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What happens when using social media trends goes wrong 

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Copyright 2024 Aisha R. Shabazz

Hello and welcome to another

live recording of Beyond

2

the Session with Ayesha.

3

My name is Ayesha, your host of the

business podcast for mental health

4

therapists that want to keep the private

practice they work so hard to build.

5

I love doing these live podcast

episodes because it allows me to

6

really talk, not necessarily in a

stream of consciousness, but in a way

7

that elicits natural conversation.

8

So for those of you that are tuning

in live, Do not hesitate to raise

9

your hand to ask any questions

that come up along the way.

10

I will pause because that is

the benefit of post production.

11

You could always clip and edit

and adjust things so that it

12

sounds smooth on the replay.

13

So today we are talking about the

five social media strategies that

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therapists need to stop ASAP.

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And One of the reasons why I picked

this topic is because there are a lot

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of private practice owners that are so

hesitant to use social media marketing

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strategies, one of which you heard me

talk about on yesterday's episode of

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this trend that social media is fake.

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They don't want to come

off as inauthentic.

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And as you heard me

detail, there really is.

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Only a few ways that you could

come off as being inauthentic.

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And that is really admitting

to people or at least declaring

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that all of your content up until

that point was just a facade.

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I mean, you know, as business owners, that

the one way that we can effectively build

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know, like, and trust is being honest

with our clients about what it's going to

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be like for them to go through a mental

health journey with us and Work towards

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their goals challenges and aspirations.

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So if you're participating in a trend

that's Claiming that social media is fake.

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You're presenting it as if you were fake

the entire time and Sure, you might have

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people rooting for you and saying yes.

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Thanks for admitting it But at the end

of the day, if you are using social

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media to promote your business and

then saying that it's a fake platform,

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then why wouldn't someone ask you the

next question, which is, well, then

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why are you here if you're so real?

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So resist the urge, if at all

possible, to not do this trend.

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Inherently, I don't think trends

are problematic, but this one

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is definitely one One to avoid.

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So that allows me to dovetail right

into one of the first strategies that

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I think you need to avoid when you

are running a mental health practice.

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And that is copying

other people's content.

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So, Creating or using trends

in your social media content is

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not inherently copying, right?

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Like, you're jumping on a bandwagon, so

to speak, and noticing that people are

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getting a lot of traction, and using

certain sounds and music and catchphrases

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and one liners, and you're like, wow,

they're getting a lot of traction, they're

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getting a lot of engagement and views.

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Why don't I use that and see

how my audience responds?

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The problem with taking it a step further

and just flat out copying someone is

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most of the time when people are being

Copycats for lack of a better word.

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They're not actually Adding the

original creator of that trend and

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so that's where you end up building

up this beef with someone that you

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most likely don't even know on the

internet you want to build community.

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And the last thing you want

to do is burn a bridge.

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So when you are creating your social

media content, resist the urge to

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copy and paste someone else's content.

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Make it your own if at all possible.

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And if you can't think creatively enough

to make it your own, then don't use it.

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You know that it's not a strong

enough idea to carry your messaging.

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The other thing about copying

other people's content,

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and I'm not even kidding.

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I will post the tick talk that

I saw just this morning where.

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There was a content creator that

called somebody out and said, you

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know, and tag the person name them

by name and said, you copied me.

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And so that creator who was

accused of copying that person

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responded with a stitch.

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That's how you, um, connect

videos together for those of

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you that are not on TikTok.

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And the accused person said,

Hey, you know, thanks for

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tagging me and letting me know.

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I actually didn't copy you.

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You were participating in a

trend and she had receipts.

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She had screenshots of all of the

other female creators that were

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using the very similar trend.

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And then she called it out and said, you

actually weren't the original creator.

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It was this person from

back in January, I believe.

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So if anything, you copied her and

I apologize for giving you credit.

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I should have given this

other creator credit.

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So notice how these two people

who did not know each other, but

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the way that TikTok is organized

is that it will organize people.

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Sometimes the original creator

will be in the top left corner.

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And then other times it'll be the

most popular video that will show

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up and That way people will know,

Oh, this is the model for the trend.

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So if you were following a trend and I

did one last week, it was a voiceover

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trend and people were encouraged.

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The original poster was

encouraging people to do it.

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Like in the comment section, people

were like, yeah, I want to do this.

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And it was about creating content

and not being afraid to do it.

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And so that was more or less like a battle

cry for people to be like, you know what?

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I am going to create content.

