'I think that we can effect change': Psychologist use of social media for social justice advocacy

INTRODUCTION

Psychologists can bring social justice into their professional presence on social media, with the public perceiving health care professionals as a reputable source of information online. This study aimed to explore practitioner psychologists' use of social media for social justice advocacy as a mental health influencer.

METHODS

Twelve UK-based practitioner psychologists were interviewed who had an Instagram account that they used as a mental health influencer. The semi-structured interview transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Systemic issues have motivated many psychologists to begin work as a mental health influencer. There are challenges between the use of social media for social justice advocacy and for business purposes to promote private practice. Psychologists can use social media to share psychoeducation to increase mental health literacy and encourage access to therapy. The accessibility of this content is particularly valuable for people from marginalised communities and for people on long waiting lists to access mental health support. Psychologists can use social media to raise critical consciousness of social inequalities and reduce an individual's sense of self-blame.

CONCLUSION

Irrespective of working in the public sector or private practice, there are opportunities for psychologists to use social media as a resource for social justice advocacy.

"What I share is not the same as therapy": Psychologist experiences of Instagram use as a mental health influencer

INTRODUCTION

Psychologists are increasingly using social media to share their therapeutic knowledge. Despite this, social media guidelines devised by professional bodies remain limited in content, with the focus typically on personal use rather than professional use as a mental health influencer. Therefore, this study aimed to explore practitioner psychologists' experiences of Instagram use with an influencer presence.

METHODS

Twelve UK-based practitioner psychologists were interviewed who had an Instagram account that they used as a mental health influencer. The semi-structured interview transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Three themes were developed, each with four subthemes. The first theme '"I'm a psychologist, but I'm not your psychologist" explored psychologists' experiences of trying to input boundaries on Instagram around self-disclosure, risk management, time management, and client work. The second theme '"anxiety about not wanting to do the wrong thing" highlighted the impact of an influencer presence on psychologists' own mental health. The third theme '"I share what I think is going to be helpful for other people and myself" considered the psychologists' motivations for Instagram use for social justice advocacy and business promotion, and the contradictions between these.

CONCLUSION

Psychologists can use their training to share evidence-based research as a free widely accessible form of psychoeducation potentially acting as a first step into therapy. However, there are still many ethical ambiguities thus updated guidance specifically for an influencer presence can reduce psychologists' anxieties and potential risks.

Outside the Clinic Door: How Neighborhood Sociodemographic Disadvantage is Associated with Community Therapist Secondary Traumatic Stress and Emotional Exhaustion

Therapists serving families with high rates of trauma exposure in community mental health clinics face the potential risk of experiencing secondary traumatic stress and emotional exhaustion, both of which pose barriers for the implementation and sustainment of evidence-based practices. Previous research documents negative effects of living in socioeconomic disadvantaged neighborhoods on child development but has not examined the effects of working in these neighborhoods on therapist well-being. The current study merges publicly available data, administrative claims data on mental health services, and therapy survey data to 1) identify associations between neighborhood sociodemographic disadvantage and two community therapist well-being constructs, specifically secondary traumatic stress and emotional exhaustion; and 2) examine potential clinic- and therapist-level explanatory factors in the associations between neighborhood sociodemographic disadvantage and therapist well-being. A cumulative risk index approach was applied to calculate neighborhood sociodemographic disadvantage. Greater neighborhood sociodemographic disadvantage was significantly associated with higher levels of therapist secondary traumatic stress (B=.09, p<.05) but not emotional exhaustion. Because therapists in higher risk neighborhoods face higher secondary traumatic stress levels, additional research is needed to better understand how these therapists can be best supported; thus, supporting families receiving treatment and implementation of evidence-based practices.

Self-compassion, coping strategies and gender differences in psychology, counselling and psychotherapy practitioners during COVID-19: Lessons learnt

Effective coping strategies can protect against the adverse effects of stress. This study investigated self-compassion's ability to predict approach and avoidance coping in psychology, counselling and psychotherapy practitioners (PCPPs) during COVID-19, and whether this differed between genders. To date, no research has investigated this relationship, despite positive associations being drawn in other populations. Three hundred and nineteen PCPPs completed an online survey including the Brief COPE and Self-Compassion Short Form. Self-compassion significantly predicted greater use of approach coping and reduced use of avoidance coping. The predictive ability of self-compassion was slightly better in female practitioners. Self-judgement arose as a prominent subscale of self-compassion across genders, increasing both approach and avoidance coping. Implications for future research and practice are discussed, concerning barriers to self-compassion and the requirement of therapeutic programmes and psychoeducation as a prerequisite for effective coping strategies in the PCPP population.