How do we handle social media?

Social media is something that has become a staple in most of our lives. I don’t think there’s a day that goes by when I don’t hear someone say “I saw you posted this…” or “I really liked this post…” or I can tell who’s following me on social media and I’m trying to decide if I want to block them or not.

Well maybe not the last statement every day, but you get the idea. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Snap Chat, Reddit or some other favourite way of connecting with your friends and family and people you admire, you’re using some kind of social media platform every day.

At Panorama Wellness Group, we see social media as being a good tool for letting you know that we exist, the services we provide, and so that you can get a sense of our personalities. That being said, as therapists, it is important to each of us that we handle this responsibly and in a way that protects you and the relationship that you have with whichever practitioner you are seeing at Panorama.

We have created a document that spells this out a bit more officially that you can read here. However, this blog explains it in a bit more informal way. Please let us know if you have any questions.

FRIENDING

We currently post material on Facebook and Instagram. While we are a page, and as such don’t have the capacity to have “friends”, each of us as therapists have a policy that we don’t accept friend or contact requests from current or former clients on any social networking site. It is important to us that we maintain a level of confidentiality and respect of you and the relationship you have with your practitioner, so if you feel that you need to contact your therapist between sessions, the best way to do so is by phone, or by email.

FOLLOWING

We have no expectation or requirement that you, as a client, will want to follow us on any of the platforms that we are on. You are welcome to use your own discretion in choosing whether to follow us.

We do want you to know that we won’t follow you back. We appreciate your support and want to honour your choice to follow us, but our purpose is to provide you with practical tools and information outside of the session, and not to develop a relationship outside of the office.

We also want you to know that we aren’t watching what you’re doing outside of the session. If we were watching your online activities with or without your consent it could have an effect on the work that we are doing together, and we don’t want to compromise that. If there are things from your online life that you wish to share with your therapist, please bring them into our sessions where you can share them and discuss them at that time.

INTERACTING

While we regularly post on Instagram and Facebook, we are not on there watching for comments or hoping to interact with you. We would like to ask that you don’t use wall postings, @replies, or other means of engaging with your therapist in public online. These sites are not secure and we might not read these messages the day that you send them.

If you post on our wall or either account, 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.

We kindly ask that you direct any comments, questions, or need to change a session through email to either our administration staff or directly to your therapist through their email address.

USE OF SEARCH ENGINES

We want you to know that we are not using search engines to learn more about you. Our therapists don’t “google” our clients or look up information on you for any reason. It is important to us that we know you as you are in our office and during our sessions. If we do come across your information online, and believe us, it happens where our clients are suggested as friends, you can be assured that we will move on, avoid reading content, and remove any suggestion that we might want to be friends online.

Extremely rare exceptions may be made during times of crisis. If we have a reason to suspect that you are in danger because of something we’ve discussed in session, you haven’t been in touch with me through our usual means, and you aren’t showing up for a scheduled appointment, 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 extremely rare and unusual situations and if we ever resort to such means, we will fully document it and discuss it with you when you see your therapist the next time.

LOCATION-BASED SERVICES

If you use location-based services on your mobile phone, you may want to be aware of the privacy issues related to using these services. We have made it a practice to not have our office as a check-in location on various social media sites. However, if you have location services enabled on your phone or tablet, it is possible that others may surmise that you are a therapy client due to your location.

Whether you are visiting our office or meeting with one of our therapists online for counselling or one of our other wellness services, we want to ensure that you know that your safety is our top priority. That means physically, emotionally, mentally and socially. If you have any questions about how we handle our social media or think that one of our therapists may have acted in a manner opposite of what is defined here, please contact me as soon as possible through email.

Lisa Catallo is the Owner/Direct of Panorama Wellness Group. Your safety is our priority, and this applies whether you are seeing a counsellor, acupuncturist, nutritionist or other service or workshop that we provide. Our whole team is committed to ensuring that you are able to get the tools and support you need in a way that promotes safety and healthy boundaries for both you and us.