[emmaleemochizuki]

I have a public page on Instagram about psychology, psychotherapy, mental health etc. There is nothing there that identify me as I never post any personal details on that account.

A while ago someone followed me, and it turned out to be my therapist. I usually follow back as a courtesy when someone follows me, and I only found out that it was my therapist when I saw her page as she accepted the follow. I immediately unfollowed but I did see her page, and some of her personal life.

Anyone been in similar situations? how do you manage your social media and you ever came across your T's social media?

I have two accounts. My private account is only visible to selected friends and family. however the public page I run is visible to everyone. I suppose it's not entirely accidental as I work in the same field as my T, I am in training atm. It's just weird, and this world is so small.

[MissUdy]

It really is a small world isn’t it. I guess she was interested in your page as you are both in the same field, she must have liked your content! Very honest of you to unfollow her when you realised.

I followed my T and he followed me on social media before. We liked each other’s stuff and replied to things. Then new GDPR laws came in about 2 years ago and it said Ts couldn’t follow clients on social media as everything has to be transparent etc, so he unfollowed me. It caused a big rift between us at the time, even though I understood why it happened I was really hurt that he did not let me know it was about to happen, and that he thought I wouldn’t care.

I don’t put personal information on social media either, as I don’t know who is watching. The amount of social media stalking my friends do scares me, so I try not to put too much out there.

[sarahsweets]

Personally I feel it’s inappropriate. I think therapists should have a private life and so should you. I’m not saying if people do it it’s bad. I just think the two should be private.

There are some minor overlaps between my Facebook and my therapist's. I also used Facebook to search out information about her. I have recently deleted my Facebook account because I can't tolerate the levels of unaddressed misogyny, but I also feel relief that I won't be seeking her out any more either.

My therapist and i both have public accounts and private accounts. We follow each other on both accounts. Obviously the private accounts are for family and friends with actual personal information and photos. The public ones are just for marketing and public information.
I dont feel it is a big deal.

[Omers]

There are some strange overlaps between T and I IRL that are just hard to believe but are there. We have talked about them and are 95% ok with them (one plays a minor role in our current tift)
I have a minor social media presence. T has accounts on several social media platforms but he does not post. His account is strictly to be able to see and interact with family members accounts which are very private.
There is one exception which is not directly about T nor is it his account. I found it early on and it very much helped me trust him even though I never told him. More recently he told me about this account and when I expressed interest and asked he gave me the link.
I would be OK if I started a professional social media page and T followed it. I would feel comfortable following a professional social media account of T IF it did not disclose more personal information than what he is likely to share in session or if I found it upsetting.

[elisewin]

That is a strange coincidence she followed you! I would probably tell her that in session as I thought it would be a cool story. But you probably did a wise thing to unfollow her. Or at least it would require a discussion.

When I was in therapy I did not look at my T's social media often. I just had a feeling it would not be a wise thing to check. Besides she always told me things I wanted to know and asked.

After my therapy was finished we became friends, and we are connected in social media as well.

[nottrustin]

T came up as a recommended friend a few times becauz de she used the same email address for her social media and email. Also, we had several mutual friends because we live in a small city, both work in the mental health field and both work for hospitals. We were connected on Linked In. Also, my step niece is friends with T's son.

[emeraldheart]

I have a painting account on Instagram that has a little bit of a following: over 300k
My T is also a painter and he started following me without me knowing. He also has a painting account. I found out that he was following me while we were talking about art in social media. We talked about it and we figured out together that it is okay if he continued following me and I could follow him.

We like and comment on each other’s posts at times, but it is always within the context of the artwork posted. We never communicate through private messages over there and we also don’t have anything that identifies either of us on our accounts apart from first names.

My T never brings up anything he sees me post on Instagram unless I bring it up first. We have so far managed to find a way to separate our therapy from that. In the therapy room, we are client and therapist. On Instagram, we are fellow artists.

[Travelinglady]

My Facebook account is set up so it's restricted to a small group, not the general public.

I did find my T's facebook page one time, but I just looked at it then and haven't looked at it since. Honestly what she does after hours is not that interesting to me.

[Lonelyinmyheart]

T has a social media account but she has good privacy settings and doesn't make many public posts. A family member is more active so I can see photos etc. I wouldn't dream about sending a request or anything like that.

[elisewin]

Originally Posted by Lonelyinmyheart

T has a social media account but she has good privacy settings and doesn't make many public posts. A family member is more active so I can see photos etc. I wouldn't dream about sending a request or anything like that.

Perhaps you can, when the therapy is finished.

[Mountaindewed]

I sometimes think my T has an account on here or just likes to lurk and has figured out who I am. Because a couple times when I’ve posted on here that I’m having a hard time or having SI or something like that I’ll immediately get an email from her asking how I’m doing. Even if I haven’t emailed her in a few days.

[LonesomeTonight]

Not my T, but my T's wife posted in a local Facebook I'm in for parents with kids on the autism spectrum, with ADHD, or other special needs. I didn't even know she was in the group, and it was a group I was in before starting to see my T (my daughter is on the autism spectrum). What's really odd, is I'd just put the group on "all notifications" after not getting much from the group. So, then his wife's post popped up in my notifications, which was a bit jarring....I didn't click on her profile, but I hovered over her profile photo and could see that her cover photo was a pic of her and my T and what appeared to be a formal event. I emailed my T to let him know, but I admit that first I looked at her previous postings in the group (again, not on her personal page, but in a group we were both in). He emailed to let me know she'd left the group and to thank me for not looking at her profile or earlier posts. I sheepishly admitted that I'd looked at some of her previous posts, and he said it was OK, because it was a group we were both in.

There's some backstory to why I looked at her posts. When I told ex-T that I was going to start seeing current T, she said, "Oh, he has a kid on the [autism] spectrum, too!" (They worked together at the same practice at one point). It was a few months before I mentioned this to him. He was bothered that she said something, but neither confirmed nor denied that it was true. He seemed to have a lot of knowledge about autism, so I just assumed that was accurate, but never asked him more about it. Months later, I forget what exactly I said, but something about his being able to relate to me due to his also having a kid on the spectrum (I've struggled with it quite a bit). And he said how he hadn't realized the "narrative" I'd built up about him (when I had no reason to think what I'd been told wasn't true?) He said that what ex-T had said could have been inaccurate/outdated information, that he wanted to protect his son's privacy.

So then a few months later, his wife's post popped up in what I had thought was mainly an autism group. And looking at what she said in her previous posts, I'm pretty sure that she at least thought at one point that their son was on the spectrum, though that could have changed (he's 12 now). But anyway, that was sort of a long post to say my own experience with social media and a T.

[Quietmind 2]

My T has a public account where she posts about her travels, and a private account. Anyone can follow her public account.