Since the SLP world has had to switch to telepractice this past month, I’ve been getting tons of questions about how to get started.
That’s why I wanted to get you the answers you need from a seasoned teletherapist.
This past week, I had the honor of interviewing Tracy Sippl from S & L Teletherapy Consulting and learning all the ins and out of telepractice.
Tracy has been an SLP for over 30 years, and she spent 24 years servicing K-8 grade students in the school systems.
After growing frustrated with the growing amount of “non-therapy” tasks pulling her away from direct therapy in the schools, she began providing online therapy 8 years ago and eventually started her consulting business where she helps other SLPs get started in telepractice.
Tracy has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to keep students engaged online, supporting parents in facilitating speech and language growth, and staying ethical and compliant in the process.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed about getting started with online therapy, wondering if you or your students can handle it, or just plain not sure where to start, the insight she shares in this interview will be extremely valuable.
Here’s what we cover in this discussion:
Available teletherapy platform options for SLPs and what to consider when picking one (3:05)
What SLPs need to know when it comes to patient privacy and HIPAA compliance (5:55)
How to set up your office to maintain privacy and ensure clients are engaged (16:50)
What equipment is absolutely essential for SLPs providing teletherapy (e.g., internet bandwidth requirements, camera, webcam, head set, etc.) (18:00)
How to troubleshoot internet connectivity issues (20:18)
What SLPs need to know about tele-ethics, and some common mistakes to avoid (31:20)
How to set expectations, manage behavior, and keep client attention (40:44)
How to tell if someone is a good candidate for teletherapy and work through challenges (50:48)Where SLPs can go to find good therapy materials for online therapy (56:06)
What are some common misconceptions about online therapy? Is teletherapy “second best” compared to face-to-face sessions? (1:00:05)
If you’re looking to get set up as a teletherapist ASAP, you’re going to find this interview extremely useful. Check out the entire thing below:
Tracy mentioned a handful of therapy platform options on the interview, including:
Google Meet through Google Suite
She also mentioned SLPNow as a good resource for teletherapy friendly materials.
Finally, to test your upload and download speech, visit: https://www.speedtest.net/
Tracy Sippl offers consulting for school districts, organizations, and therapists who want to get up and running in teletherapy.
To learn more about how you can have Tracy train your group or help you set up your own teletherapy practice, visit her website to set up a free initial consultation: https://s-lteletherapyconsulting.com/
You can also follow her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/teletherapyconsulting/
On InstaGram at https://www.instagram.com/slteletherapyconsulting/
Or on Twitter at https://twitter.com/slteletherapy
