Social Media
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College students today hardly know a world without social media. Social media platforms have transformed traditional methods of communication by allowing the instantaneous and interactive sharing of information. For mental health, social media platforms can help share crisis lines, educational resources, and offer help while encouraging the sharing of personal stories. The Centers for Disease Control acknowledges that social media is filled with promising implications for health communication, and noted that the field of suicide prevention can capitalize on these opportunities. For example, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Facebook page had more than 47,077 fans as of January 2013, and the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention Facebook page had more than 94,860 fans. Both of these Facebook pages provide links to suicide prevention websites and hotlines, as well as information about the warning signs of suicide. |
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Campus Utilization
Many of our campuses are beginning to utilize social media to promote mental health awareness. Take a look at a sampling of our most promising utilizations of social media:
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UCB https://twitter.com/TangCenterCal UCD https://twitter.com/UCDSHCS UCI https://twitter.com/UCICounselingCt |
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YouTube |
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UCB http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1452A8740E1C43E5 |
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Tumblr |
| UCSD http://ucsdzone.tumblr.com/ |
Social Media Training
The Internet and social media offer a number of clinical and ethical challenges for those who provide face-to-face mental health services. These challenges include extra-therapeutic contacts between therapists and their clients, questions about what distinguishes personal from professional activities online, and a lack of clearly developed policies related to online behaviors and interactions. To better prepare our clinicians for these challenges, UC Office of the President hosted a training for mental health clinicians on ethical practices in engaging students through social media. Concerns related to training, supervision, and developing institutional policies were addressed.
Digital and Social Media Ethics for Psychologists
(*This course meets
the requirements for 4.0 CE credits for Psychologists, MFT’s, and LCSW’s)
Educational Objectives:
- Describe social media and summarize several popular social media sites and services
- Distinguish between one's personal and professional activities on the Internet
- Identify the ethical challenges that may arise from engaging in activities on the Internet
- Construct a social media policy for an institution to address potential boundary issues with clients
Contact Keely Kolmes, PsyD. for more information http://drkkolmes.com/
