Telehealth Services

Telehealth psychology for injured workers across California

Secure video appointments make psychological evaluation and treatment available to injured workers anywhere in California, without the travel that a specialist appointment usually requires. For a worker managing pain, restricted driving, or a job in a region with few workers' compensation psychologists, that is often the difference between receiving care and going without it.

What can be delivered remotely

• Individual psychological treatment across a full course of care

• Follow-up and progress review appointments

• Consultation with the treating physician and the wider care team

• Case discussion with claims administrators and attorneys where appropriate

• Sessions in Russian as well as English

What is better done in person

Some work is not well suited to video. Extensive psychological testing, certain med-legal evaluations, and first appointments where risk needs close assessment are generally better conducted in person in Walnut Creek. Where a claim mixes both, a hybrid arrangement is straightforward: an in-person evaluation followed by remote treatment.

Practical requirements

What you need

A smartphone, tablet, or computer with a camera, a reasonable internet connection, and a private space where you will not be interrupted for the length of the session. A headset improves privacy and audio quality but is not required.

Privacy on your end

The platform is secure, but the room you sit in may not be. Sessions from a car in a parking lot, a shared break room, or a household where the conversation carries are common and they change what people are willing to say. Where a genuinely private space is not available, that is worth raising, because it affects what treatment can achieve.

Reducing missed appointments

Telehealth removes the most frequent reasons workers do not attend: transport, distance, time off work, and mobility limits. Appointment adherence in remote care tends to be higher than in clinic-based care for exactly these reasons, which in turn shortens the overall course of treatment and the claim.

Coverage across the state

Services are available to workers throughout California, including Contra Costa County and the wider East Bay, Sacramento, the Central Valley, and areas where local workers' compensation psychology capacity is limited. Care is provided under California licensure, so a worker who relocates within the state can continue with the same provider.

Safety and escalation

Remote care carries specific safety obligations. Your location at the time of each session is confirmed, an emergency contact is recorded, and local emergency resources are identified before treatment begins, so that if risk escalates during a session there is a plan already in place.

Book a telehealth appointment

To arrange a remote evaluation or treatment session, or to discuss whether telehealth suits a particular claim, contact the practice and we will respond within one to two business days.

Telehealth and the claims process

Remote sessions carry the same reporting obligations as in-person care. Progress reports, treatment requests, and Permanent and Stationary assessments follow the same standards regardless of how the session was delivered, and the mode of delivery is documented in the record. Where a party requires an in-person examination for a specific purpose, that is arranged rather than substituted.

Getting set up for the first session

• Confirm the appointment time and check your time zone if you are travelling

• Test your camera and microphone before the session rather than during it

• Find a room with a door and tell others in the household you are unavailable

• Have your claim number and medication list to hand

• Sit somewhere with reasonable light so facial expression is visible

When technology fails

Connections drop. A fallback is agreed at the outset, usually a phone number to call, so that a failed video link does not become a missed appointment. If a session cannot be completed, the remaining time is rescheduled rather than lost.

Who benefits most from remote care

Telehealth suits workers with mobility restrictions, those managing pain that makes travel difficult, workers in rural or underserved parts of the state, those whose work hours make daytime clinic appointments impossible, and Russian-speaking workers who would otherwise have no bilingual option within a reasonable distance.