Social Media Policy
Coya Therapy has various social media accounts (ie: Instagram, Twitter, etc.), allowing us to share practice information, news and helpful tools with other social media users. This document outlines the practice’s policy related to use of Social Media. Please read it to understand how the Therapist affiliated with Coya Therapy conducts themselves on the social sites as a mental health professional and how you can expect the Therapist to respond to various interactions that may occur between clients and clinicians on the Internet. This policy is not meant to keep you from sharing that you are in therapy at Coya Therapy or with a particular therapist wherever and with whomever you like. Confidentiality means that we cannot tell people that you are a client. You are encouraged to take your own privacy as seriously as we take our commitment of confidentiality to you.
Friending
Coya Therapy and the affiliated Therapist is not permitted to accept “friend” requests from current or former clients on their personal social networking sites (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.). Adding clients as “friends” on these sites can compromise your confidentiality and our respective privacy. It may also blur the boundaries of our therapeutic relationship. If you have questions about this, please bring them up when you meet with your therapist.
Liking/Following
You are welcome to “like” or “follow” our social media feeds and read or share articles we post; however, because social media sites are public spaces, anyone who can see our social media pages can see your post or comment. In addition, when you post, comment, or “like” a page, it will be published on your page as well. Coya Therapy’s primary concern is your privacy. You are welcome to use your own discretion in choosing whether to follow this practice. In order to maintain ethical boundaries, the therapist is not permitted to follow you back. We believe casual viewing of clients’ online content outside of the therapy hour can create confusion in regard to whether it’s being done as a part of your treatment or to satisfy curiosity. In addition, viewing your online activities without your consent and without the therapist’s explicit arrangement towards a specific purpose could potentially have a negative influence on the therapeutic relationship. If there are things from your online life that you wish to share with your therapist, please bring them into the sessions where those things can be viewed and explored with your counselor, during the therapy session.
Texting/ Messaging
Please do not use SMS (mobile phone text messaging), wall posting, @ replies, messaging on Social Networking sites in order to contact your therapist. Engaging with your therapist in this way could compromise your confidentiality and the therapist may not even receive your message. It may also create the possibility that these exchanges become a part of your legal medical record and will need to be documented and archived in your chart.
Use of Search Engines
It is NOT a regular part of this practice to search for clients on Google or Facebook or other search engines. Due to the fact that therapists are mandated reporters, extremely rare exceptions may be made during times of crisis. If a therapist has reason to suspect you are in danger and you have not been in touch with your therapist via usual means (coming to appointments, phone, or email) there might be an instance in which using a search engine (to find you, find someone close to you, or to check on your recent status updates) becomes necessary as part of ensuring your welfare. These are unusual situations and if your therapist resorts to such means, the information will be fully documented and discussed with you during your next session
You understand that in a crisis situation where you are having a medical or psychiatric emergency, you agree to call 911 or local emergency services, or visit the nearest emergency room. Information shared with my therapist is confidential except in the following circumstances: If I present as a danger to myself or others, mandated reporting of abuse of children or elders, or if I sign a release of information.
Business Review Sites
You may find Coya Therapy on sites such as Yelp, Healthgrades, Yahoo Local, Bing, or other places which list businesses. Some of these sites include forums in which users rate their providers and add reviews. Many 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 Coya Therapy on any of these sites, please know that this listing is not a request for a testimonial, rating, or endorsement from you as a client. The American Counseling Association’s Ethics Code prohibits clinicians from requesting testimonials for marketing purposes
If you are using these sites to communicate your feelings about your therapeutic experience with your therapist, the communication may not be seen by your therapist. You have a right to express yourself on any site you wish; however, due to confidentiality, we cannot respond to any review on any of these sites whether it is positive or negative. Our hope is that you will bring your feelings and reactions concerning your treatment directly into the therapy process. This can be an important part of treatment, even if you decide to go elsewhere.
If you do choose to write something on a business review site, please keep in mind that you may be sharing personally revealing information in a public forum.
NOTICE TO CLIENTS- How to File a Complaint
The Board of Behavioral Sciences receives and responds to complaints regarding services provided within the scope of practice of (marriage and family therapists, licensed educational psychologists, clinical social workers, or professional clinical counselors). You may contact the board online at www.bbs.ca.gov , or by calling (916) 574-7830.
Board of Behavioral Sciences
1625 North Market Blvd., Suite S-200 Sacramento, CA 95834 To file a complaint electronically: https://www.breeze.ca.gov/datamart/mainMenu.do