In-person in Houston, online across Texas • In-network with Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, UHC/Optum, Tricare, Curative, Oscar • Therapy in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Farsi
Telehealth
Online Therapy in Texas with Doctoral-Level Psychologists
Online therapy at Real Talk is the same treatment by a different route. Sessions are conducted by secure video with the same clinicians who see patients in our Houston office, at the same length and with the same attention. The patient speaks from a private location of their choosing.
Online therapy in Texas is available to anyone in the state. For patients outside Texas, some of our licensed psychologists hold PSYPACT authority.
The approach does not change with the format. It is depth-oriented, concerned with what sustains a symptom rather than only with its presentation, and it integrates structured methods, including EMDR, where indicated. What we attend to online is the frame: a regular time, a private space on the patient's side, a stable connection, and an understanding about what happens if privacy at home is compromised. This is manageable more often than patients expect.
Some patients begin online and later move to the office; some do the reverse; many combine the two. Continuity with a single clinician is what matters.
Who Online Therapy Serves Well
Patients with demanding or irregular schedules. Patients in parts of Texas where doctoral-level or multilingual clinicians are scarce. Patients who travel frequently or live in more than one place. Patients with limited mobility. And patients who have concluded, on reflection, that home is where they can speak most freely.
What We Pay Attention To
We pay attention to whether the format is serving the work or interfering with it, and to whether a particular patient should be seen in person instead due to the specificities of their case. We attend to privacy and to what a patient can and cannot say from the room they are in. We say so when a change of format would help.
Why Doctoral Training Matters Online: Judgment about risk, when a presentation requires a higher level of care, and when the format itself becomes an obstacle is part of what doctoral training prepares clinicians to assess. Research shows telehealth therapy produces outcomes comparable to in-person treatment across most conditions studied,* which is reassuring, but does not mean it is appropriate for every patient or presentation.
* References: Fernandez et al. (2021). Live psychotherapy by video versus in-person. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 28(6). Batastini et al (2021). Are videoconferenced mental and behavioral health services just as good as in-person? Clinical Psychology Review, 83.
Our clinical director reads every inquiry and recommends a clinician within minutes on weekdays, hours on weekends.
Is online therapy as effective as in person?
For most presentations, the evidence says yes. For some we recommend in person, and we say so.
What do I need?
A phone, tablet, or computer with a camera, a stable connection, and a private space. Headphones help.
Is it covered by insurance?
Yes, for patients in Texas, with the plans we accept. We verify before treatment begins.
Olga Khazan. Why Your Shrink Wasn’t Offering Virtual Therapy Until Now.
The Atlantic, 2020. Read here.
Danielle Ofri. Serving Patients Through a Screen.
The Atlantic, 2022. Read here.
Robert Pearl & Brian Wayling. The Telehealth Era Is Just Beginning.
Harvard Business Review, May–June 2022. Read here.
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