Essentials of Telebehavioral Health : A Practical Guide

Telebehavioral Health (TBH), defined as the use of information and telecommunication technologies for remote behavioral health service delivery, has witnessed exponential growth in recent years. The increase in TBH adoption can be attributed to several factors such as: increasing demand for behavioral health services, increasing availability of high-speed internet, decreasing cost of technology, expansion of reimbursement, and growing scientific evidence demonstrating its effectiveness across various patient populations, psychiatric conditions, and clinical settings. The COVID-19 pandemic further catapulted TBH expansion and scaling, as social distancing and lockdown measures left both clinicians and patients with limited alternatives.

Essentials of Telebehavioral Health: A Practical Guide comes at a time when TBH’s effectiveness is well-established, its position in healthcare systems secure and uncontested, and the conversation around it shifting from “if” to “how” it could be implemented. The success of TBH programs is contingent on the careful planning, meticulous implementation, and continuous monitoring and evaluation of its essential components, with special emphasis on clinical, technical, legal and ethical considerations. While there are existing resources that offer road maps for TBH program implementation, what this book provides is hands-on support and guidance to set up and maintain a TBH practice, focusing on both its programmatic and clinical aspects. Its simple structure, succinctness, and scientific rigor make it suitable for both professional and educational settings.  In addition to contributing to the writeup, the editors enlisted several authors with a wealth of practical knowledge and firsthand clinical experience on TBH implementation and delivery. The user experience is enhanced through explanatory figures, synthesis tables, visual aids, end-of-section checklists, and summaries in bullet-point format.

 

 

Essentials of Telebehavioral Health: A Practical Guide is a concise and evidence-based guide that synthesizes decades’ worth of knowledge and experience into key pointers for clinicians, professionals, and interested learners on how to plan, implement, deliver, evaluate, and ensure the sustainability of TBH programs. As the most up-to-date text on TBH, this book serves as a go-to resource for healthcare professionals, clinicians, students and trainees with minimal to no formal education on TBH, to work towards adopting this modality in a  synthesised and easy to read format.

Hossam Mahmoud, MD, MPH, DFAPA

Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts

 

Dr. Mahmoud is a Board-Certified psychiatrist with extensive experience delivering telebehavioral health services across multiple clinical settings. He is Regional Chief Medical Officer at Beacon Health Options/Anthem. Prior to joining Beacon/Anthem, he was the Behavioral Health Medical Director at Cambia Health Solutions. Dr Mahmoud served as the Medical Director and Senior Vice President at Array Behavioral Care for three years, during which he planned and implemented multiple telebehavioral health programs across the United States. Dr Mahmoud is Past President of the Illinois Psychiatric Society and Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. He earned his Medical Degree and Master of Public Health at the American University of Beirut. He worked as a Medical Officer at the World Health Organization before completing his residency trainingat McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University in Chicago. Dr Mahmoud holds an academic appointment at Tufts University School of Medicine.

 

Emile Whaibeh, MPH

University of Balamand

Beirut, Lebanon

 

Emile Whaibeh is a researcher and an instructor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Balamand (UoB) in Beirut, Lebanon. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Doctoral School of Science and Health [École Doctorale de Science et Santé] (EDSS) at Saint-Joseph University (USJ). His published peer-reviewed journal articles focus on the applications of telebehavioral health and its potential in improving access to mental health services in resource-limited settings and countries and for underserved patient populations. He is also the lead field researcher at the Collective for Research and Training on Development-Action (CRTD.A), a non-governmental organization focused on capacity building and development projects in the Middle East and North Africa region. Additionally, he has worked as a research consultant on several projects with the private and public sectors, covering issues related to mental health, health promotion, and gender-based violence. Emile holds a Master’s degree in Public Health with a special focus on community health. His research interests include public mental health, environmental health, telebehavioral health and other digital health solutions.

 

Hady Naal, MA

Global Health Institute at the American University of Beirut

Beirut, Lebanon

 

Hady Naal is a Research Consultant at the Global Health Institute at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the Lebanese American University, and a Masters’ degree in Clinical Psychology from Haigazian University, where he also completed his clinical training in psychotherapy. In addition to his clinical experience, Hady has managed multiple research and public health projects for local and international non-governmental organizations and academic institutions in Lebanon. His work has yielded numerous articles published in peer-reviewed journals focusing primarily on mental health, telebehavioral health, program evaluation, healthcare services, and health equity among others.