Telehealth, Parent Alliance, and OT

As OTs, we believe that creating a therapeutic alliance is one of the most powerful vehicles to change.

But, we also know that there are many barriers that exist to building transformational relationships with our clients

Telehealth can feel like another such barrier—but it doesn’t have to be!

The article we are looking at in this 1 hour podcast-based CE course is a qualitative study exploring the parent engagement and therapeutic alliance in teletherapy programs. The author’s intent was to begin building a conceptual model to inform improved practice.

After discussing the article, we are excited to welcome Adam Griffin to the podcast. Adam is an OT hailing from Dubai, who has vast experience using teletherapy and coaching fellow OTs in its use.

1. You will be able to identify strategies to build task alliance in telehealth.

2. You will be able to recognize drivers of relationship alliance in telehealth.

• Intro

• Breakdown and analysis of journal article

  • Quick intro to teletherapy and where the research stands

  • The known importance of therapeutic alliance

  • Wait, what exactly is therapeutic alliance?

  • Therapeutic alliance in teletherapy: what we know and don’t know

  • What was the intent of this paper?

  • What were the authors’ methods?

  • Who were the participants and what did the interview entail?

  • What were the findings?

  • Discussion/Conclusions/Implications

  • Takeaways for OT practitioners

• Discussion on practical implications for OTs (with Adam Griffin)

  1. How did you first find OT?

  2. How did you get into pediatric teletherapy?

  3. How is teletherapy different from in person therapy?

  4. Did you agree with the premise of the article that parent engagement is a key driver of outcomes in pediatric telehealth?

  5. What are practical things you do to get buy-in from parents and kids? How does that vary by caregiver?

  6. What does “agreement on goals” look like in your practice?

  7. What does “agreement on tasks” look like?

  8. How can you ensure open conversation with parents in the course of therapy?

  9. What is your advice for OTs to improve their therapeutic alliance skills in telehealth?

  10. What do you see on the horizon for teletherapy and OT?

Primary

• Parent engagement and therapeutic alliance in Allied Health teletherapy programs

Additional

• Stimulating research to advance evidence-based applications of telehealth in occupational therapy

• Parent engagement and disengagement in paediatric settings: An occupational therapy perspective

It is the policy of OT Potential to disclose any financial and non-financial interest the provider or instructor may have in a product or service mentioned during an activity. This is to ensure that the audience is made aware of any bias of the speaker.

OT Potential pays guest speakers an honorarium for their participation, either directly or to an institution of the speaker's choosing at their request. We invite guests whose expertise often comes from practices, programs, or building products in their field. Where a speaker has a financial interest in the subject of a course, we disclose it below so you can weigh it for yourself.

OT Potential's interest in this topic: We have no financial stake in this topic.

Speaker interests: Adam Griffin has no financial interest in this topic to disclose.