What do I post on my Facebook page?

So the past few newsletters we have been spending time discussing the basics and ethics of a social media presence as Marriage and Family Therapists.  This final newsletter of the year we thought it would be best to answer the question: “what am I supposed to post now that I have an ethical professional Facebook page?”  First I want to normalize any feelings of anxiety with starting a new professional page.  It can sometimes seem like a lot of pressure in making sure that content is therapeutic, confidential, and representative of you as a therapist… and can easily get overwhelming.  I have researched on a couple of social media marketing websites to come up with a few tips that may help you get started.

First before starting your Facebook page it will be helpful to review what some of your goals are as an online presence.  Some goals could include: attracting new clients, giving resources, boosting your brand as a therapist or company, providing deals or insights, etc.  As you prioritize what is important for your Facebook role you will have more of an idea of what content to post. The ultimate goal for posts should be to engage your followers enough to get them to choose you as their therapist.  

PICTURES, QUOTES, and FUNNIES

Almost every website I visited agreed that it is important to include pictures with your posts.  Images, quotes, and cartoons are attention grabbers and get the traffic on your page interested and flowing. No one can pass up a like on a post that gives you a good laugh.

Some websites suggest showing pictures of your office and staff. You can include maybe holiday parties or community activities that you get involved with.  Be sure to always keep your confidentiality radar on when posting pictures and make sure you have permission from those in the picture. 

DO WHAT WE DO BEST…

Ask questions, start conversations, and show interest.  Pretty simple to do.  Some ideas include: Who or what are some of your best supportive resources? What are some things you do to keep your marriage fun? What are some family activities you enjoy? Implementing scaling questions can be beneficial to get participation and to assess interests. Just utilize the skills you already have to engage followers.

EXTERNAL CONTENT, ARTICLES, and RESOURCES

The Facebook community has become a great way to share information and help people become informed.  Share an interesting article with your followers.  Be aware that some scholarly articles may be interesting to you but find articles that are simple and interesting for others as well.  Facebook can also be a great place to post community supports and provide resources to the community. 

PROMOTIONS AND INFO ABOUT YOUR CLINIC

Promote your clinic or office.  You can get special interest through engaging your Facebook followers in meet-and-greet activities at the office, special seminars, group counseling posts, etc.  Make sure you have your clinic’s contact information somewhere on your page.  We want to make sure that the traffic we create on our Facebook page will somehow translate into clients receiving help in our office.

ONE FINAL TIP

Post positive feedback received by clients or other professionals about you or your clinic.  These can be anonymous but it is always good to read positive feedback regarding a therapist that you may choose to see one day.  Plus it is positively reinforcing us that we are doing a good job too. 

We all know that it takes courage to walk through the doors of a therapist and ask for help.  We can reaffirm clients of who we are as a clinic and prove ourselves to them as a beacon of hope through our Facebook pages.  Ultimately our goals and posts should always keep the clients in mind as we press forward serving the great people of Arizona. 

