Social Media Policy

This document outlines my office policies related to the use of Social Media. Please read this document to understand how I conduct myself on the Internet as a mental health professional and how you can expect me to respond to various interactions that may occur between us on the Internet.

If you have any questions about anything within this document, I encourage you to bring them up when we meet. As new technology develops and the Internet changes, there may be times when I need to update this policy. If I do so, I will notify you in writing of any policy changes and make sure you have a copy of the updated policy.

The American Counseling Association Code of Ethics states section A.5.e Personal Virtual Relationships with Current Clients that Counselors are prohibited from engaging in a personal virtual relationship with individuals with whom they have a current counseling relationship (e.g., through social and other media).

FRIENDING

I do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social media networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). I believe that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. It may also blur the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship. If you have any questions, please bring them up when we meet, and we can talk about it.

FANNING

I keep a Facebook Page for my professional practice to allow people to share my blog posts and practice updates with other Facebook users. All of the information shared on this page is available on my website.

You are welcome to view my Facebook Page and read or share articles posted there, but I do not accept clients as fans on this page. I believe having clients as Facebook Fans creates a greater likelihood of compromised client confidentiality and I feel it is best to be explicit to all who may view my list of fans to know that they will not find my client names on the list. In addition, the American Counseling Association’s Ethics Code prohibits my soliciting testimonials from clients. I feel that the term “Fan” comes too close to an implied request for a public endorsement of my practice.

Note that you should be able to subscribe to the page via RSS without becoming a Fan and without creating a visible, public link to my Page. You are more than welcome to do that.

FOLLOWING

I publish my blog to my website. I have no expectation that you as a client will want to follow my blog. However, if you use an easily recognizable name on a platform to which I publish my blog and I happen to notice that you are following me there, we may briefly discuss it and its potential impact on our working relationship.

I will not follow you on any social media platform or friend you. I only follow other health professionals and I do not follow current or former clients. My reasoning is that I believe casual viewing of clients’ online content outside of a therapy session can create confusion in regard to whether it’s being done as part of your treatment or to satisfy my personal curiosity. In addition, viewing your online activities without your consent and without our explicit arrangement towards a specific purpose could potentially have a negative influence on our working relationship. If there are things from your online life that you wish to share with me, please bring them into our session where we can view and explore them together, during your session.

INTERACTING

Please do not use messaging on Social Networking sites such as Facebook to contact me. These sites are not secure, and I may not read the message in a timely fashion. Do not use Wall postings, @replies, or other means of engaging with me in public online if you have already become my client and we have a client/therapist relationship. Engaging with me this way could compromise your confidentiality. It may also create the possibility that these exchanges become part of your legal medical record and will need to be documented and archived in your chart.

USE OF SEARCH ENGINES

It is NOT a regular part of my practice to search for clients on Google, Facebook, any other Social Media platform, or other search engines. Extremely rare exceptions may be made during times of crisis. If I have a reason to suspect that you are in danger and you have not been in touch with me via our usual means (coming to sessions, phone, or email) there might be an instance in which using a search engine (to find you, find someone close to you, or to check on your recent status updates) becomes necessary as part of ensuring your welfare. These are unusual situations and if I ever resort to such means, I will fully document it and discuss it with you when we next have a session or speak on the phone.

BUSINESS REVIEW SITES

You may find my psychological practice on sites such as Yelp, Healthgrades, Yahoo Local, Bing, or other places which list businesses. Some of these sites include forums in which users rate their providers and add reviews. Many of these sites comb search engines for business listings and automatically add listings regardless of whether the business has added itself to the site. If you should find my listing on any of these sites, please know that my listing is NOT a request for a testimonial, rating, or endorsement from you as my client.

The American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics states in Section C.3.b covering Testimonials that Counselors who use testimonials do not solicit them from current clients, former clients, or any other persons who may be vulnerable to undue influence. Counselors discuss with clients the implications of and obtain permission for the use of any testimonial.

Of course, you have a right to express yourself on any site you wish. But due to confidentiality, I cannot respond to any review on any of these sites whether it is positive or negative. I urge you to take your own privacy as seriously as I take my commitment of confidentiality to you. You should also be aware that if you are using these sites to communicate indirectly with me about your feelings about our work, there is a good possibility I will never see it.

If we are working together, I hope that you will bring your feelings and reactions to our work directly into the therapy process. This can be an important part of therapy, even if you decide we are not a good fit. None of this is meant to keep you from sharing that you are in therapy with me wherever and with whomever you like. Confidentiality means that I cannot tell people that you are my client and my Ethics Code prohibits me from requesting testimonials. But you are more than welcome to tell anyone you wish that I’m your therapist or how you feel about the treatment I provided to you, in any forum of your choosing.

If you do choose to write something on a business review site, I hope you will keep in mind that you may be sharing personally revealing information in a public forum. I urge you to create a pseudonym that is not linked to your regular email address or friend network for your own privacy and protection.

If you feel I have done something harmful or unethical and you do not feel comfortable discussing it with me, you can always contact the Pennsylvania Board of Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists and Professional Counselors, which overseas licensing, and they will review the services I have provided.

CONCLUSION

If you have any questions or concerns about these policies or procedures or regarding potential interactions on the Internet, please bring them to my attention so we can discuss them.