自今年早些时候COVID-19大流行影响美国以来, experts have reported a spike in telehealth, or virtual, counseling services, with 83% of individuals 预计在大流行结束后仍将利用远程保健咨询. 十大菠菜台子(Oakland University)的咨询师们亲眼目睹了提供虚拟咨询服务的效果，并声称这在他们的实践中可能是开创性的.
“Telehealth … allows us to meet face-to-face, through a screen, when we cannot meet in person,” said Olivia Nash, 教育与人类服务学院(SEHS)咨询中心协调员. “With telehealth, we are able to reach more individuals, 因为他们不再有交通障碍或长时间的校园通勤限制他们的参与.”
According to Todd Leibert, associate professor and chair of the Department of Counseling, 在2019冠状病毒病之后，远程医疗咨询变得至关重要.
“通过空气传播的COVID-19大流行意味着传统的面对面咨询无法安全进行, the need for counseling was intensified due to the pandemic,” he said. “The ability to deliver counseling safely, through online communication, 意味着咨询服务和咨询培训可以恢复, could be resuscitated.”
Although a telehealth option has proven to be convenient, its technological expenses made it difficult to offer. However, the Department of Counseling was able to utilize a $10,校友米歇尔·罗宾逊和前校董会成员罗恩·罗宾逊捐赠了10,000美元，使这些资源可行.
罗宾逊夫妇的捐赠计划在接下来的四年里分散到整个部门, with $1,000 being given the first year and $3,000 the remaining three. However, upon learning of OU’s need for telehealth counseling, 他们重新分配了资金，以便在第一年提供更多的资金.
“心理健康领域一直资金不足，”米歇尔·罗宾逊说. “需要心理健康服务的人比以往任何时候都多，而提供社区所需服务的咨询师却很短缺.”
In addition to the financial expense, department officials had to adapt to a new virtual format, 考虑到技术能力和任何潜在的道德或法律问题. 尽管莱伯特说，学习曲线“崎岖而陡峭”, with lots of potholes,” the department is satisfied with the end result.
With the implementation of telehealth resources on campus, 学生辅导员现在有机会通过他们与客户的工作继续他们的实践应用.
“If we hadn’t switched to telehealth, 我们就得把实习学生无限期搁置, 因为我们无法在咨询中心保持社交距离,” Nash said. 戴口罩也限制了咨询的一些重要部分, which come from non-verbal communication.”
咨询部甚至考虑将远程医疗永久地纳入咨询实习，以确保未来的咨询师为任何情况做好准备.
SEHS咨询中心还能够通过增加虚拟选项来增加每天帮助的客户数量.
“获得采用远程医疗技术的资源创造了一种涟漪赋权, starting with the SEHS Counseling Center, and then pushing out to student counselors and onto clients,” Leibert said. “Now, the SEHS CC will be able to reach more clients, and of greater diversity, and with more consistency, 因为客户可以接受咨询，而不管疾病的障碍或字面上的交通障碍.”
The SEHS Counseling Center is a no-cost service, 任何7岁以上的密歇根居民都可以通过互联网访问其远程医疗服务, which has proven advantageous to many clients, according to Nash. SEHS咨询中心远程医疗资源的成功也为开放大学提供了机会 Adult Career Counseling Center to successfully shift to an entirely virtual platform.
"远程保健服务为无法获得面对面服务或从事面对面服务可能对其健康有害的个人提供了与重要服务的联系,” she said. “它使我们能够继续满足社区中人们的行为健康需求, and across campus, 否则谁将负担不起或无法获得精神卫生服务. This is critical at this time, 随着世界上所有不确定性的增加，焦虑也在增加.”
According to the World Health Organization, 超过60%的国家报告说，在大流行之后，脆弱个人的精神卫生服务中断. Additionally, the National Health Council 报告称，自1月份冠状病毒影响美国以来，每天的焦虑筛查增加了370%.
“直到疫情席卷我国，我才意识到(远程医疗咨询)的影响,” Robinson said. “人们被隔离，远程医疗为以安全和关怀的方式接触家中的人们提供了机会，帮助他们应对正在经历的快速变化. It has been offered for years, it was not accepted until now, and it will be a big part in the future of counseling.”
自6月的第二周以来，在SEHS咨询中心已经开始了远程保健会议，预计在可预见的未来将继续进行.
有关SEHS咨询中心的更多信息，请访问 mvisi.com/counseling/sehs-cc.
March 5, 2021
By Trevor Tyle
