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How can I offer online therapy sessions by video?
How can I offer online therapy sessions by video?

The video services we support and how to set up your availability (Skype, Zoom, VSee, Doxy.me, Facetime, Whatsapp, Google Duo)

Iain avatar
Written by Iain
Updated over a week ago

The Harley Therapy platform allows you to offer live online video sessions using a number of different commercial services. This is in order to give you flexibility to work with whichever video chat platform you are most comfortable with.

If you are offering online video call sessions, you should always use a service that has encryption turned on - ideally end-to-end encryption between the client's and your device. 

Each video chat platform has different pros and cons and some services have versions that are more suited to the provision of therapy via video. You may offer more than one video service. 

Google Duo, Whatsapp and Facetime all offer end-to-end encryption as standard. You should make sure that you can receive calls from contacts who are not in your address book in order to be able to start a session with your client. 

The following services - doxy.me, zoom.us and vsee.com - offer end-to-end encryption and explicitly HIPAA compliant services. These services provide you with a url that you can use for clients to join you online.

Skype offers encryption but it is not end-to-end unless you have enabled private conversations (currently audio only). However, a Skype session is fully encrypted between your device and the Skype servers, so it is not possible to intercept the connection for eavesdropping purposes.

Whilst you can add Facetime as a video service option, we recommend that you do not only offer Facetime, because this is only supported on Apple Devices and therefore may not be possible to access for some of your clients.

If you have not held a session online before, test joining a video call from your chosen device and check that your microphone and camera are working adequately.

Client will be able to select which service they wish to use when booking a session with you:

Adding a video service to your profile

You can add video chat services to your profile in the section entitled Where I work.

To add a service simply select it from the drop down menu:

Once you have selected a service, enter the information requested and click on Save Changes. For example, if you choose to offer video sessions using Zoom, you will need to enter your meet-me URL as provided in your zoom account:

To offer video sessions you need to make sure that each of the working times in your calendar have the video location checked, as follows:

Note that during a working time all configured video services will be offered to your clients if Video is selected. It is not possible to offer different video services in different working time slots.

How will my clients know how to join an online video session with me?

We send instructions specific to the service to the client. As long as you have provided your contact details, they will be able to find you.

For services where one party has to make a call, we provide the client with your details and you should be ready to accept a call from them at the time of the session.

In selecting a video service you should ideally use one that allows the use of a fixed camera on your laptop or desktop computer and ensure that you are in a location where your face is well lit and your surroundings meet a professional standard. Services that can only be operated from a mobile device may provide a less than ideal environment in which to complete your session.

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