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Counselors' Perceptions Of Their Preparedness For Telemental Health Services: A Phenomenological Examination, Daniel C. Holland, Jeffry L. Moe, Alan M. "Woody" Schwitzer, Shana Pribesh, Jeanel Franklin

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Background: To examine counselors' perceptions of their formal preparation for engaging in telemental health (TMH) counseling with the intent of gaining an understanding of their lived experiences.

Materials and Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with seven seasoned counselors who regularly engage in technology-mediated distance counseling.

Results: The results highlighted themes within two emerging categories: the counselor and training/education. Themes related to motivation and specific counselor attributes emerged from the first category and themes of availability, inadequacy, and modality emerged from the second category.

Discussion: The implications from this study suggest a lack of availability and standardization of effective training on …