Just like in-person mental health care, telehealth is an established way for children and families to access mental health support. Studies as early as 2017 prove that it works. In fact, there’s recent evidence to suggest that certain types of therapy are more successful when delivered digitally versus in-person.

During this pandemic, we’ve seen children’s need for mental health services skyrocket. COVID-19 continues to prove the value of telemedicine to families and doctors.

Telemedicine has been shown to be a viable, high-quality option for families seeking mental health care.

At Little Otter, we’ve embraced digital delivery of mental health care from the beginning. With the Little Otter app, we’re building an evidence-based telehealth tool that supports child and family wellness. We believe digital-first telemedicine is the best way to truly meet your family where you are.

Studies indicate “favorable outcomes for general psychiatric assessments via telehealth and documented comparable demographic variables between children diagnosed in outpatient clinics and those diagnosed over telehealth.” In everyday language, that means telepsychiatry works just as well as in-person care.

Read on to learn why we believe telemedicine is the future, how to identify “good” telehealth solutions, and what the experience of accessing mental health care digitally can look and feel like. If you have additional questions about whether telehealth solutions are right for your family, you can book a free consultation.

Why Telemedicine, and Why Now?

From the inception of Little Otter years ago, we wanted to create a digital mental health care solution. The evidence shows that telemedicine works, and it’s the only way to improve access to family mental health care.

Most families today face barriers when seeking pediatric mental health care: there are a limited number of providers (particularly in rural areas), the average wait time is 7.5 weeks, and it’s hard to schedule appointments between work and school. The reality is that 80% of youth with emotional and behavioral health challenges don’t have adequate access to services.

Telemedicine is the future. The COVID-19 pandemic simply exacerbated the need for high-quality solutions.

“You cannot solve this just by creating more providers,” said Dr. Helen Egger, Little Otter Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer. “We have to leverage technology and data science and particularly tele-psychiatry and tele-mental health approaches if we are going to even get a dent into this.”

If your family is currently exploring telemedicine solutions, here’s a preview of what that experience can be like:

What is the Telehealth Experience Like for Families?

The promise of telehealth is mental health support from home, and much more.

Anyone who has ever hauled their children across town to spend more time in a waiting room than with a pediatrician will tell you what an ordeal office visits can be.  That’s assuming you can get an appointment, and take time away from work or other responsibilities to get to it.

For many in this situation, the ability to access telehealth services is an attractive solution because it allows parents to speak with their child’s doctor from the comfort of the couch.

This is particularly true for families that live outside of urban centers. Studies have shown that “the rise of telehealth has improved access for families in rural areas and traditionally underserved communities by reducing physical distance to services.”

Pediatric tele-mental health solutions give families convenient, authentic access to the critical support they need.

In taking the in-office component out of the equation, parents can now connect with expert child mental health care professionals without lengthy wait times or an exhausting referral process. Telehealth means your family can have a call with a therapist from your sofa in San Luis Obispo, and then sit down for family dinner.

Importantly, being at home translates to providers seeing families in their natural home dynamic and having a child be comfortable in their own environment.  These can’t be replicated in an office visit.  

Telehealth can help the whole family get involved.

Data collected over the past year also shows increased participation from both parents when families use telemedicine. Recent findings from a digital mental healthcare practice with heterosexual two-parent families reveals that dads participate in 95% of mental health at-home appointments. Previously, dads only participated in 5% of those appointments. Moms communicated what providers said to dads, which had the potential to cause problems.  

Quality digital mental healthcare providers are now able to deliver seamless, wraparound support for the children and families they serve. The digital treatment experience allows your child’s entire support system to stay connected and share information so that everyone is aligned and on the same page (no fax machine required). 

What is “Good” Telemedicine?

In the simplest sense, “good” telemedicine solutions are evidence-based. At Little Otter, we’re incorporating the most recent research and our decades of experience to deliver top-notch mental health care digitally.

There are a few key things to look for in digital mental health solutions. The best digital mental health care will:

• Come from providers trained in top-tier educational programs.

• Be based on the best available evidence about treatment efficacy.

• Actively incorporate new evidence as it becomes available.

• Be available to your family when and where you need support.

• Allow information to be shared among relevant parties as necessary.

Some tele-psychiatry solutions (like Little Otter) will also offer analytics and reporting to help you measure progress and improvements.

3 Common Questions and Concerns about Child Mental Health & Telehealth Solutions

Telemedicine is still a relatively new innovation, and as a parent or caregiver, you may have valid questions and concerns, like:

• Are these providers good quality?

• Are telehealth solutions for mental health effective?

• Will we be missing something by not meeting in person?

The answers to those common questions are below. (If you have additional questions, you can email them to us here.)

Are Telehealth Providers High-Quality?

This is a great question. When you’re inviting someone into your family’s mental wellness, it’s critical that they are trustworthy. At Little Otter, we hold our providers to the highest standard. All of our providers are Little Otter employees, and they go through proprietary training led by our co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Helen Egger.

Beyond their qualifications and training, we’re also making sure to hire culturally aware providers who excel at delivering mental and behavioral health care digitally.

“We’re focused on making sure that we're hiring providers who are excellent at providing virtual care,” said Rebecca Egger, co-founder and CEO of Little Otter. “We see providing virtual care to be an asset. [It] means that we can provide care in a child's and family's home and give them exactly what they need, when they need it.”

Are Telehealth Assessments and Treatments Effective?

Yes. Not only can evidence-based treatments for child emotional and behavioral challenges be delivered via digital care, many patients and providers report higher satisfaction with digital care compared to in-person care. Pediatric tele-health care works.

At Little Otter, we know that children and families can feel seen and cared for despite connecting across the miles. We experience this every day.

Will I Miss Something By Not Meeting in Person?

If you’ve never accessed support in this way, you may wonder if you’ll miss something by seeing your child’s psychiatrist or therapist digitally. You won’t necessarily miss anything by not meeting in person.

As the evidence clearly shows, many families find that the care they’re able to access digitally is as good or better than care they receive in the office.

However, you or your child may express a personal preference for meeting in-person or online. And that’s okay! The best mental health care is the mental health care that works for you.

Even though you can now access child telemental health services more easily, it’s still challenging to know when your child needs help - or where to find it.

If you’re worried about your child and family’s mental health, and you’re struggling to see a professional, tele-mental health support from Little Otter can help. Rather than waiting months to see a provider, we’re leveraging technology to provide greater access to care in a convenient, family-centered platform. Our team of industry-leading experts has worked to create a system of care that meets you wherever you are in the healing process.

Here’s How Little Otter Tele-Mental Health Care Works

If you’re wondering if you should be worried about an aspect of your child’s emotional or behavioral development, you deserve answers in minutes, not months. 

We invite you to join us and explore how Little Otter is redefining mental health care for children.

If you’re in California, Colorado, Florida, or North Carolina, you can register today! Simply head on over to https://app.littleotterhealth.com/get-started/kickoff to create an account and become a member. From there, you can explore our library of resources, ask questions, and connect with your personal care team.