The unexpected advantages of Teletherapy

Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the Health Professions Council updated their guidelines and regulations regarding telehealth services to include: "Telemedicine which involves remote consultation with patients using the telephone or virtual platforms".

This created a window of opportunity for clients and therapists that were willing to adapt, by embracing technology.

Don't get me wrong ....... it was incredibly daunting. Daunting for parents who needed to find the time and energy to become active participants in their child's therapy sessions, and for the Occupational Therapist who was used to working in a therapy room full of toys, educational materials and specialised equipment and who was experienced in "hands-on" therapy.

The ones that we were most concerned about, the kids, surprised us all by being the most resilient and quickly adapting to online therapy methods. From their point of view: what is there not to like about having two adults' undivided attention for 30 minutes whilst having fun?

Children are motivated by newly designed audio and visual onscreen input that make these virtual sessions even more interactive and rewarding. Not to mention that they were missing their regular OT sessions and in this way, they at least got to "see" and interact with "their" OT.

We quickly discovered that the typical, pre-covid therapy session of 45 minutes, was too long and "hectic" for an online session and reduced our sessions to 30 minutes which works for the children, the parents and the therapist.

In addition to the benefits of lower therapy costs (shorter sessions), less travel time, reduced travel costs and no risk of infection, most parents have also reported that they feel more "empowered" as they have learned and developed skills to play, grow and interact with their child while making use of their home resources.

Many parents have opted to share video recordings of online OT sessions with their partners, family members and nannies which has led to greater involvement of the child's caregiver network in the child's therapy. 

Parents have also reported an improved understanding of OT jargon and better carry-over of OT goals into their home setting.

As almost all sessions take place in the comfort of the home, the therapist has been able to develop a better understanding of family dynamics, resources and the home environment, to make child-specific recommendations about toys, equipment or structure in the household. This has not only benefited the children that are in therapy but also their siblings.

Even though we all look forward to returning back to hands-on, face-to-face therapy, Telemedicine has added a new and exciting dynamic to the Occupational Therapy process.

Based on these positive outcomes and if the Health Professions Council allows, I hope to include teletherapy as one of my "new normal treatment options, even after Covid-19.