The Advocate Magazine 2022 Issue 1 | Page 22

AMHCA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
JUNE 22 – 24 , 2022 LINQ HOTEL , LAS VEGAS
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KEYNOTE # 2 : A Q & A on Telehealth Law , Accessibility , and Ethics
THE ADVOCATE MAGAZINE : You ’ re an attorney and a mental health counselor — why both ?
Dr . Eric Strom : My legal career began as a Navy attorney , where I discovered a lot of overlap in legal assistance , criminal defense work , and counseling . I was seeing people at the lowest point in their life who felt I was their only advocate . My job was not to be judgmental , not to evaluate — it was to be there for that person . I remember a client who was concerned about the well-being of his adult child . From a legal perspective , I felt , “ This is so unhelpful — I ’ m telling this guy there ’ s nothing he can do .” But after our meeting , when he said , “ I feel so much better ,” it hit me . This guy just needed to talk about this — to reinforce that he cared and was doing as much as he could . That felt so meaningful .
THE ADVOCATE MAGAZINE : You work with clients in high-stress professions , including veterans .
Dr . Eric Strom : I ’ ve always had an interest in functioning under stress . In my initial Navy training , the first morning of
Eric Ström , JD , PhD , LMHC , provides legal counsel and guidance to mental health professionals as an attorney , and his clinical practice is focused on providing counseling services to combat vets and others in high-stress professions . Currently on AMHCA ’ s Ethics Committee , he is the ethics advisor for the Washington Mental Health Counselors Association . Dr . Ström earned a PhD in Counseling at Oregon State , graduated cum laude from Wayne State University School of Law , earned a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from the Northwest School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University Seattle , and attended the Hague Academy of International Law in the Hague Netherlands . bootcamp I can remember thinking , “ I volunteered for this ? That was the dumbest decision I ’ ve ever made .” Then on day two , I thought , “ Oh , I see how this works . When the drill sergeant says ‘ March around for three hours ’ and you say , ’ Okay ,’ it ’ s super easy . But if you ask ‘ Why ?’ it ’ s really hard .” That realization , and the stress of law school , made me think about how people function well and manage stress . That , plus my military experience , drew me to work with combat veterans and combat trauma in my clinical work .
THE ADVOCATE MAGAZINE : Your keynote is on telehealth — why ?
Dr . Eric Strom : When telehealth was new , around 2010 , I looked at an organization online that was offering “ distance counseling .” From an attorney ’ s perspective , I remember thinking , “ How do they do that ? This is so state-specific .” The website said something nutty , like , “ With online counseling , you can access counseling from anywhere in the world , and it can be anonymous .” That didn ’ t seem right . When I read the fine print , I saw this line : “ Our understanding is that counseling is considered to occur in the location of the counselor . If your jurisdiction is different , it ’ s up to you to know that .” I knew that ’ s not how it works . So , I started compiling a list of the telehealth rules by state . I discovered that the regulations ,
ethics , and laws on telehealth were complicated and constantly evolving .
Then of course , in March 2020 , the world changed . And what had been an interesting side practice that most clinicians didn ’ t engage in all of a sudden became our practice norm . Weird nuances —“ Can I provide telehealth to my client , who ’ s on vacation in California ?”— became the forefront of relevancy . I think clinicians know now that rules and standards apply to telehealth . But even though we ’ re two years into this , it ’ s not becoming clearer . People are just more aware of how complicated it is .
THE ADVOCATE MAGAZINE : Will telehealth be here to stay once the pandemic is gone ?
Dr . Eric Strom : Absolutely , though the personal connection of in-person services is never going to go away . But think about those clinicians who finished grad school in the last two years — telehealth is all they know . Now think about those clinicians who ’ ve had in-person counseling experience — they ’ ve now built up telehealth skills that they might not have even considered before the pandemic . We used to see telehealth as a poor approximation of in-person services . Now we ’ re starting to recognize that they both have strengths and limitations , but different ones . From the client perspective , I think we ’ ll see a lot of them saying , “ Let me get this straight . You want me to take time off work , get in the car , sit in traffic , see you for 50 minutes , go back to my car , drive back to across town to work ? I ’ ll just do it online during my lunch break .”
THE ADVOCATE MAGAZINE : What are telehealth ’ s ethical issues ?
Dr . Eric Strom : First , all of the ethical standards of in-person services apply exactly the same to telehealth . The second ethical issue is accessibility . Telehealth
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The Advocate Magazine 2022 , Issue # 1 American Mental Health Counselors Association ( AMHCA ) ww . amhca . org