Marlene M. Maheu, Ph.D. started delivering her first telehealth service in 1994. Donned the “telepsychology visionary” by former APA President Pat DeLeon, PhD, JD, MPH, she is a consultant, researcher, author, trainer and keynoter. Dr. Maheu has addressed more than 20,000 professionals interested in legal and ethical best practices related to telehealth and various technologies. She serves as the Executive Director of the Telebehavioral Health Institute, Inc., where she oversees the development and delivery of professional training in telebehavioral health via an eLearning platform that has served behavioral clinicians from more than 55 countries.
For more than twenty years then, Dr. Maheu’s focus has been legal and ethical risk management related to the use of technologies to better serve behavioral health clients and patients. She has served on a dozen professional association committees, task forces and work groups related advancing telebehavioral health as well as establishing standards and guidelines for telebehavioral health. She has written dozens of peer-reviewed articles and is the lead author of multiple telehealth textbooks. Her most recent challenge is the delivery of telebehavioral screening, assessment and treatment services through a new initiative known as eHealth Interactive.
As Faculty Associate of the Nicholas A. Cummings Doctor of Behavioral Health Program, School of Health Solutions, she teaches doctoral students how to work with technology as behavioral health professionals. As Editor-in-Chief of the Telebehavioral Health News, she oversees the publication of a weekly newsletter and providing a community blog as free educational services to help TBHI’s community of more than 12,000 licensed professionals. She pioneered the development and delivery of an online conference model that culminated in the 2012-2013 Telehealth Summit, where more than 10,000 stakeholders viewed video-based telebehavioral health training via the internet. From 1994-2016, she was the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of SelfhelpMagazine, an online portal that supported millions of consumers worldwide.
As the Co-Founder and President of the Coalition for Technology in Behavioral Science (CTiBS) from 2011 to the present, she has led the nonprofit organization through several initiatives to responsibly advance the use of technology in the behavioral sciences. The initiatives include the development of interdisciplinary Telebehavioral Health Competencies and the launch of the Journal for Technology in Behavioral Science (JTiBS), which is funded and published by Springer Publishing. CTiBS is also focused on developing credentialing for telebehavioral health practitioners.
Dr. Maheu is a Licensed Psychologist in San Diego, California and works as a telepsychologist (PSY#11921). She has served these leading professional mental health associations in various telehealth-related positions since 1995:
Dr. Maheu is the lead author of E-Health, Telehealth & Telemedicine A Guide to Startup and Success. This academic/professional book was co-authored by Pamela Whitten, Ph.D. and Ace Allen, M.D. This text is a hands-on resource that shows how communication technologies can be designed, implemented, and managed to help professionals expand and transform their professional roles. Step by step, the authors reveal how to introduce innovative communication tools to a wide range of settings. This indispensable book contains suggestions for program development, ethical, legal and regulatory solutions, and technical options. For more information, see this description and comments from leaders in healthcare, business and administration.
Her second book, Infidelity on the Internet is co-authored with Rona Subotnik, MA. This consumer-oriented book examines online cheating as based on an extensive survey of visitors to SelfhelpMagazine. This self-help manual reflects dozens of poignant stories from dozens of people who experienced the roller-coaster of infidelity on the Internet. The book defines “emotional cheating” and brings sanity to an otherwise crazy-making experience. It serves as a survival guide, and gives a detailed glimpse into the repair work by couples struggling with online cheating.
Dr. Maheu’s third book, The Mental Health Professional and the New Technologies: A Handbook for Practice Today was co-authored with Myron Pulier, M.D., Joseph McMenamin, M.D., Esq., Frank Wilhelm, Ph.D., and Nancy Brown-Connolly, RN, MSN. Written by this highly specialized multidisciplinary team, this text serves as a how-to manual for both the beginner as well as seasoned telehealth professional. It gives a wide range of examples for how to use (and not use) email, chat rooms, telephones and videoconferencing systems with patients to deliver remote service. It details how to build a professional presence through websites and communities. It guides the reader through an easy-to-understand outline of risk management from the perspective of legal/ethical solutions. To the delight of many, it also provides a sample of the type of informed consent document to be considered for use with patients when using technology as a mental health professional or coach.
As telecommunication technologies and health apps become more ubiquitous and affordable, they expand opportunities for mental health professionals to provide quality care. However, physical distance as well as technology itself can create challenges to safe and ethical practice. Such challenges are manageable when following the best practices outlined in this book.
This visionary volume spotlights innovative mental health careers in today’s technology-driven climate while inspiring readers to create their own opportunities. Unique and engaging perspectives from professionals across disciplines and job titles describe the thought processes, ingenuity, and discipline behind matching technologies to the needs of specific populations and settings. These non-traditional paths show digital advances as used in frontline, complementary, supplemental, and alternative interventions, in academic and training settings, in private practice, and in systems facing transition. The diversity of these contributions illustrates the myriad openings technology presents for both professional fulfillment and clients’ improved well-being.
Review this page for a listing of Dr. Maheu’s other telebehavioral health-related publications.
Dr. Maheu offers consultation in these areas:
Since 1995, Dr. Maheu has personally delivered or helped organize nearly 200 telehealth-related professional papers and training sessions at the American Psychological Association, American Telemedicine Association, the American Counseling Association, and numerous state professional associations and private meetings. She has trained more than 15,000 professionals internationally.
As an ethicist, her areas of expertise include risk management: legal/ethical, standard of care, clinical protocols, authentication, informed consent, community-building and the nuances of malpractice insurance for remote practitioners. Her consumer-oriented speaking topics include wearable and sensor-based technologies for behavioral care; how the Internet of Things is already changing healthcare; artificial intelligence, machine learning and affective computing; behavioral “apps” and how to evaluate for validity, reliability, user experience and other essential factors; hardware and software product development and marketing.
She has trained students and faculty at leading universities such as Albert Einstein School of Medicine, Alliant University, Arizona State University, and Johns Hopkins. She is the former Director of Telehealth and Ehealth for Alliant University and is currently on faculty at the Arizona State University, Nicholas A. Cummings Doctor of Behavioral Health Program, School of Health Solutions. She is the Founding and Current President of the Coalition for Technology and Behavioral Science (CTiBS), where she also chairs the Competency Task Force, which is developing telebehavioral health competencies for practitioners.
Our training is offered both 100% online and in-person. TBHI’s online coursework gives you access 24/7. You will receive a rich, multi media platform to enhance your enjoyment and learning retention. If you’d like in-person training, please submit a speaking request here (please let us know if you need CE credit so that we may determine if it can be made available for you or your group). To see Dr. Maheu’s speaking schedule, scroll to the bottom of this page.
Tracey Harris, ACI
“Legal and Ethical Strategies for Successful Distance Counseling”
“Create Passive Income with Online Self-help Products”
“We were honored to have Dr. Maheu as our keynote for our annual conference. Her delivery is precise and engaging. Her knowledge is immense and helpful. Her passion is genuine and contagious!”
Kendal M. Tucker, Past-President of the Idaho Counseling Association
Dr. Maheu has given live presentations to these groups: