Training Psychology Students for Telehealth: a Model for Doctoral-Level Education

The proliferation of telehealth has provided a means to extend and supplement traditional face-to-face approaches for the provision of psychological care. To develop true competency in the use of telehealth modalities, one must ensure focused education related to both general knowledge and hands-on skills. Despite several post-doctoral continuing education programs having emerged, a growing number of psychological professionals have suggested the utility of telehealth-focused education in doctoral-level graduate programs for psychology students. While graduate-level education holds many potential benefits, including providing a foundation for future telehealth usage and creating a means to address ongoing mental health disparities, such training programs have been minimally discussed in the literature, with no formal model disseminated. As such, the current discussion sought to support program development by briefly outlining a proposed model for doctoral-level graduate education for psychology students. Competencies, initial and advanced coursework, direct application, supervision, and program evaluation are discussed.