Social Media Policy
It is important for clients to be aware that a substantial part of the professional activities
carried out by Dr Emily Shah are in the public domain. Part of the public profile maintained by Dr Emily Shah involves having an active presence on social media. Dr Emily Shah maintains a professional public profile on
Tiktok and Instagram.
Social Media Content
The purpose of the professional social media accounts held by Dr Emily Shah is primarily to share psychological information and ideas which may be of interest to followers. Dr Emily Shah seeks to create and share content that uses psychological expertise to empower followers. Social media accounts are also used to promote awareness of the professional activities and services of Dr Emily Shah, including therapeutic activities, digital products, and services.
Dr Emily Shah will not share any identifying, specific or detailed information about any client, client group or clinical activity on her social media accounts. Dr Emily Shah will not confirm or acknowledge any individual or group as a client on her social media accounts. Dr Emily Shah deliberately limits the personal information that is shared on her professional social media accounts. Any information that is shared is kept within appropriate professional boundaries. This is partly out of recognition that it may not be helpful for potential, existing or former clients to be exposed to details of the personal life of their therapist.
Dr Emily Shah aims to be considered and sensitive around social media content, and to minimise risk of her social media posts undermining professionalism and trustworthiness in any way. However, should a client feel that the therapeutic process is in any way affected by the social media activity of Dr Emily Shah, they are asked to raise this with her.
Social Media Engagement
In order to maintain confidentiality, Dr Emily Shah will not acknowledge any individual as a past or present therapy client on social media. Dr Emily Shah recommends that clients engaging on social media do not refer directly to having received services from Dr Emily Shah if they wish to keep that information private. Dr Emily Shah is not responsible for information shared by clients in comments on social media accounts for Dr Emily Shah.
Clients are welcomed to follow Dr Emily Shah’s professional pages on social media if they would like to do that. Clients who do not wish to see social media content from Dr Emily Shah are advised not to follow her on social media.
Dr Emily Shah will never knowingly follow the account of a client on social media, unless that has been necessary to send further contact details. There may be occasions where Dr Emily Shah encounters posts by or related to clients on social media, for example through mutual connections, reposts and other links. Dr Emily Shah will never knowingly engage with any social media content posted by or in relation to a past or present therapy client. The exception to this is if a client were to comment on a social media post by Dr Emily Shah. Dr Emily Shah routinely takes time to like and respond to suitable comments on social media, and would not wish to single out and potentially identify clients by not acknowledging their comments in keeping with her usual style of responding.
Clients are free to share any content posted by Dr Emily Shah to their own social media accounts. However, clients are advised to be aware that this generates a link between their account and Dr Emily Shah which will be visible to others.
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Complaints
Dr Emily Shah requests that any complaints, problems, or difficulties relating to private work with her are not discussed publicly on social media. Dr Emily Shah recognises that she would not be able to respond helpfully to comments left there without breaching client confidentiality. Dr Emily Shah requests that such matters are raised with her in the first instance and escalated through the procedure in the terms and conditions if desired.
Abusive Online Behaviour
Dr Emily Shah does not tolerate bullying, abuse, or threatening behaviour on her social media accounts. Dr Emily Shah does not tolerate inappropriate sexual language or comments on her social media accounts. Inappropriate or abusive posts will be removed, and the account from which such posts are made will be blocked from the social media accounts of Dr Emily Shah. Social media posts or messages that are deemed threatening, violent or to incite hatred against Dr Emily Shah, or any other individual or group, will be reported to the police.
Contact Through Social Media
Dr Emily Shah strongly recommends that those wishing to enquire about or engage professional psychology services provided by Dr Emily Shah do not make an enquiry through the social media accounts of Dr Emily Shah, as privacy cannot be guaranteed and social media inboxes may not be routinely checked.
Dr Emily Shah requests that all enquiries and contact pertaining to professional services is done through the contact form at www.brain-in-mind.com or via e-mail at info@brain-in-mind.com. Dr Emily Shah is not able to provide a crisis service. Direct messages and private messages to social media accounts may not be checked regularly, and are not set up to effectively respond to those requiring crisis support. Dr Emily Shah strongly advises those who are suicidal or in crisis, or who require urgent attention in relation to their mental health to notify their GP surgery. The following services may also be contacted:
NHS 24 – 111
This service is available to give help and advice if your GP surgery is closed and you cannot wait until it re-opens
Samaritans – 116 123; jo@samaritans.org
This service provides twenty-four hour emotional support to individuals who are suicidal or in crisis.
Personal Social Media Accounts
Dr Emily Shah maintains personal social media accounts. Personal accounts are set to maximum privacy. Dr Emily Shah respectfully requests that clients do not seek out her private accounts on social media. Dr Emily Shah will not accept friend or follower requests from past or present clients to her personal social media accounts. Occasionally, personal links between Dr Emily Shah and a client can come to light through social media while therapeutic work is in progress. If this happens, the matter may be discussed in session, in order to address any situations that may arise and need to be managed.
Dr Emily Shah welcomes any queries, comments or requests about this policy, which can
be sent to info@brain-in-mind.com