Telehealth Provider Wellbeing: Mitigating Risk in a High-Demand System
Presenter: Allegra Hirsh-Wright, MSW, LCSW
This one-hour session explores the unique demands telehealth work places on mental health providers, from the cognitive load of screen-based sessions and the isolation of remote practice to the blurred boundaries between home and work life. Participants will examine how these factors contribute to chronic stress and diminished wellbeing over time, moving beyond individual “self-care” narratives to consider the broader systemic and structural pressures at play. The session will introduce practical, evidence-informed strategies for mitigating these risks, including boundary-setting, workload structuring, peer support, and organizational advocacy. Designed for providers at all experience levels, this session offers a foundational understanding of telehealth-specific occupational stress and actionable tools participants can begin applying immediately.
Learning objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Identify at least three unique occupational stressors associated with delivering mental health services via telehealth.
- Describe how systemic and organizational factors, in addition to individual coping, contribute to provider risk in high-demand telehealth work.
- Apply at least two practical strategies to help mitigate personal risk in their own telehealth practice.
Audience:
Prescribing Clinicians and their teams
Continuing Medical Education:
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Hanley Center for Health Leadership and Education and CCSME. The Hanley Center for Health Leadership and Education is accredited by the Maine Medical Association Committee on Continuing Medical Education and Accreditation to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The Hanley Center for Health Leadership and Education designates this regularly scheduled series for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
*Nurses and Nurse Practitioners will be awarded a certificate of participation with a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™.
This course has been approved by Co-Occurring Collaborative Serving Maine (CCSME), as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for 1 educational credits. NAADAC Provider #324712, CCSME is responsible for all aspects of the programming.
Contact Hours 1 contact hours for social workers, licensed clinical professional counselors, and behavioral health professionals.
1 Category 1 Contact hours for psychologists. CCSME is a pre-approved sponsor and provider of Professional Education Activities for Psychologists.
1 contract hours CHES. CCSME is a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission of Health Education Credentialing, Inc.
Speaker
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Allegra Hirsh-Wright MSW LCSWAllegra Hirsh-Wright, LCSW is a nationally recognized expert in trauma-informed care and professional and organizational wellbeing. With over 20 years’ experience in behavioral health and trauma, her work spans large-scale systems transformation, workforce capacity-building, leadership development, and post-disaster behavioral health recovery. A National Trainer in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and nationally certified in multiple evidence-based trauma models, Allegra integrates deep clinical expertise with strategic consultation to advance sustainable organizational change. Allegra serves on several state and national committees focused on trauma, disaster response, and workforce wellbeing and has authored widely utilized resources in these areas. Allegra has served as an adjunct professor at USM for over a decade, teaching undergraduate and graduate social work courses and mentoring emerging professionals in the field.