Social Media Policy

Social Media

The use of social media and electronic communication is a convenient and often preferred way of communicating. However, privacy and confidentiality are not guaranteed in these forms of communication. I do not communicate with, or contact clients through social media or networking platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. This is due to the significant security risk these types of casual social contacts can bring.

I may participate in social networks for personal and marketing purposes, but not in my professional capacity as a therapist. There is a possibility that you may encounter them by accident and if that occurs, please feel free to discuss it with me.

Friending

I do not accept invitations from current or former clients to participate in their online social networks, nor do I invite clients to participate in my own personal online social networks (e.g., Linkedin, Instagram). The practice of adding as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your privacy and confidentiality. It may also blur the boundaries of the therapeutic relationship. If you need to contact me between sessions, please email, phone, or text.

Following

I may post articles related to mental health on my website or Linkedin. I have no expectation that you as a client will follow these posts. Comments have been disabled on my website as my primary concern is your privacy.

I do not follow current or former clients on social media. If there are things from your online life that you wish to share with me, please bring them into your session where we can review and explore them together during the therapy hour.

Interacting

Please do not use messaging on social media or networking sites to contact me. These sites are not secure, and the messages may not be read in a timely fashion. Do not use wall postings, @replies, or other means of engaging with me in the online public domain if you have an established therapeutic relationship with me. Engaging with me in these ways can compromise your privacy, and may also raise the possibility that the exchanges will need to be documented and archived as your case records.

Websites

I have a professional website that you are free to access to obtain information about my practice. You are welcome to access and review the information on the website and, if you have any questions, please discuss them with me directly.

Use of Search Engines

I will not use web searches to gather information about you without your permission. However, I understand that you might choose to gather information about me in this way. There is an incredible amount of information available about individuals online, much of which may be known to that person and some of which may be completely inaccurate or unknown. If you encounter any information about me through web searches or other means, and have questions about it, please feel free to clarify with me.

Although it is not a standard practice for me to search for clients on Google or Facebook 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 or if it becomes necessary as part of ensuring your welfare. These are unlikely situations and if I ever resort to such means, I will fully document it and discuss it with you in person.

Business Review Sites

You may find my practice on sites such as Yelp, 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.

You have a right to express yourself on any site you wish. Please note that by posting publicly about your therapy experience, you may inadvertently expose your private information. The therapeutic alliance is essential to the success of therapy. If you have a concern, I encourage you to discuss it with me. If you use any aforementioned sites to communicate indirectly with me about your feelings toward our work together, chances are I may never see it.

Location-Based Services

If you used location-based services on your mobile phone, you may wish to be aware of the privacy issues related to using these services. My practice is not placed as a check-in location on sites such as Foursquare, Facebook, Google , Gowalla, etc. However, if you have GPS tracking enabled on your device, it is possible that others may conclude that you are a therapy client due to your location.

Thank you for taking the time to review my social media policy. If you have questions or concerns about any of these policies and procedures or regarding our potential interactions online, please bring them to my attention so that we can discuss them.