Catch the Buzz - Social Media

     Social media is the buzz word for organizations and businesses today.  Staying relevant and aware of social media was the hot topic in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Family Therapy’s (AAMFT) Family Therapy magazine.  In an article regarding “relevancy, innovation, and communication,” AAMFT’s new leadership acknowledged that: “Never before have member partnership and communication been so essential to the advancement of the profession, professional, and Association.” (Todd, 2013).  The Arizona Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AzAMFT) is following this buzz and recognizing the need to build a relevant network of communication for the professions, the professionals, and the community.  One way this year that we are working to expand in “relevancy, innovation, and communication” is through our Association’s Facebook page (Todd, 2013).  Now with the topic of social media, there most likely comes a hesitance to therapists due to unclear boundaries, possible transparency, and just plain old time consumption.  With some psychoeducation on the social media buzz and use metaphors your possible hesitancies may be addressed. 
     For unclear boundaries the Family Therapy magazine, and multiple other resources for counselors, emphasizes the need of a professional profile and a personal profile (Spotts-Delazzer, 2013).  Profiles permit the user to set specific privacy settings which enable flexibility and control over one’s boundaries with the community.  On a therapist’s personal profile it could be set at maximum security and have no interaction or following from the community. Whereas, with a professional page you can allow community viewers to follow uplifting posts and resources.  Or you can also use a professional page to like the AzAMFT page without worrying that a friend of a friend may ask you to be their next therapist.  If you do not feel the need to make a professional page but still worry about being transparent on the AzAMFT Facebook page, this next bit might help you.  When you like a Facebook page, the AzAMFT page for example, users cannot see the other “likers” of the page unless you are a friend of a liker, in which case you have already agreed to them having access to you by accepting their friend request.  So again you are in control.  In regards to time consumption, there is no way around it… social media does take up some of your time.  But as systems thinkers we should all know the time and patience it takes to build a system with appropriate boundaries and effective communication skills.

Resources:

Spotts-De Lazzer,  A.,  (2013).  Faceblur.  Family Therapy,  12(2),  24-28. 

Todd,  T.,  (2013).  Relevancy, Innovation, and Communication.  Family Therapy,  12(2),  2-3.

Making Ethics Hip: Social Media Standards for Marriage and Family Therapists

     In today’s world social media has created a direct link between clients and professionals.  Social media including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are the new classified ads for our generation.  These sites are now the route that supposedly the hip and with it crowds are taking to share resources and to connect with the community. 
     As one of the newest therapists to the AzAMFT organization, I am learning the need to get out there and be “searchable” among these different sites.  With being searchable and present among these sites comes a few questions of how to maintain ethical interactions in a virtual world.  Though our ethic code does not include social media directly, there are a few things I found to be helpful in guiding our decisions in cyberspace.
     Dr. Keely Kolmes, and a group of mental health providers,  offered best practice guidelines in their article “An Ethical Framework for the Use of Social Media by Mental Health Providers,” (Anthony, Kolmes, & Nagel, 2011).  This  nine page article listed many relevant ethics to help create a standard for all mental health providers.  Some of these standards included: confidentiality, avoiding multiple relations, creating appropriate informed consents with social media expectations, working within competency, and understanding boundaries of professional versus personal interactions.
     Though the lines may be more blurred with multiple relationships on these websites, a guiding principle could be to avoid a connection if it “could impair professional judgment or increase the risk of exploitation,” (AAMFT Code of Ethics, 2012).  These blurred lines can become more defined as you set a privacy boundary between your own personal facebook or twitter account from your professional page.  These lines could be more black and white if expectations are included in an informed consent.  An example to would be to include a friending section, it could say “I will not accept personal friend requests” or “I do not accept clients as fans of this page.”
     In the March issue of Family Therapy magazine, an article discussing ethics within facebook relayed some comforting things that we all know to fall back on and these are: “the everlasting foundational ethics… the underlying principle, ‘do no harm.’” (Spotts-De Lazer, 2013).  Though our AAMFT Code of Ethics may not include social media we have a clear compass to guide us.  As we abide by our code and legal jurisdiction we will become a more connected association.  Oh and don’t forget about the fact that we will be the new hip and with it community of therapists! 

Sources:

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy.  (2012,  July).  Can be found here http://www.aamft.org/imis15/Content/Legal_Ethics/Code_of_Ethics.aspx

Anthony,  K.,  Kolmes,  K.,  Nagel Merz,  D.  (2011).  An Ethical Framework for the Use of Social Media by Mental Health Providers.  Tilt Magazine,  Issue 3,  (20 – 29).  Retrieved from http://issuu.com/onlinetherapyinstitute/docs/issue3/20

Spotts-De Lazzer,  A.  (2013).  Faceblur.  Family Therapy,  12(2).  Retrieved from http://www.aamft.org/iMIS15/magazine/MarchApril2013/