Suzanne Johnson, LMSW MI License: 680103287
My Private Practice Social Media Policy
This document outlines my office policies related to the use of Social Media. If you have any questions about anything within this document, I encourage you to bring them up when we meet.
FRIENDING : I do not accept friend or contract requests from current or former clients on social networking sites (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.
BUSINESS REVIEW SITES: You may find my private 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 their providers and add reviews. Please know that my listing is NOT a request for a testimonial, rating,or endorsement from you as my client. It is generally considered unethical for therapists to solicit testimonies or reviews from current clients who because of their circumstance are vulnerable to undue influence.
Of course, you have the right to express yourself as you wish. But due to confidentiality, I cannot respond to any review on any of these sites whether positive or negative. I urge you to take our own privacy as seriously as I take my confidentiality to you. 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 would bring your feelings and reactions to our work directly into the therapy process. This can be an important part of therapy, even if you decide we are not a good
fit. None of this is meant to keep you from sharing that you are in therapy with me where ever or with whomever you like. Confidentiality means that I cannot tell people that you are my client and my Ethics Code prohibits me from requesting testimonials. But you are more than welcome to tell anyone you wish that I’m your therapist or who you feel about the treatment I provide 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. I urge you do create a pseudonym that is not linked to your regular email address or friend networks for your own privacy and protection.
EMAIL: I prefer using email or text only to arrange or modify appointments. Please do not email or text me content related to your therapy sessions, as email and text 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 your and my internet service providers. You should also know that any emails I receive from you and send to you become a part of your legal record.