Social Media Disclaimer
The information below summarizes the Social Media Policy and expectations for the Calgary Counselling and Psychology Centre. Our full Social Media Policy is specifically intended for clients of the Calgary Counselling and Psychology Centre, this disclaimer applies to all visitors, readers, and followers of the Calgary Counselling and Psychology Centre.
Not only does this disclaimer serve to help protect your privacy, but it also establishes clear boundaries around the Calgary Counselling and Psychology Centre’s social media and online presence. Interaction on social media does not equate to a therapeutic relationship. All Calgary Counselling and Psychology Centre blog articles and social media posts are no substitution for professional counselling or therapy. They are strictly for educational and promotional purposes only.
The content of this page does not apply to situations of abuse.
The information and ideas are generalized and not necessarily applicable to any given viewer. This page is not providing professional guidance or advice. Please take what works for you and leave what doesn’t.
Social Media Presence
The Calgary Counselling and Psychology Centre does have a social media presence, so it’s important to note that these social media accounts and sites are not a substitution for therapy, nor are they an acceptable contact method for current or former clients. We do not interact with current or former clients online. We will not respond to comments, direct messages, or any other form of social media contact from current or former clients in order to protect their confidentiality. We do not provide clinical assessment or therapeutic advice via social media.
Blogging
We maintain a blog as part of our web presence in order to market to potential clients and provide useful information and free resources related to our scope of practice. These articles are not a substitute for therapy and should not be interpreted as professional advice.
Friend Requests, Follows, Connections, and Page Likes
We don’t accept friend requests, connect requests, or follow requests from clients. However, there are some social media platforms where we are not able to screen followers. For example, people are free to “Like” our Facebook page. It’s important to note that if you choose to follow/like these accounts, your confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, we do not encourage follows from clients, and we will not follow them back or reciprocate any offers for interaction.
Comments and Interaction
If current or former clients comment on social media content from the Calgary Counselling and Psychology Centre, or other social media accounts or sites owned and operated by psychologists at the Calgary Counselling and Psychology Centre, please know that we will not respond to these comments or interactions.
Please note that we cannot provide responses to requests for specific advice, and we cannot help you if you are in crisis or needing to talk with a professional. We may not be able to respond to some messages due to ethical considerations.
We will, however, occasionally interact with non-clients online but we will not provide clinical assessment or therapeutic advice via social media.
Non-clients should not use comments to solicit professional advice or help. If one of our psychologists is not your therapist and you have not provided your consent for treatment with the Calgary Counselling and Psychology Centre, we cannot provide therapy services to you. You should seek the support of a trusted professional who is contracted to provide therapy services to you.
Direct Messages and Text/SMS Messaging
Current or former clients should not use social media to send direct messages to discuss their treatment, provide updates between sessions, or otherwise interact with us as their therapist. These sites are not secure, and we do not review these messages in a timely fashion. We will not respond to direct messages and will only talk with clients using a secure platform to discuss these concerns.
Non-clients should not use direct messaging to solicit professional advice or help. If one of our psychologists is not your therapist and you have not provided your consent for treatment with the Calgary Counselling and Psychology Centre, we cannot provide therapy services to you. You should seek the support of a trusted professional who is contracted to provide therapy services to you.
In the case of an emergency or mental health crisis, you should contact your local mental health crisis hotline or your own providers. You should never use direct messages or text messages to seek mental health support. We may not see it for several hours or at all. This puts your safety at risk, and you may risk the confidentiality of your Protected Health Information.
We do not use text/SMS messaging to conduct therapy or crisis management for current or former clients. The Calgary Counselling and Psychology Centre requires that all therapy or crisis management concerns be communicated via phone call or secure voicemail message.
NOTE: Any comments, emails, texts, messages, or “DMs” (direct messages) you send that contain information related to your treatment will very likely become part of active clients’ health records.
Reviews and Ratings
You may find our practice on sites like Google Business, Yelp, Bing, or other places which list businesses. Some of these sites include forums in which users rate their providers and add reviews. Some of these sites comb search engines for business listings and automatically add listings regardless of whether the business has added itself to the site. If you should find our listing on any of these sites, please know that our listing is NOT a request for a testimonial, rating, or endorsement from current or former clients.
The College of Alberta Psychologists Standards of Practice "prohibits the use of testimonials of current or previous clients, in any form, even when such testimonials are offered and not solicited. Furthermore, psychologists are to refrain from participating in online rating/review programs when possible (note, some sites may not allow the psychologist to remove testimonials). Specifically, psychologists are advised to disable features on social media and websites that allows someone to rate them." We adhere to this guide.
Clients have a right to express their thoughts and feelings on any site they wish, but due to confidentiality, we cannot respond to reviews, positive or negative. And in doing so they make public their protected health information. Because of this, we strongly encourage past and former clients to refrain from leaving business profile reviews for the Calgary Counselling and Psychology Centre, even if they are positive reviews.
While we truly appreciate the positive feedback, we would rather clients share it directly with their therapist than risk their privacy. The same goes for negative reviews. We welcome constructive feedback and want our clients’ experience in therapy to be positive and productive. We encourage clients to bring concerns directly to their therapist so we can work on it together versus taking it to a public forum, risking confidentiality in the process. Current and former clients should also be aware that if they plan to use these sites to communicate indirectly with us about their feelings or concerns, there is a good possibility that we may never see it.
Past or current clients who are unsatisfied with their therapist's response to their concerns may contact the The College of Alberta Psychologists > Concerns (cap.ab.ca), or call Toll free in Alberta at 1.800.659.0857.