Iris clinicians facilitate top-quality behavioral health care – averaging 2.3M patient encounters every year. We are proud of the work our providers do every day to fill care gaps and support healthcare organizations across the country by providing their communities with timely access to exceptional care.
Every month, we sit down with one of our providers to spotlight the amazing work they’re doing every day and the impact they’re making on the communities they serve. This month, we’re sitting down to talk with Iris LCSW, Elizabeth McErlean!
Q. What do you love about being a telehealth provider?
A. I love being a telehealth provider because it feels like I have more hours in my day to live. Going to an in-person job, there’s a lot of time that gets sucked into travel and having to get up and get ready.
I have my morning routine that I would normally go through if I was working outside the home, so I keep work and home separate. I have my office in a separate place that I use only for telehealth.
I really like the solemn serenity that I get working from home. I live by myself, so it’s quiet. It’s just me and the dog. I can take lunch whenever I want. I don’t have to worry about somebody else using the microwave.
I guess “freedom” sums it up. I like the freedom of working from home.
Q. What impact have you seen telehealth services make at the clinic where you serve?
A. I am working with a Federally Qualified Health Center. They provide almost all the same services of any healthcare provider. There are two sites – one in Machias and one in Eastport. They have pediatrics, dental, psychiatric medication prescribing, and general practitioners.
I am at one site a couple days and at the other site a couple other days. It’s very interesting because the other therapist who’s there is also from Iris — we both reside in North Carolina, and we’re both at this clinic.
They’re in Maine and very remote. I provide (and the other clinician provides) collaborative care with the psych med prescribers and general practitioners.
Therapy is very different than the medical side. Sometimes medical professionals don’t really understand the difference of therapy – our approach is different, and our perspective is different.
Working with primary care providers, pediatricians, and nurses has not only helped the clients have an in-house therapist referral, but it also helps educate them on what therapy can help with.
There are certain guidelines, and I can’t practice outside my scope. For example, I can’t see somebody who struggles with eating disorders – I’m not trained or have experience in eating disorders.
It’s helping the medical professionals understand how therapy is not an extension of them, but it’s in addition to them to provide wraparound care.
Q. How does telehealth support holistic care?
A. The team I work with is great – they’re very open to communication and want to collaborate. They’re very good at having meetings with the practitioner.
The organization is good and very open. They want the best for their clients, and everybody wants the best for their patients. So, everybody’s very respectful.
Q. How does telehealth foster connection with patients virtually?
A. It’s not the same because when I was in person, I could see a lot of body language. And one thing I could see was how they came from the waiting room back to my office. I could see how they were doing through their posture and their gait.
From the standpoint of telehealth, having art behind me has been helpful. I have a picture of a Van Gogh’s Starry Night and two smaller starry nights that my son painted when he was younger. So, I have three starry night paintings and people love that. It’s a great talking point.
If I was in a private practice, I may not be able to personalize my office quite as much because the business personalizes that. The other piece is my dog – she’s almost always there and I think it helps create a more relaxed atmosphere so that patients almost feel like they’re coming into my home.
Do we need to have boundaries to make sure that we don’t become friends? Yes, that’s my responsibility to be aware of that. And of course I am, but I think it gives the client a little bit of comfort. Especially when I work with kiddos – they like seeing the dog.
Q. What is the most rewarding part of your job?
A. The most rewarding part of my job is the flexibility and ability to learn about different places, cultures, and people without traveling or moving there.
I’m originally from Wisconsin, so the first placement I had was in a clinic in Iowa. It was very similar to Wisconsin. So, I felt comfortable with that. I was very excited to go to Maine. It’s in the eastern-most part of the United States. It’s very remote.
It’s completely different – it’s a lobster fishing culture, so it’s very different from Wisconsin culture that I grew up with in the Midwest. And it’s very different from southern culture that I live in now – so only telehealth allows me that.
As social workers, we love to hear people’s stories, to hear where they come from, who they are, and what makes them tick.
Q. Why do you think telehealth is the future of mental health care?
A. Because you can reach people where they’re at. For example, at the clinic in Maine, I recently had a video call with someone in their child’s school parking lot because they were getting off work and they had to go to their child’s parent-teacher conference.
So, we were able to see each other through telehealth. It was obviously a private place and confidential.
I think telehealth relaxes people, too, to be in their home and be able to do therapy. There would be some clinicians that would say they’re not sure it’s appropriate for everyone struggling with mental health, but for the vast majority, I think telehealth can really be helpful.
We can reach so many people with telehealth in a shorter period of time because the transition from one client to another is much easier from our perspective – it’s just a couple clicks and you’re onto the next one – versus maybe you’re sharing office space with somebody, and you have to schedule things differently or you go out and get them.
Q. Anything you’d like to offer from your experience as a telehealth provider?
A. I came to social work later in life – it’s like a final career for me. I’ve only been doing it 10 to 15 years. I’ve worked at a lot of places – a court system, for example – some places have been supportive, and some places haven’t been.
I have a situation at Iris where they made me feel so supported and validated – I have never felt that way from any other employer. They get it – they’re supportive of their clinicians. I love the communication.
Everybody that I encounter is so warm and friendly, supportive and caring and they don’t expect us to sacrifice ourselves to help our clients.
We want to help the clients, but it’s important to have self-care and I take care of myself too. If I’m not in a good place, I can’t help the clients. And so, I really do get that feeling from Iris.
At Iris, we believe our providers should be respected, valued, and applauded for the work they do, and we couldn’t be prouder to say, “thank you” to our very own Elizabeth McErlean. If you’d like to learn more about working for Iris Telehealth, contact us today.
