Telehealth Technology, Business, and Marketing Strategy Approaches for Mental Health Practices as a Result of COVID-19

Problem Statement

The pandemic inadvertently created a shift in mental health services. Telehealth services have helped bridge the gap in rural and urban areas considered care deserts. However, a significant gap exists in psychological practitioners joining telehealth as they navigate technology and patient utilization once implemented (Langarizadeh et al., 2017). Many people turned to telehealth therapists, but studies show that the psychology workforce is 85% white and 2% Black leaving a disproportionate amount of Black people searching for therapists that could relate to their life experiences (Lindsey et al., 2017). The general problem is that African Americans seeking mental health services have more difficulty finding mental health practitioners who look like them. As a result, they often decide not to receive care leaving their mental health issues untreated (Lindsey et al., 2017, p. 138).

There is also the specific problem of the lack of mental health services in Black communities, making it difficult for Black Americans to access care when they need it, inadvertently leading to a delay in care or no care. With this, we will explore ways that our practice can take advantage of this gap in mental health services for Black Americans by positioning themselves as a viable option to serve this population with telehealth offerings to increase their market share and grow their customer base.