For years, I told myself that I would never practice medical hypnosis and cognitive behavioral therapy remotely.
Then in March, 2020, COVID hit!
And I had a choice: do I help patients or do I stop doing this work?
There had been a lot of literature supporting the use of telemedicine, and I had never done it before.
As it happens, my very first patient was the second most challenging patient with tics whom I had ever seen, and I’ve probably treated close to 1,000 patients with tics over the years. He was a teenager with a severe cough tic/habit cough.
I had met with his parents a week or two earlier.
I sent out emails to all of my upcoming patients on a Sunday night telling them that we would be switching to HIPAA-compliant zoom this week.
His mother called me immediately as this young man’s first visit was scheduled for Tuesday morning.
She was very bright and appropriately concerned, and asked me if this would work remotely.
I replied that the literature supported it, and that I had never done it before. And, that we would find out together!
Fortunately, he was able to cure his tic after only three visits!
This gave me the confidence that I needed to do this work remotely. Since then, my practice has been 100% virtual.
So, whether individuals live around the corner or across the country, all visits are virtual.
And it’s working beautifully!
As it happens, I am licensed in over 20 of the United States.
These include:
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
Learn more about my unique approach in treating patients of all ages with tics.
Contact me today to schedule your free 20-minute consultation.
I look forward to speaking with you soon!
Sincerely,
Jeff Lazarus, MD
Jeffrey E. Lazarus, MD, FAAP is a board-certified pediatrician who combines more than 25 years of general pediatrics experience with the use of medical hypnosis and visualization techniques, cognitive behavioral therapy strategies, and powerful motivational tools.
