Social Media and Electronic Communication Policy:
This section outlines the policy of William James Therapy with regard to the use of social media and electronic information. If you, as a client, have questions about any aspect please do ask.
Electronic communication
Please do not use Whatsapp or social media messaging (e.g. Facebook messenger) to contact me, as I do not monitor these media, and messages can be missed for days, weeks, or even months!
You may use text messaging to discuss appointment times, or other logistics, but please do not use them to discuss therapeutic issues, as text messages cannot be kept secure. Please also remember that e-mail is not entirely secure as it could be intercepted.
Phone
Please bear in mind that I may be unable to take calls at certain times, but I will respond to voice mail as promptly as I can. Whether phoning or texting, please only do so between the hours of 9am – 7pm.
Friending
I do not accept friend or contact requests from former or current clients on any social networking site as this can compromise your confidentiality (e.g. if another of my friends saw that you were a friend they may wonder how we know each other). In addition, it would blur the boundary of the therapeutic relationship.
Following
I rarely look at Twitter, or tweet. I would suggest not following me and if I notice that you have I would suggest we discuss this. I will not follow you on Twitter as this can cause confusion around the purpose of this: would it be part of your therapy or would I just be being curious?
Use of search engines
I do not routinely Google my clients but may very occasionally in a time of crisis. For example, if you had failed to attend a session and I was concerned for your safety I may try to find out about you this way. If I did so, I would tell you about it the next time we met.
Business review sites
You may find my name on business review sites but I have not asked to be on these. Businesses do not get a choice! Clients are free to post whatever they choose and due to confidentiality I cannot comment on anything that is posted. Indeed, anyone (including a competitor) can post anything so it is advisable to be aware that reviews (good or bad) may not be representative of the views of real clients.
It is considered unethical by my professional body (the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy) to publish testimonials and so you will not find any testimonials coming from me although it is always nice to receive private messages from clients who have completed their therapy.
Location-based services
If you use location-based services on your phone you should be aware that others might surmise that you are a therapy client if you are seen as "checking in" at my address.