Social Media Policy

The aim of this policy is to clearly outline how I conduct myself as a counsellor online and how I will respond in my interactions with clients online.

First and foremost, my goal is to protect the confidentiality of my clients and our client/counsellor relationship at all times. 

Social Media Personal Accounts

To protect our own privacy and to maintain our professional boundaries, I am unable to accept any friend or message requests from current or previous clients on any of my personal social media accounts including Instagram and Facebook. Neither will I contact you via your social media account. You are very welcome to discuss any aspects of your personal life with me in our counselling sessions.

Social Media Business Accounts

I post articles and share information which is relevant to my practice via my website and social media accounts on LinkedIn and Instagram. Anyone, including my clients, is welcome to follow these accounts and like and comment on my posts. However, please be aware that to maintain our client / counsellor relationship, I will not do anything that will reveal my connection with you so will not engage in any interaction with you online in these locations.

Electronic Communications

If you need to contact me about our appointments or to make an enquiry, please do so via telephone, text message, email or my website contact form. Please do not send contact messages via social media accounts or blog comments as I do not have control over the security of these channels and will not be monitoring them as part of my client account management. Due to these security risks, I strongly recommend you do not send me any details relating to your personal situation and our therapeutic discussions via these channels. 

Please note, this information and any email communication we exchange may become part of your legal record.

Use of Search Engines

I work on the basis that what I know about my clients is from the information they have personally shared with me. I do not conduct online searches about my clients except for rare circumstances when I am concerned they might be at risk of harm or I have serious concerns about their wellbeing/welfare.

I understand clients may want to search the internet for information about me. If you do so and wish to discuss any aspect of this, please bring this up in our appointments and I would be happy to explore this with you in the context of our therapeutic relationship. 

Queries and Further Information

If you have any queries about any of the information contained in this policy, please raise them in our sessions or contact me via hello@karentoms.com.

February 2024