Distance-Family Therapy: Making a Visual Connection Maintains Valued Trust in Relationships and Needed Hope for Recovery

Timberline Knolls welcomes young girls and women from all over the country, but since family members often remain several thousand miles away, incorporating them into the family therapy process is usually done by telephone. While this is effective, it does not allow for a higher level of interaction between all parties. Recently, Timberline Knolls began using Skype, a software application that allows voice and video calls over the Internet to clinically enhance family therapy sessions and better achieve everyone's goal: lifelong recovery for the residents at Timberline Knolls.

“Families are one of the most powerful resources available to individuals in their recovery,” says Stan Selinger, PhD, clinical psychologist and Family Therapy Coordinator at Timberline Knolls. “By using Skype, we are able to improve the experience of our family therapy sessions by making these sessions as close to being there in person as possible, allowing for more honest dialogue. Skype also allows me to analyze the non-verbal messages and reactions of the family members involved.”

Skype provides easier and more meaningful accessibility for families and residents, and with 70 percent of the residents at Timberline Knolls coming from out of state, it is a valuable addition for everyone involved in family therapy at Timberline Knolls.

In addition to utilizing this technology in family therapy sessions, Timberline Knolls will also use Skype to augment the discharge process. “Many times, prior to a resident leaving for a lower level of care, such as transitional or outpatient facilities, face to face meetings are either required or preferred,” says Mark DeDonato, LCSW, ACSW, Director of Discharge Planning and Primary Therapist at Timberline Knolls. “Skype allows for these meetings when many times distance and means of travel might be limiting. Ultimately, we can better ensure proper care for our residents once they leave Timberline Knolls.”

The Skype technology also serves to improve distance therapy as a former resident and her family continues their recovery process long after the resident leaves the campus of Timberline Knolls. “This method allows us to do distance-family therapy, teaching and coaching via video Skype,” says Dr. Selinger. “It also allows our doctors to work with local physicians in a family's home town, to monitor daily progress and be visually available in a moment's notice, which is critical in many instances.”

Timberline Knolls continually analyzes the newest technology, implementing the programs that work best for improving its treatment process. “Helping our residents achieve lifelong recovery is our top priority,” says Dr. Selinger. “And Skype helps us get there.”

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Healthy Dialogue and Interaction Help Families to Heal and Recover

Professionals from across the country—from Texas and Illinois to Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut—came together for the first time to hear the presentation, “Family Healing and Communication,” which was the topic of the first quarterly Webinars on Wellness series, premiering on March 23 and sponsored by Timberline Knolls and the iaedp Foundation.

Family Therapy Coordinator Stan Selinger, PhD, and Primary Therapy Coordinator, Marcia Nickow, PsyD, both from Timberline Knolls, led the hour-long presentation while discussing the importance of concurrent healing and recovery for friends and family. Both licensed clinicians are members of the Timberline Knolls Clinical Development Institute, a group created to share Timberline Knolls' clinical expertise with the industry.

Participants from providers such as Aetna, Ridgeview Institute, Renfrew and McCallum Place ranged from social workers and marriage and family therapists to psychologists, counselors and nurses. Of the attendees who completed evaluations, 100 percent said they would use the material that was presented and 86 percent said they would recommend the training to their colleagues.

The webinar series represents the partnership between Timberline Knolls and the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp) to bring more educational opportunities to professionals. “We are focused on bringing our professional membership new and needed learning opportunities and experiences. We also look for ways to introduce new sessions and make them as accessible as possible,” says Bonnie Harkin, iaedp Foundation's managing director.

Webinars on Wellness series continues on June 22 with Timberline Knolls' medical director, Kim Dennis, M.D. when she presents eating disorders and athletes. Information will be distributed by email at end of May. Two other webinars will take place during 2011, in September and December, and each will focus on physical and emotional issues, hope, healing and recovery for the eating disorder professional community. CEs are available for each webinar presentation.

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