Social Media Policy
This document outlines my office policies related to the use of social media and some other forms of technology. Please read it to understand how I conduct myself on social media as a mental health professional and how you can expect me to respond to various interactions that may occur between us online. If you have any questions about anything within this document, I encourage you to bring them up during a session.
Friending
I do not intentionally accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, or YouTube. I believe that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and can blur the nature of the therapeutic relationship.
Discovering/Viewing My Online Activity
I publish a blog on my website. I have published books and online courses. I also have LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest accounts. I also have a YouTube channel. I have no expectation that clients will want to follow my writings or social media postings. You may also run across my information in other settings. You may see online ads that I post, you may discover that we have friends or contacts in common on social media. You may see me quoted or published in the media. Or you may find that I have online reviews of my psychotherapy practice. Whether you find this information accidentally or intentionally, what is most important to me is that you feel safe and comfortable bringing it up if it has an impact on you and your feelings about our work together. I want to make it clear that is very normal for people to be curious about their psychotherapist and some people feel shame or embarrassment about bringing these things up. But I hope to create a relationship in which you are warmly welcomed to bring up anything you learn about me outside of our sessions that has an effect on your comfort in working together
Interacting
Please do not use messaging on Social Networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest or LinkedIn to contact me. These sites are not secure and I may not read these messages in a timely fashion. Please do not use wall postings, @replies, comments on my blog or other means of engaging with me in public online if we have an already established therapeutic relationship. Engaging with me this way could compromise your confidentiality. If you need to contact me between sessions, the best way to do so is by phone or Email. See the email section below for more information regarding email interactions.
Use of Search Engines
It is not a regular part of my practice to search for clients on Google, Facebook, or other search engines. Extremely rare exceptions may be made during times of crisis or other extenuating circumstances. These are unusual situations and if I ever resort to such means, I will discuss it with you when we next meet.
Business Review Sites
You may find my psychology practice on sites such as Yelp, Google, Bing, or other places which list businesses. Some of these sites include forums in which users rate their providers and add reviews. My professional ethics prohibit me as a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist from soliciting testimonials from current or former clients. 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.
If we are working together, I hope that you will bring your feelings and reactions to our work directly into the therapeutic process. This can be an important part of your 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 Codes 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.
Of course, you have a right to express yourself on any site you wish. 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 that I may never see it. 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 prefer using email only to arrange or modify appointments. Please do not email me content related to your therapy sessions, as email is not completely secure or confidential. If you choose to communicate with me by email, be aware that all emails are retained in the logs of your and my Internet service providers. While it is unlikely that someone will be looking at these logs, they are, in theory, available to be read by the system administrator(s) of the Internet service provider. You should also know that any emails I receive from you and any responses that I send to you become a part of your legal record.
Email I prefer using email only to arrange or modify appointments. For teletherapy, I may also send you handouts (or I may upload them to your client portal in Simple Practice). Occasionally, we each may share a link to something we discussed in-session. You should be aware that all exchanged emails become a part of your legal record and I keep a copy in your chart. If you choose to email me content related to your therapy sessions, note that email is not completely secure or confidential. All emails are retained in the logs of your and my Internet service providers. While it is unlikely that someone will be looking at these logs, they are, in theory, available to be read by the system administrator(s) of the Internet service provider. I typically reply to emails within one to two days. If you want to send me things securely, the best way is to upload a document to your portal on Therapy Notes.
Conclusion
If you have questions or concerns about any of these policies and procedures or regarding our potential interactions on the Internet, please bring them to my attention so that we can discuss them.
