Running telehealth and online therapy sessions in Ireland: a practical guide
Offering sessions by video opens your practice to patients who couldn't otherwise fit therapy around work, caring responsibilities or distance — but it adds a handful of things worth deciding deliberately rather than figuring out mid-session for the first time.
Get explicit consent for the remote format
It's good practice to cover telehealth explicitly in your consent process rather than assume it's automatically covered by standard consent to treatment. A short addition, set up once, should note the platform you use, its general limitations (connection issues, the different feel of reading body language on screen), and — importantly — what happens if a session is disrupted or a risk situation arises while you're not in the same room.
Have an emergency plan that doesn't depend on the call staying connected
Before a remote patient's first session, confirm their physical location at the time of the session and have a plan for what you'd do if you needed help reaching them urgently and the call dropped. This is a five-minute conversation to have once per patient, not something to work out live during a crisis.
Choose a platform with health data in mind
A general consumer video app isn't automatically the right choice for clinical sessions just because it's familiar or convenient — check any platform's data processing terms and hosting region before relying on it for special category health data under GDPR. See our full GDPR checklist for psychologists in Ireland for what "appropriate" actually means in practice.
Working across borders: seeing a patient based outside Ireland, or seeing an Irish patient while you're travelling, raises real questions about your insurance cover and accrediting body's rules that are worth confirming case by case with your own insurer, rather than assuming your usual cover extends automatically.
Keep the same note structure, remote or in person
A telehealth session's clinical content is recorded the same way as any other — see our guide to what to include in session notes. The only addition is a line confirming the session was remote and which platform was used, useful context if the file is ever reviewed later.
Booking a remote session shouldn't be harder than booking an in-person one
If online booking is part of how patients reach you, make sure it's clear at the point of booking whether a slot is in person, remote, or either — see our guide to online booking software for psychologists for what to look for.
One system for in-person and remote sessions
Booking, reminders and records that work the same way whichever format a session takes.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need separate informed consent for online sessions?+
It's good practice to cover it explicitly rather than assume standard consent to treatment automatically extends to telehealth. A short, clear addition covering the platform used, its limitations, and the emergency plan if a session is disrupted takes a few minutes to set up once and applies to every remote patient after that.
Can I see patients based anywhere while working online?+
Working across borders raises questions about registration, insurance cover and, for some professions, jurisdiction that are worth confirming with your professional indemnity insurer and accrediting body before you commit to it, rather than assuming your usual cover automatically extends. This is genuinely a case-by-case question, not a blanket yes or no.
Is video-calling software like Zoom or WhatsApp video GDPR-compliant for sessions?+
It depends on the specific service, its data processing terms, and how you configure it — a general consumer video app isn't automatically appropriate for special category health data just because it's convenient. Check a platform's own data processing agreement and hosting region before relying on it for clinical sessions, or use a system built with this in mind from the outset.
In-person or remote, the same reliable record
Booking, reminders and GDPR-safe notes, whichever format a session takes.
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