Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

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We are working hard on putting together our new OTI magazine, TILT (Therapeutic Innovations in Light of Technology).

The magazine will be online and free, and launched in September 2010. It will be a blend of news, innovations, member profiles, articles, features, marketing toolboxes, news on textbooks, and advertisements of interest. We will have more news on this very soon as the first issue comes together.

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Each issue will include the following:

· Editors introduction and contents (Kate Anthony & DeeAnna Merz Nagel)
· News from the cyberstreet (tweets members, what is at OTI blog, new research news)
· New Breakthroughs column
· Online Therapist column (A Day In The Life)
· Online Supervisor column
· Ethical Dilemmas column
· Feature article 4000-6000 words
· Other article(s) – about 1500 words
· Marketing toolbox column
· Featured Verified website
· Letters/reader comments
· Book descriptions of 3 books per issue
· Advertising and conferences

If you have an article of up to 1500 words that you are burning to get out of your system on any topic related to innovative delivery of therapeutic services via technology (including coaching), please do submit it no earlier than August 1st and no later than August 20th to editor@onlinetherapymagazine.com

We’re very excited at this new development at the Online Therapy Institute and will let you know even more about the content soon!

We look forward to reading your article!

If you have other inquiries about the magazine including advertising options please email info@onlinetherapyinstitute.com

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Get Verified!

Do you have a website that offers information, services or products related to mental health?

Online Therapy Institute verifies websites so that individuals and businesses can demonstrate to their audience that their website is in compliance with what OTI considers to be “best practice” and in accordance with OTI’s Ethical Frameworks.

Getting OTI Verified means whether you offer website development and marketing services, you are an individual practitioner in private practice or you own an e-clinic or you represent a charity or educational organization you can indicate to the public that you understand the ethical implications of delivering mental health information and services online.

Website Categories

• Client Services (therapy, counselling. counseling, coaching)
• Therapist/Coach Directory
• Social Network
• Blog
• Peer Support
• Self Help
• Practice Building/Marketing
• Supervision/Consultation
• Education/Professional Development
• Crisis Intervention

You may have a website that fits into more than one category. Or you may have two websites under the same business name. For instance, some people have a private practice website and a separate blog site. We will offer an OTI Verified Seal that you can use on all of your sites. By implementing the items on our checklist that apply to your website categories, you can Get Verified .

• Your seal will be a choice of two styles.
• Each seal carries your company name and the current date.
• The seal cannot be replicated onto another site.
• The cost is $99.99 for the first year and $49.99 renewal each year following.

Instructions

You must have Adobe Reader to Download the following files

OTI Get Verified Checklist ….. OTI Get Verified Notes

• Compare your website to our checklist to be sure your website is ready for verification.
• Read through the notes that offer clarification for items on the checklist.
• Once you are sure you meet the criteria, click Google Buy Now button below.
• Following the completion of the payment process, you will be directed to the application.
• You will be contacted within 10 business days with your OTI Verified Seal.
• Should your website not meet the OTI Verified criteria, we will make recommendations.

Get Verified!

Hi Everyone!

I invite you to join me and over 10 other expert speakers for a complementary Therapist Resource Telesummit. Over three days, you will have access to some incredible information on how to create an authentic and profitable therapy business, helping many more clients. I will be discussing online therapy and I am thrilled to be joining such a dynamic group of speakers!

See details here:
Therapists Resource FREE Telesummit March 12 – 14

You’ll discover:

* How to stop giving your money away to insurance companies and the biggest mistakes therapists make in building a successful fee-for-service therapy business

* How to help your potential clients TALK THEMSELVES into working with you and what you’ll need to know to attract way more clients without compromising your values

* The mindset shift and business model change you need to learn so you can easily double your current income

* How to use coaching to build a fee-for-service practice making six to seven figures a year

* The reason why you may be procrastinating in your business and the biggest gift you can offer your clients

* The marketing approach that helps your community, while growing your practice at the same time

* How to expand your practice using text-based therapy: what you need to know about using email and chat with your clients- everything from encryption, client screening, and cyber-cultural awareness

* How to create a signature presentation that leaves your potential clients asking for more

* Practical tools you can use to earn expert status and how to utilize technology and marketing strategies to engage clients, build credibility, and earn loyalty

* Specific ways social media improves your visibility online and how to use directories and google local business center to gain exposure and attract new clients

* How online networking sites and technology can bring therapists, students, and interested professional together in a global web community, maximizing your practice exposure

And so much more!

Join me!

March 12th, 13th and 14th, 2010
Register and see details here:
Therapists Resource FREE Telesummit March 12 – 14

Wishing everyone the best!

DeeAnna

OTI has been remiss in offering regular blog posts these past couple of months but with good cause and great outcomes!

