mindyourmindpro.ca

The Internet has increasingly become the medium of choice for mental health information, and the first point of entry into services for many youth and emerging adults. People who are already receiving services go online to supplement advice from their health professional, to get answers to questions that emerged since their last visit, or to make sense of something they’ve been told.

Do you know where your clients go to for mental health information?

What kinds of information do they seek, and how does it impact them in between sessions with you?

Whenever they are searching for mental health information online, your clients are looking for information they can trust, from a site that isn’t trying to sell them anything. This can be tricky. Given the number of sites and organizations out there, finding the appropriate source is important. Helpful information will be up to date, from reputable and verifiable sources, and developed appropriately so that a person can process it effectively. Too many “facts” — or contradictory messages from one site to the other, or even within one site — can have a disempowering, overwhelming effect on your clients.

Over the next year, as part of your professional tool kit, consider the online places and resources that truly help your clients when they are outside your office. Likely, they know lots about sites that work for them, and some that don’t. Accessing these sites in between sessions with you is part of their self-care, one way they’ve taken their mental health into their own hands. Why not have a conversation about it?