2000+ Social Workers Attend Teletherapy Webinar

“We recognized the increased need for social workers to deliver online teletherapy and telehealth services in the current pandemic,” says Alia Wesala, Assistant Director of Continuing Education. “Many social workers have been forced to work with clients online or by phone for the first time, and they were not prepared for it. It is stressful to suddenly have to figure out how to serve clients remotely. There are many ethical considerations to understand and navigate around system security, privacy, informed consent and HIPAA compliance.”

To meet this training need, Wesala had a teletherapy ethics continuing education webinar ready to go on a short timeline, and it was free. She reached out to Lecturer Elizabeth González who said she could be ready to teach within one week.  When ”Teletherapy: Start It Up!” was announced, word got out fast. More than 1,200 social workers and other health professionals from around the country signed up in 24 hours, forcing Wesala to close enrollment out of a concern that participants could exceed the capacity of the webinar platform. In addition, more than 800 have requested copies of the recording. Those wishing to obtain a recording may contact ssw.conted@umich.edu.