Social Media Policy 

         

Social Media and Electronic Information Policy

 

 This document outlines my office policies relating to use of Social Media. Please read it to understand how I conduct myself on the Internet as a practitioner 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 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 ensure that you have a copy of the updated policy.  

 

Befriending  

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I will not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (e.g., Facebook). 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 questions about this, please bring them up when we meet and we can talk more about it.  

 

I will 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 practice’s Facebook Page and read or share articles posted there, but I do not accept clients as Fans of 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 client names on that list.

 

Following 

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I will intend to publish a blog on my website. I will have no expectation that my clients will want to follow my blog or Facebook/Instagram.   However, if you use an easily recognizable name on Facebook and I happen to notice that you have followed me there, we may briefly discuss this and its potential impact on our working relationship. 

My primary concern is your privacy. You are welcome to use your own discretion in choosing whether to follow me.  

Note that I will not follow you back. My reasoning is that I believe casual viewing of clients’ online content outside of the therapeutic context can create confusion regarding the boundaries of the relationship and undermine professionalism. In addition, viewing your online activities     without a clear and explicit understanding of how this may lead to better supporting you within the context of therapy, could potentially have a negative influence on our working relationship. 

 

Interacting  

 

Please do not use messaging on social networking sites such as Facebook,Instagram or LinkedIn to contact me. These sites are not secure, and I may not read these messages in a timely fashion.  

If you need to contact me between sessions, the best way to do so is by phone or email. 

Please do not use public ways of contact (e.g., @replies or tagging) again because of the potential for this to compromise your confidentiality. You may use Facebook messenger, WhatsApp, or text to discuss appointment times or other logistics but not therapeutic issues. Due to the sensitivity and confidentiality of the latter, it is not appropriate or secure to discuss this over social networking sites.  

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Location-based services

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If you use location-based services on your phone you should be aware that others may surmise that you are a therapy client if you are seen as “checking in” at my address.

 

Business Review Sites  

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You may find my psychotherapy practice on sites, 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. I abide by the ethical framework of NSTT, CNHC and UKCP which states that it is s unethical to solicit testimonials. Of course, you have a right to express yourself on any site you wish. However, due to confidentiality, I cannot respond to any review on any of these sites whether it is positive or negative.  

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Email

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  It is preferable to use email only for logistical contact (e.g., to get a reminder of an appointment time) due to the inherent insecurity of email. If you wish to engage in “email therapy” then please use a password protected word document to contain what you wish to say. I can set this up for you if you need it.

Whether phoning or texting please do it between 10:00-20:00. If I am with a client, I will return your correspondence as soon as possible.

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 Thank you, 

Iulia