Welcome to Our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Page

1. What is the TeleMental Health Institute?

The TeleMental Health Institute was the first professional telemental health training organization dedicated to training practitioners who need to obtain Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and Continuing Medical Education (CMEs). Our training is available 100% online, delivered either to the desktop of mobile device.

2. What can I expect if I train with the TeleMental Health Institute?

As our trainee, you can expect to be fully trained online, without leaving your own home or office, by some of the industry's most highly respected and accomplished leaders. You can also expect to experience this training in a complete eLearning environment, using a Learning Content Management System (LCMS) that delivers a wide variety of materials, interactions and experiences in a multi-modal format -- to help you become more acquainted with online practice. You can expect your training materials to be updated weekly and delivered in this reliable, easily accessed, interactive eLearning environment to help you undertand a wide variety of telehealth-based mental health service delivery, education and supervision types. To accomplish all this, you will be given a webiste with pages to read, audios to hear and videos to watch, all developed to maximize your learning and make the experience not only a bit challenging to help you develop new Internet skills, but also rewarding and inspiring.

You can expect to find top-quality information written in clear language, offered to you from a single, cohesive and integrated perspective that provides a hefty exposure to the fundamentals as well as latest developments. You can expect collegial dialogue and discussion in our Learning Lounge Community Forums, where you can enage other professionals 24/7 by leaving messages. These forums are password protected from view of the search engines to protect your privacy as you can tap into a community of over 1000 professionals from over 19 countries to ask and answer questions, engage in discussions and share resources. 

You can expect to have up to 3 years from your date of registration to complete your courses. Just as you hope to bring added services to your clients/patients online, we hope to create experience for you that will invite you to redefine your own learning experience as you enjoy the convenience of the Internet. You can expect to access our training material from your desktop or mobile device, however you deem most appropriate.

You can expect to have access to training materials of six types, depending on your specific needs and interests:

• Webinars  -- inexpensive, timely and topic-focused 1-hour discussions to keep you up-to-date and fully informed by telephone, computer (or soon, via smartphone)
• Free mini-training videos -- if you aren't yet sure you want to practice online, these free mini-training videos can help you get a sense of what you might need to know to make your decisions to start a telepractice
  
• Overview Course  -- 3 hours of reading, augmented by easy listening by MP3 (audio), just to familiarize you with general telehealth issues and concepts
• Master Teleworkshops -- 6-week, live discussion groups with one of our faculty to explore a topic in depth with a small group for "hands-on" exposure to key issues, inspiration and answers
• Certificate Program  -- 40-hour package of comprehensive training to instruct, inspire and support you, augmented by TMH Institute bonuses to help you confidently set-up and succeed at your online practice immediately
• Telehealth Summit  ––  10 hours of training by some of the top leaders in telehealth who have convened to deliver one of the most cutting-edge,  no-nonsense, evidence-based programs that you will find anywhere. It is exclusively focused on telemental health: telepsychiatry, telepsychology, telecounseling, online counseling, online therapy and behavioral telehealth for psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, and coaches.
  

Lastly, you can also expect us to excel in two critical areas: quality of content and customer service. You will be happy to know that both these areas are consistently rated in our course evaluations and satisfaction surveys as being either "above average" or "excellent."

 3. Where can I get more information about the courses?

Details and specific course descriptions for each program are available for your consideration here. A detailed course list for the Certificate Program is also available here.

 4. Where do I get my training once I purchase a course or program?

Your courses are available 24/7. You will be sent a Welcome email upon enrolling. It will contain access codes for our eLearning environment, as well as a description of the program(s) you have purchased. If you are seeking continuing education units and are on a severe deadline, we encourage you to give yourself at least 72 hours to get registered before your CEUs or CMEs are due by your state licensing board or other group.

 5. What else should I know about TMH Institute training?

Our multi-modal format allows you to learn at your own pace. If you are just testing the waters, you might want to start by simply purchasing one or more webinars (1-CEU) or courses (3 or 6 CEUs and CMEs). On the other hand, if you have a sense that telehealth is a professional path for you or your organization, you may want to choose our Certificate Program to help you get launched in a serious and professional way.

a. Webinars and courses are delivered to you by LIVE or recorded audio formats. Webinars are 1 hour in duration and focus on giving you a bird's-eye view of a cutting-edge specialty topic. The are conducted by teleconference, which allows you to call into the meeting from any geographic location. Webinars are led by our Executive Director, Dr. Maheu. She may detail a topic herself or interview a leading professional in the telemental health community to bring you information and answer your questions. An increasing number of states are considering such webinar hours to be "in-person" CEU or CME training hours, because they allow you to ask your questions, as if you are in the same room as the presenter. To learn about this possiblity in your state, contact your state licensing board and ask them directly. See the details of our CEU and CME sponsorships here.

