Your phone as the waiting room
For a lot of people, the phone is already where life happens: banking, work messages, family chats. It can also be where you speak to a psychiatrist.
A video consultation on a phone is a full medical appointment. The psychiatrist can take your history, discuss a diagnosis and agree a treatment plan, just as they could on a larger screen. The NHS confirms that a smartphone, tablet or computer that allows video calling is enough for a video consultation.
What changes is the setting. A phone is small, personal and busy with alerts. A few minutes of setup turns it from a distraction machine into a private consulting room.
Phone, tablet or laptop?
All three can work. Each has trade-offs.
A phone is best when it is the device you have, you need to take the call from a private spot away from the family computer, or you are more relaxed holding something familiar.
A tablet or laptop is easier when you want to see the doctor’s face in more detail, you need to look at a document while talking, or you will be on the call for an hour and do not want to hold anything.
On a phone, some tasks are more fiddly:
- Reading a questionnaire and talking at the same time.
- Looking at a medicine box while keeping your face on camera.
- Typing notes during the call.
Simple fixes help. Fill in forms on the phone before the appointment. Keep medicine boxes and a paper notepad beside you. If you have a second device, use it for notes and keep the phone just for the video.
Data, Wi-Fi and battery
Video uses far more data than a voice call, and an interrupted appointment is frustrating for everyone.
Choose your connection. Walk around the room where you will sit and watch the signal bars. Home Wi-Fi is usually steadier and does not eat into a mobile data plan. If you have to use mobile data, check how much allowance is left and turn off automatic app updates and photo backups for the hour.
Avoid public Wi-Fi. Café and station networks can be unreliable, and they are not a private place to talk anyway.
Prepare the battery. Charge to full, then plug in during the call if a socket is close. Video drains a battery quickly, and battery-saving modes can affect how smoothly the call runs.
Update first, not during. The National Cyber Security Centre points out that software and app updates contain vital security fixes. Install any waiting updates the day before, so your phone does not try to restart minutes before the appointment.
Getting the camera and sound right
A psychiatrist reads expression and body language as well as words. Help them see and hear you.
Prop, don’t hold. Rest the phone against books or use a cheap stand. A hand-held phone wobbles and tires your arm.
Landscape or portrait. Either works. Landscape often shows more of you and less ceiling.
Face the light. Sit facing a window or lamp. Light behind you turns you into a silhouette.
Front camera at eye level. Looking up your nose or down at the top of your head makes it hard to read your face.
Headphones with a microphone. Wired earphones avoid Bluetooth dropouts. If you use wireless ones, pair and test them first, and check they are charged.
Test call. Video-call a friend from the same spot a day before. Ask whether they can see and hear you clearly.
Privacy on a personal device
A phone holds messages, photos and accounts. Think about who can see what, during and after the call.
Silence the phone. Turn on Do Not Disturb or Focus mode. A banner saying “Mum: are you nearly done?” is distracting at best.
Hide lock-screen previews. Appointment reminders and emails from a clinic can appear on the lock screen for anyone to read. Most phones let you hide message content until the phone is unlocked.
Use a screen lock. A PIN, fingerprint or face unlock stops others opening your email and seeing clinic letters.
On a shared device, join through a private or incognito browser window if the service allows it, sign out of your email afterwards, and delete any downloaded letters you do not want others to find.
Keep speakerphone off. Speaker mode carries further than you think, especially through thin walls.
Mental health apps and their limits
There are a great many mental health and wellbeing apps. Some are useful companions to care. Few are a substitute for it.
Apps and online tools can help with:
- Learning about anxiety, low mood and sleep.
- Practising skills such as breathing exercises or noticing unhelpful thoughts.
- Tracking mood, sleep or medicine doses to show a clinician.
The NHS offers free, non-app options too. Every Mind Matters on the NHS website gives a personalised Mind Plan from a short quiz, plus email programmes for anxiety and sleep. In England, NHS Talking Therapies can be delivered by video, phone or an online course, and many adults can refer themselves.
What apps cannot do is examine the whole picture. They cannot rule out a physical cause, notice what you are not saying, or safely decide whether you need medicine.
Checking a health app is safe
Before you trust an app with your mood diary or your worries, run through a few checks:
- Who made it? Look for a named organisation and a way to contact them.
- What does it claim? An app that says it diagnoses or treats a condition is making a medical claim. Look for evidence that it is regulated as a medical device.
- What happens to your data? Read the privacy policy. Be wary if it sells or shares data for advertising.
- Is there clinical input? Check whether health professionals were involved and whether any evidence is published.
- Does it signpost crisis help? A responsible mental health app tells you what to do if you are at risk.
If an app gives advice that seems wrong or harmful, you can report it through the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme, which covers software and apps.
When to see a psychiatrist instead
An app is not enough when symptoms are affecting your work, relationships or safety, or when self-help has not made a difference. It is also time for a specialist if:
- You want to know whether you have a condition such as adult ADHD, OCD or PTSD.
- Your diagnosis is unclear, or treatment has not helped.
- You want advice on medicine, or a review of what you already take.
- You have unusual experiences, such as hearing voices or strong beliefs others do not share.
Your GP is a good first step. A private psychiatrist is another route. Happy Clinic’s consultant psychiatrists offer medication reviews, diagnostic clarification and assessment for conditions including depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD, psychosis and adult ADHD.