Evaluating a Telehealth Single-Session Consultation Service for Clients on Psychotherapy Wait-Lists

Outpatient mental health clinics across the country are struggling to meet acute demand for mental health services, resulting in months-long waitlists for people seeking care. Providing evidence-based, single-session interventions to treatment-seeking individuals while they are waiting for treatment may help address this crisis. One such intervention, the Single-Session Consultation (SSC), was found to be an effective, acceptable, and feasible low-intensity treatment option when delivered in person. The current study evaluates the telehealth delivered SSC during the COVID-19 pandemic to individuals waiting to access mental health care. Of the 147 people offered an SSC, 95 (64.63%) accepted the invitation, 74 (77.89%) scheduled with a clinician, and 65 (87.84%) attended the session, surpassing feasibility benchmarks. Participants saw pre-to-post intervention improvements in hopelessness (dz = 0.91, p < .001) and readiness for change (dz = −0.49, p < .001). At 2-week follow-up, anxiety symptoms reduced significantly (dz = 0.40, p = .04) but depression symptoms did not decrease significantly (dz = 0.21). Participants rated telehealth-SSC sessions as highly acceptable and developed a close therapeutic alliance (M = 6.13, SD = 0.76). The telehealth SSC was acceptable, feasible, and effective in the short term, suggesting its utility as a low-intensity, scalable interventions for people on waiting lists for outpatient mental health care. Clinical Impact Statement The Single Session Consultation (SSC) can provide effective just-in-time mental health support for people on waiting lists. Additional studies should examine how the SSC can flexibly adapt to meet the demands of various settings and communities.