Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a dramatically increased use of telehealth and virtual therapy services. For most, the need for mental health support did not end with the pandemic. Many of the major insurance companies recognized this ongoing need and, in effort to slow the spread, offered (and in many cases continue to offer) waived cost sharing meaning client co-pays and deductibles were waived to encourage use of telehealth/virtual therapy services. 

During this time, these services were also initiated in my practice. Although it was trying to quickly grasp the technology and it had a very different feel than traditional face-to-face treatment, many clients reported excellent outcomes using this mode of service delivery. I am finding that many are still in a grip of fear and in many cases this is due to significant pre-existing illnesses and, for them, the concern of COVID-19  infection is very real.

Due to these circumstances, and overall increased demand, I will continue to offer telehealth/virtual therapy during my regular scheduling and I've now added 4 session slots on Wednesdays, from 8:00 am to 11:00 am (last session ends at 12:00 pm) solely to provide these services. This will begin on Wednesday, September 2nd and will continue every Wednesday as long as demand remains high. For telehealth, you will simply call 814-254-4588 at the time of your session. For virtual therapy, you will need to log in to www.doxy.me/deriksberkebile and this will place you in a virtual waiting room until the session is to begin. Just like with face to face therapy, you will need to have the intake packet and informed consent forms completed and returned to me prior to intake. If you are a current client, I must have a telehealth/virtual therapy consent form completed and returned prior to starting these services. These may be found under the "What to Expect" tab on this site.

As always, if there are any questions or concerns about these services or anything else regarding my practice, you may feel free to reach out at the phone number listed above, e-mail to dberkebilelcsw@outlook.com, or message through my Facebook business page under Derik S. Berkebile, LCSW Outpatient Counseling Services.