⚖️ Do you need a 'Social Media Policy'?

Suvrita
August 05, 2025

This is the final post in the series on Social Media and Psychotherapy. Read last week’s edition on What happens when clients Google you?, 2nd post- How to respond to clients Googling you?, 3rd Post- Have you ever Googled a client? and 4th Post- To accept or not accept client friend requests.

According to Data Reportal, 33.7% of the Indian population i.e. 491 million Indians are social media users. Given this explosive use, a social media policy can proactively address several of the concerns related to it.

What can a social media policy cover?

Friend/follow requests: How you respond to the same on professional and personal accounts.
Use of search engines: By the client or therapist to find information about each others.
Sharing information about therapy online: The difference between client versus therapist sharing it and your stance on the same.

If you’re interested in reading more about this, check out this post on APA’s website.

How can it be communicated to the client?

1) Within the consent form. 2) In the first session. 3) A longer document on the website.

Here is mine from my consent form:

Currently, I do not have business social media accounts except on LinkedIn and one on Instagram. All my other accounts on social media websites are primarily for personal use. I never share information about clients on these. I would request for us to not be connected on these as this can compromise the boundaries of the therapeutic relationship and your confidentiality. I understand that it is a small world and sometimes we may come across each other’s posts. If you come across anything I’ve said and would like to initiate conversation about it, you are welcome to bring it up in the session.

Do you cover social media in your consent form or conversations? I’d love to hear more thoughts and experiences.

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