What I am presenting is something completely new in the tele-therapy world of analysis and in describing that, I think, the best is convey you how I got there.
The main difference is that the patient is connecting to my office in London from my office in South Italy, where he physically can go there and find all the equipments (internet connection, a sofa, a computer).
This idea came from my necessity to do my own analysis when I am in Italy and for this reason I set up first a studio for myself and after I thought why not offer this service to local people that can benefit of that.
I have been seeing a patient now for an year and half, and I did some consultations online and in person, and when I am there I see my patient in person.
Equipments
I choose for the connection a Chrome OS computer that starts in 10 seconds and instead a programm like Vsee or Skype (thatdo not run on Chrome OS) I create a room on Tawk.com, a canadian start-up that runs this server using EasyRTC.
This technology is a browser to browser connection and the set up is very easy.
At the beginning when you enter in the website of my room, in this case www.tawk.com/psicote the programm will ask to set up the microphone and web cam and when this is done I receive the call on my webpage open. The patient cannot see if I am online like Skype or Vsee.
Of course to be in contact with the patient I use Whatapp, for instant message in case of difficulties.
The web page program runs on any machine (Window, Mac, Linux) with Firefox, Chrome or Opera browsers.
For the moment I am doing this in one way from Italy to London, and I did some trials from Lodnon to Italy, where my English patient can go in my office in London when I am in Puglia and it works.
I am establishing now some entry door systems that can allow me to open the door of my office from remotely. I am using DoorBird at the moment in my office in Italy and it works, also I am exploring the possibility to instal some domotika accessories, for example swichting on the light and the clima, etc.
What are the advantages of this system?
There is a physical place where people can go and it can be implemented in remote areas.
Possible application and development.
There are different possible application of this way of working in tele-therapy.
The first that comes to my mind is the implementation of a virtual clinic. A building with rooms and entry codes equipped with the computer and internet connection where people can go and access therapist all over the world.
The possibility for a colleague to set up a room in his/her office if there are some requirements (language, approach, interest, a specific pathology).
Improve the access to people where there are no therapist.
Creating consulting room in cyties and places where it is difficult to find a therapist, that are most the time available in big cities and the possibilities to acces that in rural places.
Continuity
Virtual clinic
VR
Dr. Samuele Filomena is a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist with extensive international experience working with children, adolescents, and adults in inpatient, outpatient, and community-based settings. He received his psychotherapeutic training at the Institute for the Study and Therapy of Childhood and Adolescence (ISTEBA) in Rome, complemented by ongoing psychoanalytic education at institutions such as the Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust in London and the International Psychotherapy Institute (IPI).
He studied Psychology with a focus on General and Experimental Psychology at the University of Rome “La Sapienza,” where he later specialized in Cognitive Psychology and Neural Networks. Since 1997, he has been a licensed psychologist and psychotherapist in Italy and holds numerous international accreditations, including membership in the British Psychological Society, the UKCP (College for Psychoanalysis and Jungian Analysis), the European Association for Psychotherapy (EAP), and the EuroPsy certificate of the European Federation of Psychologists' Associations (EFPA).
Dr. Filomena has worked in various mental health institutions, including the John Howard Centre of the East London NHS Trust, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust (West CAMHS), Community Housing & Therapy (CHT), as well as several public psychiatric services in Italy. Since 2011, he has maintained a private practice in London ("The Psychotherapy @ Peterhouse Centre") and in Southern Italy ("La Psicoterapia" in Carovigno, Apulia).
He is active in teaching and supervision, having served as a tutor at the Chelmsford Counselling Foundation Diploma Program and through numerous international trainings. His clinical and academic interests include psychodynamic psychotherapy, childhood trauma, psychotic disorders, and therapeutic communities. His publications and presentations address topics such as transference, early states of non-integration, and cognitive spatial representation.
Dr. Filomena has presented at major international conferences, including the WAIMH World Congress in Cape Town and the World Congress for Psychotherapy in Sydney. His work has been published in the International Journal of Psychotherapy and in Psychologische Beiträge on spatial cognition. Deeply committed to both clinical practice and theoretical inquiry, he advocates for a psychoanalytically informed, culturally aware psychotherapy grounded in social responsibility.
The Psychoanalysis
Contacts
Dott Samuele Filomena
Psicoanalista APSA
M: +39 3397437299
+44 7770617364
+31 630341405
W: www.psicote.org
www.psicote.it
www.psicote.com
https://whereby.com/psicote