Reflections and Resources

Dear IPI Community Members

I’m reaching out to all of you to express my heartfelt support during these tumultuous times when the ground is shifting under us at every moment. Amid the fast-paced nature of life during the coronavirus pandemic, we’re all challenged to adapt to a new set of circumstances in our personal and professional lives.

Fortunately, our distance learning community at IPI affords us a unique opportunity to draw upon our individual connections and community resource so we can overcome these challenges together. Fear and uncertainty pervade every sector of our lives and every region of ­the world, yet we will get through these daunting impediments as a whole.

More than ever, we are challenged to retain our thinking capacity on behalf of ourselves, our loved ones, and the patients whom we serve.  It is not an easy task to access our listening resources, creative thinking, and generative spirit, amid the global crisis with its attendant uncertainties and significant human toll and tragedy.

Thankfully, our community offers a protective shield within which we can shore up our resources. You will find several opportunities and resources listed below that I hope you will find useful.

Caroline Sehon

IPI Director

 

General Information

• States Waiving Licensure Requirements/Renewals in Response to COVID-19
• The IPA podcast “Off the Couch” has begun interviews with internationally reputed analysts who discuss the COVID-19 pandemic. Click on this link to listen to a podcast with Marilia Aisenstein.
• CSTS Sustaining the Well-being of Healthcare Personnel During Coronavirus and Other Infectious Disease Outbreaks
• Physician Support Line: 1-888-409-0141 https://www.physiciansupportline.com
• Public Health Connected
• Decision making guide for reducing your risk of Covid infection
• TELEHEALTH, LICENSING AND REGULATORY ISSUES DURING COVID-19 (Prepared 2/3/2021 for the APsaA Covid-19 Advisory Team by Linda Michaels, Brenda Bauer, Carol Reichenthal, Dan Prezant)
  • National:
    • Health and Human Services offers a lot of information about policy changes for Telehealth during COVID. Topics include HIPAA, prescribing, Medicaid/Medicare, and telehealth licensing requirements and interstate compacts.
    • Near the end of 2020, there was an extension of allowance for Telehealth services through CMS.  Here is the emergency declaration: cms.gov Emergency Declaration.
    • The Mental Health Liaison Group (MHLG) wrote to the Biden administration to urge that certain steps be taken in the first 100 days to protect telehealth and mental health care. The letter can be found on the MHLG website, here: https://www.mhlg.org/issue-statements/covid-19-response/
    • The Psychotherapy Action Network (PsiAN) issued a telehealth position paper, outlining the relevant licensing and practice issues in order to protect telehealth and mental health care. Here is a direct link to the statement: PsiAN Telehealth Statement.
    • The American Psychoanalytic Association offers resources to practitioners, including information on converting in-person to telehealth practice, returning to in-person treatment, resources for support for clinicians, resources for psychoanalytic education, managing COVID anxiety.
  • States:
    • The National Governors Association is tracking the emergency orders issued by governors in each state, including the type of order, initial date and most recent date of order, etc.
    • The Center for Connected Health Policy has also compiled information related to each state’s executive orders and dates for which these orders are in effect during COVID.
  • Psychologists
    • A useful article from the American Psychological Association on issues and implications of practicing across state lines: What to know about doing telehealth in a different state: Here are answers to the most commonly asked questions about practicing telehealth across state lines.
    • For a collection of articles and announcements including advocacy updates, reimbursement and licensing/regulatory guidance, and other information regarding how COVID is impacting practice, check here: https://www.apaservices.org/practice/clinic
    • Prior to COVID, the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact (PSYPACT) was created to move toward licensing reciprocity between states.  A number of states already participate, and more are likely to join going forward. The PSYPACT website has information about practicing telepsychology in different states, how to apply for the PSYPACT license, and parameters on temporary treatment across state lines.
    • The Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards (ASPPB) provides information for each state – contact information for each state board, status of emergency orders, temporary licensing waivers. ASPPB also includes information and forms to modify training documents for practica, internships and post-docs, as well as modifications for CE requirements, by state. 
  • Physicians
    •  The Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (IMLC) offers expedited licensing in other states: https://www.imlcc.org/
    •  The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) offers the following information:
    •  States waiving telehealth licensing requirements
    •   Information, by state, on telehealth waivers, audio-only session, public/private insurance reimbursements
    •   Modifications for CME requirements, by state
    •   temporary waivers on licensing requirements by state
  • Social Workers
    • The Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) provides information on emergency provisions regarding social work licensure, CE requirements, in-person supervision requirements, and license renewal dates. Go to this page, scroll down to “Regulatory Provisions,” and select the state you’re interested in.

 

Telemental Health

• States Modifying Requirements for Telehealth in Response to COVID-19
• Questions on teleanalysis from Italy
• APsaA telemental health resources
• IPA Telemental health recommendations
• Resource List for Conducting Teletherapy and Teleanalysis
• Getting Started on Zoom for Secure Videoconference Psychotherapy or Psychoanalysis
• Basics for Starting Teletherapy and Teleanalyis
• Changes in Frames: Covid-19 and Teleanalysis blog post by Yolanda Varela Ph.D.
• AACAP’s Telepsychiatry Toolkit
• Vaccine Hesitancy: Can we talk?
• Psychoanalytic Action Network – Dr. Caroline Sehon on Teletherapy and Teleanalysis

Working with Kids and Adolescents

• Impact of COVID-19 on Older Children and Adolescents
• Impact of COVID-19 on Young Children
• Cheat Sheet for Parents who are Homeschooling
• The National Association of School Psychologists How to talk to kids
• World Health Organization Help kids cope with stress
• The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)
  Tips on talking with kids and adolescents
• Children’s National Answers for kids questions about covid
• Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration Age appropriate ways to talk to kids
• COVID-19 pandemic-related psychopathology in children and adolescents with mental illness
• AACAP Screen Time and Quarantine
• Coronavirus and Mental Health podcast
• AACAP Coping while Sheltering in Place
• AACAP Stress Management and Teens
• CNN/Sesame Street Coronavirus Town Hall
• UCLA – Brief COVID-19 Screen for Child/Adolescent PTSD
• AACAP – Psychopharmacology Issues During COVID-19
• teach.com – How to Balance Children’s Screen Time During the Pandemic

Responding to Virtual Connections

• Thoughts about IPI Online Weekend Conference blog post by Jill Scharff M.D.
• CSTS Psychological Effects of Quarantine During the Coronavirus Outbreak
• Want to See Your Therapist In-Person Mid-Pandemic? Think Again – Todd Essig