bring in more income (nor do I know if I want to do more patient care beyond my VA hours or would give up my VA gig for something else FT right now).

Be very certain of licensure requirements (e.g, where you have to be licensed to provide remote services). Varify any info you get from Docs on Demand regarding licensure requirements. There have been some some COVID related changes/allowances in licensure pertaining to remote services, and you need to be aware of these both for the state you are in and the state the client is in. DO NOT TRUST Docs on Demand to provide you with the most up-to-date and accurate info- it's your ass on the line if something goes wrong with a client and you are technically practicing psychology without a license. Also verify that you have appropriate malpractice coverage under a policy from an insurer that is looking out for your interests and not just Docs on Demand. Read all contracts very carefully (and ideally review with an attorney).

I have no first hand knowledge of Docs on Demand and am not trying to imply that they are a bad company. Telehealth and related regs are just so new and ever-changing, and you do not want to be the case-law.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I agree with the above that at this point, I don't know how much I'd trust the apps to be on top of all the legalities of things. And given the whole situation with Talkspace, I have my concerns about the actual privacy and security of session, patient, and provider information. It's not something I'd want to get into until it's more mature, but I'm pretty risk-averse in that regard.

 

[summerbabe]

I spoke with a recruiter and for psychologist contract work, it's a minimum 12 hrs/wk commitment at $60 gross for each 50 min session + documentation. They take care of billing/insurance since most users are on employer-sponsored plans. Therapy pts self-schedule and you do a treatment plan during the initial session. There's possible peer review of clinical documentation by their therapy clinical team.

For ft employees (30 hrs+), benefits include health/dental, 4% 401k match, licensing reimbursement/logistical support for additional states, company issued Chromebook, and maybe some more. And partial benefits for pt employees (20 hrs+). Employed positions require some evening and weekend commitments each month. They provide malpractice to every clinician (not sure the exact details).

I'm gonna kick it around and figure out the costs/benefits of having up to 12 additional patient care hours a week and whether I want to formally interview with their clinical team, as well as reach out to my board. I would only see patients who live in my licensure state (which apparently has booming demand since COVID) but I don't physically reside there so I would definitely need to figure that out. Thanks again for those who provided helpful tips earlier.

 

[WorkLifeBalance]

When I first heard a commercial for Better Help, I did a quick google search and found that there were lots of clinicians out there stating that the pay was very low, and that they had little control over how much they were scheduled (e.g., there were several who indicated that they had set up their "hours" and had the site book people outside those times). They also indicated that the support from the company to address any issues was minimal. Finally, although the company claims to screen out clients, they claimed that they received several clients who were inappropriate for the format. This was just a quick glance and I have no idea whether these complaints were valid, but I wanted to throw them out there.

 

[Sanman]

The biggest issue with these apps seem to be the issue with a lot of tech startups or large healthcare companies; you get all the liability and headaches with not enough of the money. In fact it is in Betterhelp's contract that they cannot be held liable for any costs you incur due to treating patients on their platform. and cannot sue them. Yet, they have the ability to cut you off from treating a suicidal patient if the bill is not paid to the platform and if something happens the family can only sue you. Better to simply get on a secure online platform and start your own practice.

Betterhelp therapist terms and conditions

 

[WisNeuro]

I spoke with a recruiter and for psychologist contract work, it's a minimum 12 hrs/wk commitment at $60 gross for each 50 min session + documentation. They take care of billing/insurance since most users are on employer-sponsored plans. Therapy pts self-schedule and you do a treatment plan during the initial session. There's possible peer review of clinical documentation by their therapy clinical team.

You can do much better on your own. I'd start talking to some people in your area who may have a practice already setup. Learn the ropes and a few other things. Maybe they have an extra office for a PT lease. Heck, even if you went your own way, billing is much easier than people think it is. Maybe a steep learning curve up front as you create templates. Colleague of mine spends 20-30 mins a week on it (6 assessment pts per week). From your other posts, I assume you are already working a FT job somewhere, so most of the benefits would be superfluous. Your 401k contributions are capped, so it's not like you can contribute more than the years limit anyway.