Clinician-Delivered Teletherapy for Eating Disorders

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Key points

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    Videoconferencing (VC) psychotherapy is a means of improving access to evidence-based ED care for those in need.

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    Research suggests that the application of evidence-based protocols using teletherapy formats leads to significant improvement of ED symptoms and associated problems; however, additional research is necessary.

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    Specific administrative considerations, including legal issues, patient environment, and technology access, exist for ED teletherapy and require close examination before

General Psychotherapy

Within the past 15 years, substantial implementation and evaluation of teletherapy in general clinical populations has occurred. In their review, Hilty and colleagues12 concluded that for the most part, teletherapy is comparable with in-person treatment of adult depression and anxiety. According to Backhaus and colleagues,13 therapist-delivered VC psychotherapy in particular tends to be feasible, can reduce burden, is satisfactory for patients, and leads to clinical symptom reduction in

Teletherapy laws, regulations, consent, and licensure

In the United States, current federal law dictates Medicare coverage of teletherapy at the same rate as in-person treatment.27 Certain restrictions apply, such as the requirement that patients are seen at an originating site (eg, local clinic setting, community health center, and hospital) and that a patient can only receive telemental health care if located within a health professional shortage area or outside a metropolitan statistical area. State law controls regulations for Medicaid and

Summary and future directions

For clinicians treating EDs, teletherapy is a new field. Because the current body of evidence is limited in scope and methodology,39 it is recommended that teletherapy not be used as a substitute for traditional in-person therapy when this format is available. It is, however, strongly recommended in situations where there is a compelling reason for this form of treatment, such as a patient’s inability to access evidence-based ED treatments within a manageable traveling distance. Many

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    Disclosures: The authors have no disclosures of relationships with a commercial company that has a direct financial interest in subject manner or materials discussed in this article or with a company making a competing product.

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