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Self-Disclosure in the Age of Social Media

Social media was barely a thing when I was in grad school. Smart phones had not yet been invented and flip phones made texting a huge pain in the *ss. What little was said in grad school about using technology beyond a phone to communicate with clients boiled down to one word: DON’T. And following grad school, my training in addiction treatment facilities hammered home boundaries and non-disclosure rules. Any details I disclosed about my personal life were always to be minimal and discrete (pretty much limited to what a anyone could find if they googled me).
social media
But as the world continues to shift and as I continue to grow as a professional, I find this self-disclosure boundary shifting, as well. Two significant life events in the last two years changed my thinking in ways I would have never expected. First, my daughter became ill with a rare autoimmune disorder that causes temporary, but severe, mental health symptoms. The social worker in me wanted to scream from the roof tops and tell all other mental health clinicians and parents about this horrible disorder. But as I sat down to type our story…I hesitated. Posting the blog meant my clients would have access to some of my most personal and vulnerable moments. Finally, I completed our story and still…I hesitated. And hesitated. And hesitated. Finally, I decided the risk of another child being misdiagnosed was not worth protecting my beliefs about clinical boundaries. So, I posted my blog post. One year later, a parent of a client reached out to tell me how moved she was to read my blog. She expressed being amazed at how well I could take care of my daughter and her daughter at the same time. And guess what? My clinical practice with that client is still intact and still successful (my old self is still working through this).

Fast forward a year later… I decided to start an online business providing psychoeducation. This adventure is requiring me to use social media in ways I never wanted or expected (I love/hate Twitter so much). Here is what I am learning: people want to be helped by people. They don’t care about what school you went to or how many letters are behind your name. They care about how you present as a – wait for it – real person. Albeit, a person with knowledge, empathy and a good presence. But a real person. I am discovering, in the most humble way, how to step out of the “just your therapist” role and into the “real person” role.

What has surprised me the most, was that I kind of like the new version of me – the one who is jumping way out of her boundary comfort zone to connect with and help people on a whole new level. Don’t get me wrong – I’ll still be taking some old school boundaries with me along the way. But as the world continues to change, we all need to adjust with it and meet people exactly where they are – which is sometimes on social media.