The Power of a Click: Impact of Social Media Usage on Family Therapists

ABSTRACT Few research studies have focused on what role social media has on mental health providers, specifically, family therapists. Social media’s impact needs to be addressed because it is increasingly affecting not only families and other clients but also family therapists, themselves. This study explored the potential impact of social media on marriage and family therapists. In this study, a survey, titled The Couple and Family Therapist Social Media Questionnaire was also developed and utilized. This survey was used to gather data about social media use by 232 family therapists. This survey explored four primary domains including 1) family therapists’ personal and professional use of social media, 2) family therapists’ comfort with technology, 3) family therapists’ risk taking as associated to social media use, and 4) implications for possible ethical violations regarding family therapists’ personal factors and social media use. Results from this survey as well as, related topics will be described in this manuscript.