Tweet, Friend, and Pin: Counseling with Social Media

So I know we were on a roll with coping skills and how they can apply in the mental health and medical realms, but this week I want to talk about something that we've been discussing in class.

This week we are going to talk about how social media can be used in helping those with disabilities in the counseling setting.

Now you might be thinking:

1. What types of social media?
2. Are you asking to be my Facebook friend?
3. How can you be personal hiding behind a technological device?
4. Does that mean I need to be using social media to communicate with a counselor?


Social media can be used in many different ways when it comes to counseling. There are so many tools in technology that can be used as well, but that's a story for another time!

Now, to answer those great thoughts you must be having!

1. Twitter, Facebook, email, linkedIn, blogs, and even pinterest can all be used. Not all of them can used to counsel directly, but they can be used in one way or another. With linkedIn and facebook you can boost your business and clientele. With email you can counsel directly. With twitter, not only can you spread the word and post daily tips, but you can also allow clients to ask you questions. Kind of like a Q&A! Blogs are kind of obvious lol! With Pinterest, it can be used to add boards of things that clients can use outside of sessions.

2. Yes I want to be your facebook friend, but only in a professional way (if I ever have a professional counselor facebook page that is)! The thing with friending is that you want it to be professional and you want to set boundaries right off the bat. That all falls into the informed consent that you and your counselor will be discussing whenever the time arises.

3. Here's the tricky part. It can be done, but the rules for this might need to be discussed beforehand! For example, we had to do email counseling in class and it was great....with the exception that you can't read people through technology like you can if you're sitting with them. One of the suggestions that was given was to put in parentheses feeling words or to even use emoticons. So yes, it can be done!

4. No, you don't have to use social media with your counselor. It's just one of the many aspects of counseling! Nobody is going to make you do anything, I mean, we are a field of helpers....not pushers! It's just something cool that if you find helpful, it can be done :)

I hope this helps and is somewhat interesting! Tune in next week where we will pick back up with our coping skills!