Social Media Ethics (part 2): Developing Your Social Media Policy

Social media ethics are starting to be addressed by mental health professional organizations or licensing boards but those guidelines, if they exist, are generally vague.

It's important for clinicians to take time to think through the implications of their online interactions on clients to avoid dual relationships, putting client's privacy at risk, or jeopardizing the therapeutic relationship.

Including a written social media policy as a client's initial treatment contract helps clarify how technology will be used in client-therapist interaction so it doesn't interfere with treatment.

On the forefront of the social media ethics discussion is licensed psychologist Keeley Kolmes. Psy.D. Dr. Kolmes' comprehensive social media policy has been a model for mental health therapists around the world. She generously allows clinicians to adapt her social media policy for their own use and frequently speaks, writes, and teaches on social media topics. I used it as a springboard for developing my own social media policy.

If you don't have a social media policy, I suggest that you develop one. The goal of your policy is to clearly outline your expectations regarding online interaction, educate the client of risks, and have a clear rationale for how you will or will not engage with clients online. Here are some suggested topics to cover in your policy and a few questions to help you solidify your philosophy regarding social media interaction.

Friending Will you accept friend requests on Facebook, Linked In, Google+? Why or why not?

Following Will you allow clients to follow you on Twitter, Blogs, Pinterest? If not, how will you handle it if they do follow you? Will you follow back?

Messaging Is it appropriate for clients to contact you via SMS? Or social media sites like Twitter DM? If so, what information is appropriate?

Business Review Sites What are the risks that clients take when reviewing your services on sites like Yelp or Healthgrades? Keep in mind that if a client gives you a negative review it is unethical to respond directly to the review as it breaks client confidentiality.

Google Reader What if a client wants to share an article with you through Google reader?

Search Engine Do you make a practice of Google searching your clients? Are there emergency situations where you would search for their information or information of someone close to them?

Location Based-Services If clients check-in to your location on GPS services like Foursquare or Facebook check-in are they aware of the risks that they might be identified as clients?

Email Correspondence What type of information is appropriate to send via email? How quickly a client can anticipate an email response?

Email/Newsletter Lists If you have a newsletter sign-up on your website do you expect clients to sign up on email or newsletter lists?

If you can think of a topic I missed in the list above, let me know.

Are you willing to share your social media policy? If so, please post the link in a comment below.

Social Media Ethics (part 1): Digital Dual Relationship Dilemmas

photo credit: Eric Schwartzman

I’ve spent months writing about how to effectively use technology, and social media in particular, to build your private mental health practice. While the Internet has opened up exciting new ways for mental health therapists in private practice to market their practice, reach potential clients, and educate the public, it has also allowed for new ethical dilemmas.

When I first started practicing nearly two decades ago, I was concerned about my child being on the same soccer team as a client's child, or about running into clients at parties of mutual friends. The increasing Internet usage by therapists and clients alike has created new opportunities for dual relationships online. Over the coming weeks I'll be discussing ways to use social media ethically in the digital age.

Here are a just few examples of digital dual relationship dilemmas that therapists now face:

• “A former clients sent a ‘friend’ request on my personal Facebook page? Should I accept it?”
• “One of my clients is a friend of one of my family members on Facebook. I don’t want him to have access to my personal information, photos, etc. Is there anything I can do to protect my personal information?”
• “A client just posted a comment on my private practice Facebook page that reveals some clinical information about his symptoms. How should I handle this?”
• “A potential client sent me a direct message on Twitter inquiring about my therapy services. Is Twitter confidential? How should I respond?”
• “During an initial intake with a new client the client shared some grandiose facts about her successful work history and public accolades. Should I Google her name to see if what she’s reporting is true?”
• “I just saw that a client is following me on Pinterest. I’m not sure how I feel about her seeing boards about how I want to decorate my dream house.”
• “Should I enable or disable comments on my private practice website blog? I'm concerned that it may look like I'm encouraging clients to comment on my blog."

I want to hear from you...

Have you faced any of these situations in your clinical practice?

What are some ethical dilemmas you've come across since venturing into social media?

Do you have any specific questions or ethical concerns about the impact of your online activity and it's potential impact on the client-therapist relationship?

Are You Ready For The Mobile Marketing Explosion?

Ok, private practice therapists, you can't ignore the mobile marketing revolution any longer. I predict that private practitioners who don't embrace mobile technology will have a difficulty building and maintaining a thriving in the coming years. Look at these statistics about the astronomical growth of mobile usage predicted over the next few years.

• There will be nearly 1 mobile device per capita by the year 2015. That suggests that by 2015 there will be approximately 7.2 billion mobile devices.
• Global mobile data traffic will increase 26-fold between 2010 and 2015.
• There will be 788 million mobile-only Internet users by 2015. (source: Cisco.com)

Here are 4 ways to get your practice ready for the mobile revolution: 

1) Visit your practice website on a variety of mobile devices

Have you visited your practice website on a variety or smartphones, iPad, etc. to see if your website is as effective on mobile devices as it is on a computer screen? With more and more people going "mobile only,"  make sure that your website translates well on smaller mobile screens.

2) List your practice on Google Places

According to Google, "97% of consumers search for local businesses online." If you haven't already, get your private practice listed on Google places where potential clients can easily find you on mobile devices. Also, search your specialty, city and state to see which private practitioners are already listed.

3) List your therapy practice on Yelp

If you're not familiar with Yelp, it's a popular service and mobile app that uses an individual's current location to find nearby businesses and services.  Like Google Places, signing up for a Yelp listing is quick and easy, so there's no excuse not to have your practice listed there.

4) Get mobile marketing training

Check out this fantastic technology resource, Therapy Marketing Geeks, run by two therapists, Clinton Power and Jeff Fisher.  They offer a training called Mobile Marketing For Therapists in addition to other great articles, tech recommendations, and webinars designed to help therapists embrace technology and use it to build a successful private practice.

So...is your practice ready for the mobile explosion? If not, I challenge you to do at least one of these four suggestions by the end of this week.