Is Phone Based Therapy Effective?

Phone based therapy has shown to have positive effects regarding both physical and mental health of patients. What phone based therapy consists of are phone calls made to clients through automated phone calls, along with surveys to complete online. These surveys and phone calls help assess clients pain and offer therapy recommendations based on the assessment. They are given the chance to request talking with a live nurse at the end of each survey or automated phone call. Even without speaking with a live nurse, studies have shown a decrease in reported pain from clients who are utilizing this service.

Patients who have used this phone therapy session include those with depression, some with cancer pain and depression, and others with both depression and pain. In each of the groups that used the phone therapy program, there were significantly greater improvements regarding both pain and depression. The group of patients who did not utilize this program were not as successful. The same type of study has been shown to have a positive influence on helping alcohol and drug dependent users remain off such substances. Overall, those who use the phone therapy service have found they feel like they are included and part of something.

Telephone therapy is used as an alternative to face-to-face therapy for several reasons. It saves money on the cost of a therapist and greatly reduces any scheduling conflicts since this can be done from a patient's home. Patients can also feel more comfortable to opening up when they are not facing a therapist and are in the comforts of their own home. The downside to this type of therapy is that an automated machine cannot perform counseling as well as a human being, in person. Facial expressions can be missed as well as the human contact sometimes necessary for positive change.