💡 Radiation treatment 💻 Remote counseling

teletherapy

1 5.8

Mental health care given by phone or video when you cannot meet in person

noun
/ˌtɛlɪˈθɛrəpi/

Specialized

: teleterapia

With teletherapy, patients can access mental health support regardless of their location.

Examples

Her doctor recommended teletherapy as a convenient way to continue treatment from home.
Her doctor recommended teletherapy as a convenient way to continue mental health treatment from home.
Many people found teletherapy helpful during the pandemic when in-person visits were not possible.
Many people prefer teletherapy over in-person sessions.
I had a teletherapy session yesterday.
Many people found teletherapy helpful during the pandemic when in-person visits were not possible.
With teletherapy, individuals can receive therapy and counseling without needing to travel.

Synonyms

telemedicine

vsteletherapy

Specialized

3 4.4

Care and advice that doctors give to patients using video calls or messages

focuses specifically on counseling or therapy delivered remotely

telehealth

vsteletherapy

Specialized

1 4.2

Relating to medical care given remotely using phone or video

is narrower and limited to counseling and psychological support delivered remotely

Surface Forms

teletherapy singular

teletherapies plural

Morphology

teletherapy = therapy (transparent) = tele + therapy

The meaning is directly compositional: tele- means 'at a distance' and therapy means treatment, with the remote-delivery context added by modern telecommunications.

Etymology

Teletherapy comes from the prefix tele- meaning 'far' and therapy meaning 'treatment'. A helpful way to remember this sense is that the treatment happens by phone or video 'from far away', so you can have counselling without going to the clinic.