How Facebook knows you’re a therapist – and who your clients are

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Matthew Henry / Burst / Licensed under Creative Commons ZeroTherapists and counselors have been expressing concern for some time now that Facebook can “out” their clients to other clients, even when the therapist or counselor has not done anything to facilitate the connection. It can happen even when the therapist or counselor doesn’t use Facebook. Thanks to some good reporting by Gizmodo Media, we now have a better understanding of how that happens. We also now know just how little you can do to stop it.

The whole article “How Facebook figures out everyone you’ve ever met” is really worth your time. Here, I’ll just share some of the pieces most relevant to counselors, therapists, and other mental health professionals. For us, if even just a few of your clients use Facebook, the likelihood of keeping all your therapeutic relationships truly confidential is near zero.

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The Talking Therapy podcast is back! And we’re now a proud sponsor.

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Headphones - Anna Langova / Publicdomainpictures.netA while back we wrote about three great therapy podcasts, and the Talking Therapy podcast was on our list. Hosts RJ Thomas and John Webber are therapists themselves. They offer a relaxed, conversational tone even when dealing with big names in the field like Susan Johnson. They approach the show as true students of the craft of therapy, making for some fascinating discussions even with lesser-known guests.

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Even when marijuana is legal, therapists who use it face risks

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foggy leavesWe have all heard it before. The classic argument. “If you can go home and have a glass of wine or a beer after work, why can’t I smoke a joint? Why can’t I have an edible?” We tend to roll our eyes when we hear this from clients who may be minimizing their marijuana use or its effects. But what do you do when you hear that argument from your colleague, or from a supervisee?

Many therapists have been discussing the impact of marijuana use with clients for years, but have only recently begun to question using themselves. With the increasing number of states legalizing medical and recreational marijuana, therapists now must consider the impact that using marijuana can have on themselves and therapy. While the legalization of marijuana does not appear to lead to increased use, those therapists and counselors who have been using marijuana all along may now be able to be more open in discussing it.

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