Qualms about tele-psychiatry?

You’re not alone. Although I first completed a video-assisted psychiatry session almost twenty years ago, until just a few years back, I was doing almost all my work face-to-face. Like many clinicians, I believed that was the best way to engage with patients. It was comfortable and familiar. Had the pandemic not occurred, I might still have worked the same way.

But Zoom changed our workplaces permanently, didn't it? Work-from-home will forever be a thing. When the pandemic struck, healthcare had to improvise. During the worst days, a public health emergency was declared, allowing mental health sessions to take place by telephone. Telephone! (In Tennessee, the allowance for those sessions expires mid-year 2023) Of course, audio-visual sessions became ubiquitous, and a curious trend emerged: patients seemed more open to the change than clinicians. I’d hear the mantra repeated amongst colleagues that nothing trumps in-person visits. And yet the research data paints quite a different picture.

The APA (American Psychiatric Association) summarizes the extensive data so: “Telepsychiatry is equivalent to in-person care in diagnostic accuracy, treatment effectiveness, quality of care and patient satisfaction.” Really, numerous studies show solid outcomes, and widespread patient acceptance. The clinician reluctance pops still pops up!

Another exciting thing: access to treatment has improved dramatically for many. If you were looking for a child psychiatrist, and you didn't happen to live in NYC or Boston, you'd be hard pressed to find one. Vast swathes of Tennesee (and most states) are direly underserved by psychiatrists in general. Telepsyhiatry relieves some of that disparity. And from my telepsych patients, I routinely hear about saved commute time, saved gas, more privacy, and more convenience.

At PsychiatryCircle of course, I’ve embraced telepsychiatry fully. I’ve made sure the platform we use is secure, meeting or exceeding regulatory requirements. The physical spaces where each of us is located must be private too, and as comfortable as possible. And then, therapeutic alliance is allowed to flourish, with unhurried attention, honest communication, mutual respect, strict confidentiality.

For further reading: https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/telepsychiatry

M. Ali, MD

PsychiatryCircle

Honest holistic psychiatry for you.

Greetings to all of you, and a very warm welcome. It gives me great pleasure in establishing this site, and this virtual clinic. I'm trying to create a space that will empower you to live your life as fully as possible, despite your psychiatric struggles. And given the growth that comes from pain, may your best life lay ahead.

We've divided our selves into myriad pieces, and assigned specialists to treat each of those pieces. Each of those specialists is backed by a college, a board. And what's a psychiatrist assigned to treat? You're not here for your tonsils of course, but I haven't fully discovered what's fair game. Or more correctly, what's off limits. Since your mind (wherever it lies) encompasses just about everything doesn't it?

I want to practice what I've learned and what I believe, at a clinic I would be happy sending my loved ones too. PsychCircle is that clinic. I'll listen attentively, and will provide remedies designed for you in particular. If they are within my scope and access, we'll use them without interference of insurance and administrators. If they aren't, I'll point you in the right direction.

I practice psychiatry that lives up to the professional and ethical standards of the large US organizations representing the field. But I hope you find something different here too. You shouldn't be rushed. You won't be lumped into broad diagnostic categories and assigned treatment templates that fit those categories. And your mind will not be treated separately from the rest of you. I want you to learn more about yourself, the conditions that affect you, and the tools available to you - both basic, and cutting edge.

Thank you for being here!

M. Ali, MD