Show 321 What is a Coach?

I’m working my way through the mental health telemedicine providers and I’m coming across the word “coach.” 

I get a little leery about that word because I’ve had some experiences with people using it to wrap themselves in a health wellness cloak of respectability.

I’ve gone to conferences and sat in on sessions that I thought were about how to best provide information to people wanted health information. 

A couple of those sessions went into details about how to lead your audience down a sales funnel by appealing to fears, wants and needs.

And how you can position yourself as an expert to sell $47 a bottle worth of healing.

Yeah, I have a lot of preconceived bias about that word. But are my preconceived bias getting in the way of what is happening in the mental health care space?  Maybe. 

This is the dipping of the toes into the coach space. Just want to define the term and some of the ways people are using it. 

The next episode will be a deeper dive into health coaches and coaching.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

Wondermind is a website that is dedicated to educate, support and connect with young adults and adult adjacent people. Talks about mental fitness and mental health issues.

Cleveland Clinic page on What is a Health Coach?

Harvard Health Blog on Health Coaching, is it Effective and Should You Try It?

 

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Show 317 - The BetterHealth Consent Order

There are times when I find myself in unexpected territories. This is one of those times. It is why I'm trying to include more attention to the virtual mental health providers. 

If you have ever listed to a podcast or watch YouTube, you probably have heard or seen something about the company known as BetterHealth. 

You might have seen an advertorial from a social media influencer or from a podcaster. 

Yeah, this is pickle. BetterHealth presented itself as a service that helps users find and connect with behavioral health providers. Not only under the BetterHealth name but also under a number of doing business as names as:

• Faith Counseling - Christian focus therapy
• Pride Counseling - LGBTQ therapy focus
• Teen Counseling - Teens with parent approval
• Terappeutia - Spanish speaking users

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a complaint against the company BetterHealth had customers provide personal identifiable information.

BetterHealth made promises and assurances about the level of privacy and security about user data.

According to the FTC, the company shared user information with social media companies Facebook, Snapchat, Criteo and Pinterest. 

They also shared data to target former users with ads on those platforms.

There is now a consent order that BetterHealth has agreed to follow. One of those things is not to share or sell visitors or users data to third parties.

In this episode, I go over a bit more details but this is the gist of what happened with the company.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

Associated Press news story BetterHelp shared users’ sensitive health data, FTC says

There is a page on the Federal Trade Commissions website where you can obtain the original complaints, and the consent order. 

BetterHealth response to the consent order via their website.

The National Law Review article about the FTC’s One-Two Punch on Data Tracking and Health Privacy

FTC Enforcement Action to Bar GoodRx from Sharing Consumers’ Sensitive Health Info for Advertising

Alternate Browsers, Search Engines and Add-Ons

• Brave Search Engine
• Duck Duck Go Search Engine
• Firefox Focus for mobile devices
• Privacy Badger from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
• Vivaldi Browser

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Show 312 - What is Telehealth?

This is the start to a mini-series about telehealth and telemedicine options. Starting out with a definition of what telehealth is, types of provider services including a taste of virtual mental health care and recourses.

The short version is, per the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services, 

“Telehealth — sometimes called telemedicine — lets your health care provider care for you without an in-person office visit. Telehealth is done primarily online with internet access on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.”

I think I have that song by David Bowie on repeat in my head. So many changes are occurring and I don't know if it is good sense to try to keep up with all of them.

Some changes there isn't a choice about. We have to be aware that entrepreneurs are providing medical  and mental health services via software, apps and treatment options.

Not all of the entrepreneurs are coming from a traditional medical orientation. There is a for profit slicing and dicing about providing access to care is taking place.

This is nothing new. There has always been stratified healthcare in the United States. 

• You have concierge medicine for the very rich and wealthy.
• Metered insurance access for those people that are in a rapidly compressed middle income space.
• And governmental and charity access if you are broke and your dollar has to stretch around the block.

The growth of telehealth/telemedicine providers is something we have to pay attention and understand what the impact will be on our physical and mental health treatment options.

If you need support contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255, the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or text “START” to 741-741.

Resources Mentioned: 

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, What Is Telehealth?  There is also a downloadable PDF on The Basics of Telehealth Care.

Medline Plus page on Telehealth also provides a bounty of information about what telehealth is and some of the pros and cons of it.

The National Institute of Mental Health has a two page brochure with basic description of what is tele-mental care and some of the pros and cons.

Emergency Resources: 

The Trevor Project: Provides crisis support specifically for LGBTQ+ youth through phone (1-866-488-7386), text (START to 678-678), and online chat. Available 24/7. They also provide peer support and community. 

Veterans Crisis Line: Call 988 and press 1, text 838255, or chat online. There are phone lines for those serving overseas. Visit the website to find the current status of the Veteran line and international calling options. 

National Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 for free, confidential support 24/7. This service operates independently of the 988 service. Users can use text, chat or WhatsApp as a means of contact.

Disclaimer: 

Links to other sites are provided for information purposes only and do not constitute endorsements. 

Always seek the advice of a qualified health provider with questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health disorder.

This blog and podcast is intended for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing in this program is intended to be a substitute for professional psychological, psychiatric or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.