This document outlines my office policies related to use of Social Media. Please read it to understand how I conduct myself on the Internet as a hypnotherapist and how you can expect me to respond to various interactions that may occur between us, therapist and client, on the internet.
If you have any questions about anything within this document, please feel free to ask me. There may be times when I need to update this policy due to technology changes. In this instance, clients will be notified and sent a copy of the new policy.
Confidentiality means that I cannot tell people that you are my client.
Friending
I do not accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). I believe that adding clients as friends or contacts on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. Our relationship is strictly therapeutic.
Fanning
I have a professional practice Facebook page for advertising purposes; please do not follow or like my Facebook page as it can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy.
You are welcome to view my Facebook page and read or share articles posted there, but I do not accept clients as fans of this page. Please do not write testimonials on my Facebook page, as it can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy.
Following
I post psychotherapy news or articles on Facebook. You are welcome to read my posts; please do not share or follow them because it can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy.
My primary concern is your privacy.
Please note that I will not follow or search your Facebook or Twitter page. I do not follow or check current or former clients on blogs, Twitter, Facebook or any other online social media.
Interacting
Please indicate which media form I can contact you on in case I need to (e.g. changing an appointment or reminding you of an appointment). Please tick
– text message
– mobile phone call
– landline phone call
– voice mail on ……………… (number)
– WhatsApp message
– WhatsApp phone call
– any other media:……………..
Please note I will only contact you for administrative purposes.
Please do not use messaging on Social Networking sites such as
Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn to contact me. These sites are not secure, and I may not read these messages. Please only discuss reasons for therapy or issues face-to-face.
Tag
Please do not tag me to like your shared information on social media sites as it can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy.
If you need to contact me between sessions, the best way to do so is by phone.
Direct email to me is the second best option for quick, administrative issues such as changing appointment times.
Business Review Sites
You may find my psychotherapy practice on sites such as Hypnotherapy Directory which lists 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. 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, so please do not leave any testimonials for me as they can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. It is unethical for hypnotherapists to use testimonials.
Emailing or messaging me
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 our 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.
Conclusion
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 on the internet, do bring them to my attention so that we can discuss them.
I declare that I acknowledge and understand the Social Media Policy.
Social Media Policy reviewed – July 2019