So what’s in store for 2010? Our authored book, Therapy Online: A Practical Guide was just released and we have another edited book, The Use of Technology in Mental Health: Applications, Ethics and Practice due out this summer. This book has 30 chapters with a total of 47 contributing authors from across the globe.

As promised, we are offering online training about online therapy. We have launched the first 6 workshops with more to come. Each workshop is the equivalent of 5 clock hours of instruction. The workshops are online and self-paced.  The cost per workshop is $119.00/70.00 £.

• Introduction to Cyberspace: A Primer for Helping Professionals
• Relationships in Cyberspace: An Introduction for Helping Professionals
• The Online Therapeutic Relationship: Theoretical Considerations
• Ethical Considerations of Online Therapy
• Working Therapeutically Using Asynchronous Email
• Working Therapeutically Using Synchronous Chat

The workshop details can be accessed at our training portal. We have partnered with DigitalChalk to bring you a user-friendly yet state-of-the-art experience. Continuing Education credits for U.S. psychologists, social workers and counselors will be available very soon.

www.onlinetherapyinstitute.digitalchalk.com.

Just create an account and peruse our catalog! Your account will remain active should you decide to return to take a course.

We are giving our website a facelift so resources are easier to navigate.

We will soon offer an Online Therapy Institute ~verified~ seal that will provide a way for online helping professionals to indicate to the public that their site meets standards of best practice.

We will be facilitating groups and workshops as well as co-sponsoring conferences online and at our Second Life location.

We are collaborating with others to add to our Ethical Framework resources.

We have created:

• Ethical Framework for the Use of Technology in Mental Health
• Ethical Framework for the Use of Technology for Career and School Guidance

Coming Soon:

• Ethical Framework for the Use of Technology in Professional Coaching
• Ethical Framework for the Use of Technology in Crisis, Disaster and Critical Incident Interventions
  

We are offering a directory listing to everyone who joins our social network at www.onlinetherapysocialnetwork.com and your listing will be posted at www.onlinetherapydirectory.net.

For OTI members who practice online, a website listing in the OTI Web Directory (online counseling category) will be added provided the following standards are met:

1. Offer encrypted services for email, chat and web conferencing.
2. List level of education, schools attended and dates graduated.
3. List certifications and licenses if applicable with verification web links.
4. List crisis information or a link on the website’s home page.
5. List therapist’s alternate contact information in addition to email.

Mostly, we will continue to encourage dialogue among our members and friends at Online Therapy Institute so that we can all learn and grow together!

Kate and DeeAnna

Ethical Implications Online: Working and Socializing in Cyberspace
Presented by: DeeAnna Nagel, LPC, DCC
Dallas, Texas EAPA Pre-Conference Training
Co-Founder of the Online Therapy Institute

The Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) invites you to
Register For This Full-Day Ethics Course
Ethical Implications Online: Working and Socializing in Cyberspace
Tuesday, October 20 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM; 7.5 PDH/CE contact hours

This full-day workshop will discuss best practice with regard to communicating online with potential and existing clients, business associates, friends and other therapists. With the advent of Web 2.0 and Social Media, counselors and psychotherapists now must understand the boundaries of working and socializing in cyberspace. Topics to be covered include communicating confidentially with existing clients, how to handle the email inquiry from a potential client, the basics of ethical online counseling and the slippery slope of marketing your practice on the internet via social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Special OTI Discounted Price: $295
(You Save $60!)

Add This Full-Day Business-Building Course
For Just $100 More!

Essential Sales Skills for the Non-Sales Professional
Wednesday, October 21 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM; 7.5 PDH/CE contact hours

Presented by: Shelley Plemons MS, LCDC
President/CEO, Strategic Sales Solutions

The economy is poor and the behavioral health marketplace is increasingly competitive. As a mental health professional, you may be faced with the challenge of maintaining your current work-load while becoming more involved in sales efforts. You want to increase your client base and land business, but sales is not your first profession, and feels daunting. What do you do?

First, don’t panic! Second, participate in this unique full-day training session! This is the only sales training program for non-sales professionals, written and presented by a fellow clinician, and targeted to building the sales capacity of mental health and employee assistance professionals and their programs. Shelley will introduce you to the principles and skills of consultative selling. It’s a logical, non-manipulative approach that focuses on being responsive to the needs of your prospective client and matching them to your products or services. Enhance your confidence by using your personality and skills in consultation, relationship building, and communication to build business!

Total OTI Discounted Price for Both Courses: $395
(You Save $315!)

Offer Expires September 30, 2009!

Don’t Wait ‘Til It’s Too Late!
Use This Special Form to Register Today!

Learn more about EAPA’s 2009 Annual World EAP conference or download the conference preview book.
PDH/CE credit hours provided by:
Employee Assistance Certification Commission (EACC)
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC)
California Board of Behavioral Sciences
National Association of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselors (NAADAC)

The International Therapist Leadership Institute founded by Casey Truffo is presenting a Practice Building Virtual Conference October 13-17th, 2009.  The speaker line-up is great with the likes of Bill O’Hanlon and Ofer Zur to name but two.

