Telemental health (TMH) services can be a lifeline for clients living in rural and frontier communities. It can also be a way for CACs located in urban and suburban areas to increase capacity to serve clients who may have transportation or other barriers that impact access. Implementing a statewide TMH network at the Chapter level can be a way to address access to trauma-trained therapists and the barriers clients face when smaller CACs or rural/frontier CACs do not have the capacity to do so.

Below are potential benefits and general readiness questions for Chapters to consider when contemplating establishing a statewide TMH Network.

Potential Benefits of a Statewide TMH Network

• Overcomes the hurdle of distance, allowing a child, perhaps living hours away from the treating therapist, to receive state-of the-art, evidence supported trauma therapy from a qualified provider without the burden of travel.
• Provides increased value for rural and frontier regions where the choice is often teletherapy or no therapy (or referral to a provider that does not meet NCA qualifications). In the simplest terms, such a network uses technology to replicate what a well-resourced CAC in a metropolitan area that has adequate number of qualified therapists can do in person, but via the web.
• Helps to increase equitable access so that rural, urban, and suburban located CACs can all provide access to quality therapy services.
• Provides a standardized process for providers to enhance consistency of service provision across the state.
• Allows the Chapter to see gaps in delivery and service needs for a broader state context to better target supports and respond to need.
• Provides support and ways for therapists to share training, professional literature, and practical clinical experience.
• Reduces sense of isolation among providers who work in an environment where they have no local peers to share the emotional burden of the work.
• Helps to address knowledge and skill acquisition
• Improves management of secondary trauma stress, far more powerfully than individual practitioners or isolated CACs acting on their own

Readiness Considerations