GROUP RULES/EXPECTATIONS FOR OUR COMMUNITY

1. Please be kind, thoughtful, and drama free.

Our work is not easy, and my dream is that our community is a place for rest, support, and encouragement.

We all have bad days and/or can be triggered by a post.

If this happens, please take a moment to step away before responding.

Bullying or intimidating other colleagues will not be tolerated and will result in a ban from the community.

2.  Asking for clinical resources (Best practices)

If you need a general resource to aid your clinical work, please focus on the service/resource you need vs. the client and their presenting concern.  Use plural vs. singular language to avoid being connect to a client/patient.

“What resources do you have for executives who struggle with anxiety?”

Please don’t share information where a former, current, or potential client could see themselves in your post (or someone who knows the client could see the client).

If you cannot ask the question without providing details, please connect with members of the Directory and seek local, in-person consultation/supervision or online via a secure, encrypted, HIPPA-compliant medium.

3.  Asking for referrals (Best practices)

When asking for a referral, please focus on the clinician and service you need.

“I'm looking for a clinician who works with high conflict couples in Philadelphia, PA and accepts BCBS.”

You can also use the STC Directory to find clinicians (the Directory is also integrated with Google Maps to determine distance, etc).

4.  Why are you so strict about sharing clinical information in a private community?

Preserving confidentiality is important because:

• Facebook is not a HIPPA compliant medium.
• It's quite easy for information to travel outside (e.g., if someone took a screenshot or had their browser open when a client came in).

Our community also has:

• Therapists who are also clients.
• Colleagues who serve on ethics boards.
• Trusted allies who serve our field but are not mental health providers.

***POSTS WITH CLINICAL INFORMATION WILL BE DELETED FOR YOUR SAFETY AND FOR THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF OUR CLIENTS***

5.  Please don't post affiliate links.

These are links where you're being compensated in some way (e.g., income, free months, etc) to share a special link with others.

We're very strict with this as we've had issues in the past of folks joining the community simply to post affiliate links.

It's fine to post an affiliate link if someone asks for a discount code, etc.  But please don't abuse this.

6.  Please don't hijack threads.

All of us have questions that may arise upon reading comments.

If this happens, please create a new post.

That way, our colleague who originally posted feels supported and we stay on topic.

For example, if a colleague asks whether you can do online sessions via Skype, don’t ask about licensure requirements for online counseling in that thread .

7.  Please handle conflict responsibly.

Please DON’T create a post in our community to voice frustrations.

This usually leads to unhelpful dialogue, half truths, and hurt feelings.

Instead, speak privately to a colleague, modeling healthy communication.

If the conflict involves our community, please email me (melvin@sellingthecouch.com).

I may not get a chance to reply, but I’ll be sure to share your concerns with the admins and take action when appropriate.

I’ve hand selected each of our admins based on their character, and each has final say if a post/comments are deleted.

>>>>>REPEATED VIOLATIONS OF RULES<<<<<

We keep it simple and straight forward.

Posts that violate rules will be deleted.

Unfortunately, we may not be able to message you about your post between time with loved ones, sick kiddos, our own businesses/practices, etc.

If your post has been deleted, it’s because it violated a rule.

If we notice we’ve deleted your posts multiple times, we’ll private message you.

If it continues, you’ll be removed from the community.

THANK YOU!

I know that you have a lot of options to connect with colleagues online, and we’re honored that you’ve chosen our community.

An old African Proverb encompasses the vision of Selling The Couch:

“Alone we go faster, together we go further.”

Grateful to have you here and looking forward to supporting you.

Love,

Melvin