My presentation will be on October 15th at 3PM PST. I will be speaking on the topic of Online Therapy.

The presentation will offer talking points for the therapist who is interested in offering online therapy (email, chat, webcam, VOIP) as adjunct to existing face-to-face clients and to new clients that begin the therapeutic relationship virtually. Considerations will include confidentiality. proper intake and informed consent.

I hope you can make it! There will be many great topics presented by great speakers so don’t forget to register!  Continuing Education is available. ~ DeeAnna

Online Therapy Teleseminar October 15th @ 3PM PST

Avatar Therapy is not new. The term has been discussed theoretically for nearly ten years. But now that virtualworlds have reached the mainstream and with the advent of gaming, many people understand the provocative power that exists with an avatar identity. People now live part of their lives virtually, sometimes existing in a mixed reality. Since technology and the internet have become such a part of our social fabric, separating time “online” from real world time is sometimes difficult and the lines have become blurred. Beyond standard email, people now chat and instant message, join social networks such as Facebook and MySpace and network professionally on sites such as Linkedin. People engage in consultation, business transactions, coaching and psychotherapy online via email, chat, audio and videoconferencing. The idea of engaging in therapy online within a virtual world environment is now reality. Second Life, a virtual world platform that is free to join already hosts private practitioners and mental health agencies offering psycho-education, consumer information and psychotherapy.

Three-dimensional virtual world settings offer another level of sensory experience that could enhance the therapeutic process. People can create an avatar that is a literal or metaphorical representation of self. Avatars can also represent a part of the self- perhaps the inner child or the shadow. With advances in technology and artificial intelligence, the ability to simulate various scenarios with therapy clients is not far off. Artificial intelligent avatars can be used in the therapeutic process to help a client heal from trauma, create a new ending to a dilemma, or work out unfinished business with a deceased loved one. These are but a few examples of how avatar therapy, with the aid of artificial intelligence and facilitation from a trained avatar psychotherapist can benefit people.

Properly trained avatar therapists would have a clear understanding of more traditional approaches to therapy online such as those mentioned above and understand the ethical issues related to online therapy and the delivery of mental health services through technological means. In addition, avatar therapists would have adequate knowledge of the online disinhibition effect as well as trauma related theories so that clients could be adequately prepared for avatar work. Avatar therapists would need to understand the importance of titrating emotions and properly grounding the client using containment techniques. Keeping the client emotionally safe would be paramount in a virtual environment because issues that would typically surface over several months or years could potentially surface much quicker in virtual world setting.

Avatar therapy of the future moves far beyond the therapist and client’s avatar representations engaging in an online form of traditional talk therapy. This futuristic and innovative therapy combines artificial intelligence with elements of traditional psychotherapeutic techniques used in grief work, and with trauma survivors as examples. Training therapists for this futuristic work can begin now in counseling education programs across the globe as we prepare practitioners to incorporate technology into the art of psychotherapy.

~ DeeAnna

Kate and DeeAnna have both contributed separately to a project called The Future of Innovation – where “over 350 leading thinkers from business, government, consulting and academia from around the globe share their thoughts, experiences, dreams, visions, hopes, concerns, and passions around The Future of Innovation, providing you with insights into tomorrow’s innovation agenda…”

Kate’s contribution is “The Future of Innovation in Training Innovative Therapists” and discusses training therapists to use technologies such as SMS texting, VR, Social Networking sites, and finally Hologrammatic Therapy (you heard it here first!).

DeeAnna’s contribution is “The Future of Innovation: The Use of Avatars in Psychotherapy” introduces Innovative Avatar Therapy Simulation and discusses what Avatar Therapy looks like, how it can enhance the therapeutic process, and the importance of training in using this new method when combining AI with elements of traditional psychotherapeutic techniques.

See more on the project at : http://thefutureofinnovation.org/

Great article from PsychCentral which puts DeeAnna and OTI at the forefront of Twitter for Mental Health!!

7. @therapyonline “A wide lens is cast at the Online Therapy Institute ranging from email and chat to videoconferencing and Second Life.” DeeAnna Merz Nagel maintains this popular account with a focus that’s business-to-business for professionals who offer online therapy. She manages to share lots of intriguing info while straddling a thin line between professional organization and marketer – without falling into the dark side.

See http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2009/06/29/top-ten-psych-tweeps/ for the other tweep pageant winners in Mental Health!

Kate

Working in partnership with some of the biggest names in music, sport and clubbing, CALM encourages young men to ‘open up’ and sort out their problems. CALM has built a strong presence through the internet, club flyers, posters, beer mats, gigs, comedy nights and in the media.