There are exciting opportunities in the tele-health space - especially mental health. Like any interview, it is essential you prepare in advance. Preparation will help you convey yourself more clearly, concisely and effectively. Here are five tips to help you do just that.

• Practice articulating your clinical orientation

It can be hard to synthesize your approach into a few short sentences, so practicing beforehand is helpful. Additionally, many companies emphasize use of evidenced-based practices due to their efficacy, so it is helpful to be knowledgeable in at least one, such as cognitive behavioral therapy or dialectical behavioral therapy.

• Ensure you are adept at formulating diagnosis

To increase access to mental health care, the majority of tele-health mental health companies are in-network for various insurance carriers. Insurance requires a diagnosis for billing purposes, so diagnostic skills are crucial. 

• Make sure you know how to create a clinical treatment plan

Treatment planning is the roadmap you create to individualize treatment for each client. In an interview, it’s important to be able to develop a treatment plan on the spot that includes triaging clinical issues, SMART goals, and modality driven interventions.

• Become automatic with knowing how to respond to crisis situations

No two therapy sessions are alike. As such, being able to seamlessly address and respond to crisis situations is paramount. If you need to brush up on these skills, we’d recommend taking a continuing education course (CEU) on responding to suicidal or homicidal ideation and mandated reporting prior to your interview. 

• Hone your skills in cultural competence or cultural humility  

Cultural humility is vital in therapy. Therapists need to be aware of their own and their client’s cultural background, experiences, and world view in order to be able to avoid pathologizing culturally-normative behavior and use of culturally inappropriate treatment interventions. Research shows that lack of training in this area negatively impacts treatment outcomes and can even lead to patients experiencing microaggressions from their therapist. Share how you approach cultural components in therapy or take a continuing education course (CEU) if you feel your graduate program did not adequately prepare you in this area.

Vita Health is focused on building a clinical team of passionate therapists to deliver high-quality mental health care to adolescents and young adults. If you’re interested in joining our team, we would love to hear from you! Please visit our Careers page to see open opportunities here.