Telehealth Learning Community

The Covid pandemic has made in-person therapy extremely difficult and at times impossible. Telemedecine techniques have proven to be of great value in addressing this problem. A silver lining to this arduous time is that telehealth is a new way to deliver therapeutic services to New Mexico, which has a large remote population.  This is potentially a lasting and positive change for the entire state, for our families, and for therapeutic service providers.

Kate Gibbons, PhD has led a monthly group session on how to deliver behavioral health services via the Internet for eight agencies which serve most of New Mexico. Involvement of our board member, Lyndon Haviland, MPH, PhD, as well as experts at our state agencies, has been integral to the development and success of the project.

Our partner agencies are located in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, Las Cruces, Taos, Clovis, and Hobbs, and deliver services to many other New Mexico rural counties. 

Results thus far from the pilot are both impressive and exciting.

• Close to 100% attendance at client virtual sessions compared to 60% attendance for in-person services.

• Increased participation from parents and increased contact with children receiving treatment.

• 5200 family members in crisis being served by the TLC providers.

• Group support for providers and therapists, the ability to share ideas and treatment practices in a learning community focused on progress and creative problem-solving.