We also audio-record the webinars, package them with slides and in some cases, handouts or transcripts, along with one (1) CEU or CME for a complete learning experience that allows you to access the material for up to 3 years, as we do all our other training. Some webinars also have received Continuing Medical Education (CME) approval.  Coursework consists of audio files that you can play on your computer or MP3 device of your choice to enjoy the convenience of learning on-the-go. Some of our more popular webinars are augmented by transcripts of the interview.

b. Our Certificate Program is a much more in-depth and comprehensive experience, containing 40 hours of core learning material that is largely text-based. Formats you can expect include text, audio, video.

Our formal Certificate Program is predominantly text-based, that is, you will be asked to read our web pages. You can either print the course materials to read like a book, or read them online. We encourage you to read them online to become familiar with how computer functions operate. You then will be asked to answer questions to prove your competency before receiving a diploma for each course. (These questions are not easily accessed by smartphones, so our mobile compatibility is mostly for training, not assessments or evaluations.)

Some courses are augmented by video or audio files. These are not mandatory for your success. Some people simply do not have the proper hardware, software or the proper configurations on their computers to access them. If your computer cannot access them, do not worry. The audio and video files are only augmentations to our programs that contain illustrative information only. If you do not access them, you will have written explanations of the materials in our text.

Our Certificate Program also offers:

• We have Essential Learning Points in our courses have been extracted and posted at the top of our pages for easy spotting and reference
• In our Sneak Peek venue, you can access a quick, flash-card-like, self assessment tool to quickly identify the main issues to solidify your learning in preparation for our post-tests
  
• An online notepad function to conveniently capture your thoughts for later copy/pasting into other documents or simply to have on hand
  
• An easy-to-use bookmarking function that allows you to stop and start whenever you like, and never waste time looking for where you stopped during your previous visit
• Access to a 24/7 Community Forum called the Learning Lounge, to ask your questions and get to know like-minded, cutting-edge professionals who can help you get where you want to go
• Regular, monthly tele-consults where you can ask any question and get a live answer from one of our faculty members, and possibly enjoy live interaction with other members of the TMH Institute community (our trainees are from 19 countries)
  
• An hour of private consultation or website auditing time with one of our faculty
• Discounts on some of our popular programs, including the Master Teleworkshops, which give you six hours of live, interactive, small group training

Regardless of your interest, all our courses and Certificate Program are presented to you using the latest, cutting-edge learning environment to maximize your comfort and learning experience. Our content is updated weekly to keep you informed of the latest information available today.

6. Where do I go to purchase training?

You can purchase courses or the Certificate program here. Please note: to keep costs down, continuing education units (CEUs and CMEs) are not necessarily included in your fee for our packaged Certificate Program. Some professionals take our courses and don't want CEUs or CMEs. That is ok, too. 

7. Do I get a chance to try the training and get a refund if I am not satisfied?

Absolutely. We give you a 100%, no-questions asked, money-back guarantee if for any reason you are not satisfied with your purchase within 30 days of purchase. We stand behind our training 100% and aim to deliver more than we promise. Just send an email to our Contact Center if you would like a refund, and please reference the receipt number from your purchase. If on the other hand, you simply want to get help with a course you purchased, be sure to mention the name of the course and supply us with your phone number in case your email address is non-responsive.

8. What do I need to know about getting continuing education (CEU and CME)?

While it is not mandatory that you earn CEUs to take our training, many professionals like to earn CEUs and CMEs. To accommodate these professionals, the TeleMental Health Institute has partnered with Alliant University and PeerPoint Medical Education Institute to bring you CEU and CME for the training you complete at our facility.

Continuing Education (CEUs)

Continuing Medication Education (CMEs)

• Accreditation Statement: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essentials and Standards of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of PeerPoint Medical Education Institute and TeleMental Health Institute, Inc. PeerPoint Medical Education Institute is accredited by the ACCME to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians.
• Designation Statement: PeerPoint Medical Education Institute designates the enduring material format for this educational activity for a maximum of 40 AMA PRA Category 1 credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. This CME activity was planned and produced in accordance with the ACCME Essentials.

9.  When is the TMH Institute's Customer Service Team available if I need help?

Whenever a question arises, just send an email to our Contact Center. It will be held until our staff comes in for the next shift. If you need help with a particular course, please be sure to mention the name of the course and supply us with your phone number in case your email address is non-responsive (this happens more often than you might imagine.) Our staff is available to answer your questions, change your login, or help you with any other issues. We are also available Monday - Friday, from 11:30 a.m. Pacific to 6:30 p.m. Pacifc by email, live chat or telephone appointment. 

Just send us a note through our Contact Center and suggest a few good times for us to reach you if you'd like a telephone contact. We'll be happy to answer your questions or even give you a "walk-through" of our facility if ever you get stuck.

10. Which title will I earn when I complete my TMH Institute Certificate Program?

Earn your certificate as a Certified TeleMental Health Practitioner*.This designation is increasingly used to recognize our graduates for having completed the most comprehensive and research-based post-graduate training program available anywhere today.

*Service Mark Pending