tele-health and legality of (speech) therapy over skype

[Guest Lauren37]

Hi!

I'm sure like a lot of others, a passable voice is very important to me. I'm still quite early in my transition but wanted to explore getting a speech therapist even though I'd already done some research online and tried the stuff from 'Melanie speaks'.

So, living where I am in southern MS, with not a whole bunch of trans-friendly resources nearby, I thought that I would look for something online (via skype) and this was actually something my GT suggested. So I found a speech therapist with a good track record of working with trans people (and apparently online) and asked about setting up a session online. She surprised me a little bit by stating she just needed to check the legal position first and would get back to me. About two days later, she emailed me and stated that regrettably she couldn't take me on as a client as Mississippi doesn't allow out-of-state speech therapists to provide services online. She had found this out by phoning the MS dept of health who had told her it wasn't allowed.

Given that I know there are quite a few GT's that work online and never mention this, it seemed odd that speech therapists were different. So coupled with the facts that I don't want to give up easily and that I was suspicious of the knowledge from the contact at the Dept of Health, I got in contact with a lawyer to ask what the legal position really was. It turns out that the state statute requires a MS license for anyone to practise speech therapy and that not having one opens up the speech therapist to misdemeanor violation that can result in 6 months jail or 1000 dollar fine. However, if they get a license, they can practise from out of state (so Dept of health was wrong) and getting a license for someone already licensed in another state is pretty much just a case of paying the license fees (200 dollars) and applying as their credentials will satisfy the technical requirements. So in my case, my plan is to fund her license (which she is prepared to get) and ultimately do this although given that I'm again early in my transition, the timescale isn't urgent.

As I was curious about this, I looked at the state statute for therapy and it looks like there is a similar issue where a therapist requires a state license although the penalties arent quite so bad (no jail time). I haven't really discussed this with my GT in CA as I don't want to lose her (plus I visit in person every few months) but I cannot help wondering how many people both therapists and their clients realize the way the law works. As far as I can tell, its highly unlikely anyone would actually get prosecuted for doing this as the oversight for services over the internet simply isn't sophisticated and like other things, very underfunded. Also, the precise laws are going to vary from state to state where some will have reciprocal arrangements etc but I cannot help wondering that most states are going to be fairly similar with primitive or non-existent laws regarding this.

Anyway, sorry for the lengthy post but just wanted to share this info and wondered if anyone ever investigated this themselves before?

Also as a footnote, my electrolysist today informed me that in MS the state doesn't require a license for practising electrolysis. I cannot help finding

it amusing that you can goto jail for trying to help someone speak better, without a license, but on the other hand if you want sell a service that

can cause permanent damage and scarring without proper skill/training, then go right ahead.. Go figure!

Lauren

[Guest Donna Jean]

.

Never heard of that! Ever!

But, I don't blame her for wanting to cover her butt.....

In Ohio and here in Louisiana, electrologists need to be licensed.....

Well, good luck with what you're doing right now......

Amazing!

Dee Jay