Technology Archives - Page 4 of 8

Why technology professionals struggle with mental health

January 14, 2019 by Jeffrey Liebert

Matthew Henry / Burst / Used under license When a piece of technology works well and makes life easy, that doesn’t mean that the building of it went well or that the lives of the builders are easy. Many in the technology industry struggle with symptoms of anxiety and depression. In fact, they struggle with these symptoms much more often than the general population.

Working 50-hour weeks for months on end, having limited interactions with others, feeling multiple levels of oversight, and constantly being unsure whether your project will be used or scrapped — technology professionals experience all of this, typically with little or no recognition for their work. (Think about it: You probably use Gmail, but if you don’t know them personally, how many Google employees can you name?)

Cyber-stalk yourself

September 26, 2018 by Emma Jaegle

When potential or current clients or employers search your name, what will they find? What impression do you leave? There’s one easy and absolutely necessary way to find out: Cyber-stalk yourself.

Even if you are still in grad school and not seeing clients in the near future, it is never too early to start caring about your professional reputation. This is not as simple as switching your social media accounts to private. When you search your name on Google or any other search engine, things from your past may come up that you may have forgotten about. And if those results show up for you, they’re like to show up for others, too. Like prospective clients. And potential employers.

These new therapist directories aim to beat Psychology Today

July 23, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

If you’re a therapist in private practice, you’re probably listed on Psychology Today. For better or worse, it’s the 800-pound gorilla of therapist directories: It gets a ton of traffic, which means its pages show up high in search results, which generate even more traffic.

Despite owning the market, the Psychology Today directory is not necessarily well-liked. Its user experience looks and feels dated. While advanced searches are possible, the main search page only allows searches by name and location. Therapists and clients alike sometimes grumble that the information therapists can share on their profiles is limited.

For a new generation of online therapist directories, the failure of Psychology Today to improve its product represents a tremendous opportunity.

Using FaceTime for therapy sessions might actually be HIPAA compliant

March 17, 2020June 18, 2018 by Ben Caldwell

Basics of California Law 5th edition cover With so many therapists and clients owning iPhones, some therapists have started experimenting with doing sessions via Apple’s FaceTime videoconferencing. While Apple does not provide a Business Associate Agreement (typically required under HIPAA) for use of FaceTime, there is an interesting legal argument that suggests FaceTime may still be safe for therapists to use.

Boundaries, apps, and dispensaries: Seeing clients in public

June 13, 2018June 6, 2018 by Jeffrey Liebert

Brodie Vissers / Burst / Used under license As mental health clinicians, we all know the importance of setting and maintaining boundaries with clients. We have several posts on this blog about setting boundaries online, specifically in regards to social media use (1 2 3). One boundary that we have not discussed is how to manage situations when you see a client outside of the regular therapy setting.

Therapists generally agree that we do not to approach clients outside of therapy, out of respect for the client’s confidentiality. If someone else knows that you are a therapist, they may make the connection that the person you are interacting with is a client. If a client approaches the therapist first, however, engaging is often considered appropriate. Even so, many therapists agree that it is difficult to maintain professional boundaries while also engaging clients socially.

Legal and technological changes are further complicating the potentially uncomfortable situations where we might encounter clients outside of the office. More specifically, we may see clients in settings that were not previously socially acceptable or accessible. Therapists today are at risk of seeing clients on dating apps, at meet-up groups, and at marijuana dispensaries. The potential for seeing clients in social situations has always been present, but there is added risk that those interactions will reveal private details about your personal life.