Sara Mortaheb, MA LMHC
Adult & Family Therapist
What is Teletherapy or online counseling?
Online counseling for individuals.
Teletherapy or online counseling is simply having a session with your counselor over the phone or video. You receive the same type of service in teletherapy or online counseling as you would in person.
Where is teletherapy available?
Bellevue Family Counseling can provide teletherapy or online counseling and coaching no matter where you live in Washington State.
What types of teletherapy or online counseling do you provide?
Children, teens, parent coaching, individuals, and couples are all services we provide as teletherapy or online counseling.
Are teletherapy and online counseling effective?
The Journal of Psychological Disorders published a study in 2018 that found online cognitive behavioral therapy is “effective, acceptable, and practical health care.” The study found that CBT was equally as effective as face-to-face treatment for major depression, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. Other studies over the last few years have echoed that result.
Is teletherapy or online counseling confidential?
As Licensed counselors, we at Bellevue Family Counseling are ethically and legally bound to a privacy protection law called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA. This act lays out stringent requirements for confidentiality.
When conducting teletherapy or online counseling, counselors must ensure they are in a private and secure room before engaging in any teletherapy sessions. Sessions are never recorded or shared, unless with explicit agreement from the client.
Does insurance cover teletherapy or online counseling?
Currently, all insurance companies we are aware of, do. Premera, Lifewise, First Choice Health, Kaiser, Cigna, Aetna, United Health Care, Regence, and others all do cover teletherapy and online counseling in the same way as in-office sessions.
Online counseling is effective for couples too.
How does teletherapy work?
When you schedule an appointment, you may select “teletherapy” as the preferred service. You can also indicate this preference in the comment box during the booking process. If you prefer a telephone session you can confirm the phone number here as well. Then prior to your session, your counselor will email you a link to your video session.
What software do you use for telehealth or online counseling?
Bellevue Family Counseling has a paid subscription with ZOOM that is encrypted end-to-end and therefore meets the strict confidentiality requirements of HIPAA.
Zoom will work with any mobile device. It does not require that you sign up for an account. However, Zoom does require a small download.
