CME Course Proposal

“Title”

“Telepsychiatry and Digital Group Therapies: Safe Implementation in Line with WPA Telepsychiatry Global Guidelines”

Date: 5 May 2026

Time: 17:00 pm – 20:00 pm 3 hours (180 minutes)

Course Lead:
Davor Music, MD, PhD
Chair, WPA Digital Mental Health Section

Target Audience

Psychiatrists, psychiatry trainees, clinical psychologists, psychotherapists, mental health nurses, and multidisciplinary team leaders.

Level

Introductory to intermediate (no prior digital experience required)

Course Rationale

Telepsychiatry is now an established modality of psychiatric care. However, implementation without structured training may expose clinicians and services to ethical, legal, and safety risks.

This CME course provides a practical, step-by-step implementation framework directly aligned with the WPA Telepsychiatry Global Guidelines (2024) and WPA AI & mHealth Guidelines (in press), covering professional standards for identification, consent, confidentiality, documentation, emergency management, platform security, and digital equity.

Special emphasis is placed on online group therapies as a distinct clinical modality requiring adapted facilitation skills and governance safeguards.

Educational Objectives

Upon completion, participants will be able to:

1. Define telepsychiatry according to WPA standards and describe its indications and limitations.
2. Establish a structured, guideline-aligned telepsychiatry service (technical setup, documentation, workflow).
3. Conduct compliant remote consultations including identity verification, informed consent, and confidentiality clarification.
4. Implement a stepwise emergency response protocol for high-risk scenarios (e.g., suicidality, sudden disconnection).
5. Safely configure core videoconferencing platform controls to minimise preventable privacy incidents.
6. Adapt group therapy processes to online delivery using structured facilitation techniques.
7. Apply basic principles of digital tool and app evaluation consistent with data-minimisation and patient-centred care.

Course Content Overview (3 Hours)

1. Foundations of Telepsychiatry (30 min)
   WPA definition, evidence base, indications/contraindications, ethical framework.
2. Setting Up a Professional Telepsychiatry Service (45 min)
   Minimum technical standards; secure environment; consent procedures; identity and location verification; documentation standards; governance workflow.
3. Patient Safety and Emergency Management (30 min)
   Remote risk assessment; location confirmation; emergency contact procedures; escalation pathways; documentation.

Break (10 min)

4. Online Group Therapies (35 min)
   Confidentiality limits in digital groups; tele-group contracting; facilitation micro-skills; managing disruption and third-party presence.
5. Digital Adjunct Tools (20 min)
   Outcome measurement, symptom tracking, app evaluation framework (privacy, security, clinical foundation).

Assessment (10 min integrated)
Pre/post MCQ and case-based safety scenario.

Competency Mapping (Aligned with WPA Guidelines)

• Professionalism & Ethics: Realistic confidentiality limits, informed consent in digital care.
• Patient Safety: Structured remote emergency workflows.
• Clinical Governance: Documentation standards and identity verification.
• Digital Competence: Platform configuration and risk mitigation.
• Equity & Access: Consideration of digital exclusion and hybrid models.

Expected Outcomes

Participants will gain practical competence to:

• Implement a compliant telepsychiatry service within national regulatory frameworks.
• Reduce preventable privacy and safety incidents.
• Deliver online individual and group psychiatric care consistent with WPA global standards.

Course Lead:
Davor Mucic, MD, PhD
Chair, WPA Digital Mental Health Section

SUGGESTED READINGS

1. Mucic D, et al. World Psychiatric Association (WPA) telepsychiatry global guidelines. J Technol Behav Sci. 2024; 9:580–596.
2. American Psychiatric Association; American Telemedicine Association. Best practices in synchronous videoconferencing-based telemental health. Washington (DC): APA; 2022.
3. World Health Organization. Guideline: recommendations on digital interventions for health system strengthening. Geneva: WHO; 2019.
4. World Health Organization. Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health. Geneva: WHO; 2021.
5. S. Department of Health and Human Services. Telehealth for behavioral health: group teletherapy best practice guide [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2026 Feb 16]. Available from: https://telehealth.hhs.gov
6. Andrews K, et al. Online group psychotherapy: a systematic review. 2024.
7. Laurito LD, et al. Online group therapies for anxiety-, obsessive–compulsive-, and trauma-related disorders: a systematic review. 2024.
8. Sandre A, et al. Comparing in-person to videoconference group cognitive behavioural therapy for depressive disorders in an outpatient mood disorders clinic. Behav Cogn Psychother.
9. Torous et al. The evolving field of digital mental health: current evidence and implementation issues for smartphone apps, generative artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. World Psychiatry, 2025 May 15;24(2):156–174.
10. Lustgarten SD, et al. Digital privacy in mental healthcare: current issues and recommendations for technology use. Curr Opin Psychol.
11. Lagan S, et al. Mental health app evaluation: updating the American Psychiatric Association’s framework through a stakeholder-engaged workshop. Psychiatr Serv.