Social Media Policy

This document outlines policies of Cari Chapman, LCP LLC, related to use of Social Media. Please read it to understand how I conduct myself on the Internet as a mental health professional and how you can expect me to respond to various interactions that may occur between us on the Internet.

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 post any policy changes on my website and provide a written copy of the updated policy per your request.

Email and SMS (Short Message Service)

I prefer using email and SMS (text) only to arrange or modify appointments or for simple administrative tasks. Please do not email or text clinical content, as such modes of communication may not be completely secure or confidential. If you choose to communicate by email, be aware that all emails are retained in the logs of your and our Internet service providers. You should also know that any emails received from you and any responses that I send to you may become a part of your treatment record.

If you need to contact me between sessions, the best way to do so is by phone. Direct email is second best for quick, administrative issues such as changing appointment times.

Friending

I do not accept friend 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. It may also blur the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship. 

Interacting

Please do not use messaging on Social Networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn to contact me. These sites are not secure. Do not use wall postings, @replies, or other means of engaging with me in public online if we have an already established client/therapist relationship. Engaging with me in this way could compromise your confidentiality. It may also create the possibility that these exchanges become a part of your legal medical record and will need to be documented and archived in your chart.

Use of Search Engines 

It is NOT a regular part of my practice to search for clients on Google, other search engines, or social media sites. Extremely rare exceptions may be made during times of crisis. If I have a reason to suspect that you are in danger and you have not been in touch with me via our usual means (coming to appointments, phone, or email) there might be an instance in which using a search engine (to find you, find someone close to you, or to check on your recent status updates) becomes necessary as part of ensuring your welfare. These are unusual situations and if I ever resort to such means, I will fully document it and discuss it with you when we next talk. 

Feed Readers

I do not follow current or former clients on feed readers, news aggregators, etc., and I do not use such services to share articles. If there are things you want to share with me that you feel are relevant to your treatment, I encourage you to bring these items of interest to your session. 

Business Review Sites

You may find my practice on sites such as Yelp, Healthgrades, Yahoo Local, Bing, or other places which list businesses. Some of these sites include forums in which users rate and review their providers. 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. Of course, you have a right to express yourself on any site you wish. But due to confidentiality, I cannot respond to any review on any of these sites whether it is positive or negative.

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 we are working together, I hope that you will bring your feelings about our work directly to me. This can be an important part of therapy, even if you decide we are not a good fit. However, you are free to tell anyone you wish that I am your therapist or how you feel about the treatment I provided to you, in any forum of your choosing. 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. 

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. I do not place my practice as a check-in location on any sites. However, if you have GPS tracking enabled on your device, it is possible that others may surmise that you are a therapy client due to regular check-ins at my office. Please be aware of this risk if you are intentionally “checking in” from my office or if you have a passive LBS app enabled on your phone.

I urge you to take your own privacy as seriously as I take my commitment of confidentiality to you.