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I'm not going to be shy anymore.

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So for those of you that are just

tuning in, I just want to share

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with you, you know, tech glitches

are bound to happen and I love

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the idea of having backup audio.

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And so I have a backup audio of

what we're talking about today.

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And This is, these are some of the

things that I will share with you

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on the behind the scenes content if

you're an email newsletter subscriber.

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One of the reasons why it's so important

to not copy other people's content.

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on social media or in general, is that you

are, you are degrading the goodwill that

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you've already built up to that point.

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So when it comes to being a mental

health therapist, trust is everything.

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That is how we build rapport.

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And so if your clients are witnessing

you, you know, essentially ripping off

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other people's content and not giving them

credit and then being called out for it,

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Then the wheels start to turn a little bit

and they may never say anything to you.

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They might say, you know what, if

they're, if they're doing that out

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in the open and in public, what's

going to happen behind closed doors

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when I show up for therapy with them?

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So this is the reason why I encourage

you to think very intentionally

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about the trends that you're

using so that you're not getting

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caught up in a sticky situation.

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The other reason why I think it's super

important to create original content, and

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that's what we're really talking about,

is because when you are creating original

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content, it activates a different part of

your brain because you're being creative.

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You're requiring yourself to think

outside the box, and people are going

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to relate to you if they've never seen

What you're talking about before, or

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the way in which you talk about it

is going to be unique enough to them.

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And that's going to make you stand out.

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We know from the 7 Day Visibility

Challenge that one of the key components

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of being visible is standing out.

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And you can stand out in your

social media marketing strategies.

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You can also stand out on your website.

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This is why I encourage

all of you to sign up.

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And select a specialty and to niche

in your mental health business.

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Because by doing that, people

are going to remember who you

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are for all the right reasons.

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And that is what's going to

take a future client to be a

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current client on your caseload.

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The second strategy that I think you

need to stop ASAP when it comes to social

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media marketing is posting and ghosting.

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Um, your audience.

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decided to follow you on social media

because they want to hear from you.

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And one of the biggest things

that I hear from therapists is I

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feel like I'm posting too much.

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And my question back to that is, well,

how do you know, is it because someone

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told you you're posting too much?

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If that's the case, they can unfollow you.

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They can mute your content

for a certain period of time.

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Pretty much on most social media

platforms, And I listed the most popular

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ones on the episode that aired yesterday.

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You can mute an account without

having to unfollow them.

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So give them that option

if they start complaining.

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There's a fun little phrase that people

use a lot on TikTok where You know,

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someone will get upset with a creator in

the comments and they'll say, I'm leaving.

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I'm never coming back.

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I'm not going to follow you anymore.

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And you know, the appropriate response is

you don't have to announce your departure.

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You can leave quietly.

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So sometimes people are going to

rock and roll if they feel upset or

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disturbed by what you're posting.

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And that's their prerogative.

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You don't want to stop yourself

from posting on social media

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because you're over thinking the

idea that you're posting too much.

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And if you think you're posting

too much, don't post too much.

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My other question for you is,

well, are you getting results

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on your posting schedule?

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Maybe it's not that

you're posting too much.

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Maybe it's the content

that you're posting.

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That's not as engaging as it could be.

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So when we look at your social media

engagement, you can define this in

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different ways, but most of the social

media platforms have an analytics

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dashboard that you can see how many

likes, how many follows subscribes.

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Reposts are a big content

analytic here and LinkedIn.

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And so that brings me to my third social

media strategy that therapists need to

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stop ASAP is ignoring your analytics.

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You have to know your numbers to

know whether or not your content is

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landing with your target audience.

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If you're ignoring the numbers

because you've convinced yourself

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that you're not good at math and you

know, you're allergic to numbers and

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I've, I've never been good with that.

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You are speaking a lot of limiting

beliefs and you know what that means.

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There's an opportunity to

see things differently.

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If you feel uncomfortable with

analytics and you don't know how

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to read them, that's why I'm here.

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You can sign up for a strategy

call to understand why your social

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media content is not getting

you the results that you want.

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And we'll talk it out and have you walk

away after 90 minutes with a solid review.

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plan so that you're not feeling

lost and confused or even

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resentful about social media.

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So the next thing that therapists need

to stop doing when it comes to their

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social media marketing strategies is only

posting lip syncs and faceless posts.

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And this is something that a lot of

therapists who feel insecure about the

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sound of their voice actually fall into.

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If you don't show your face or at

the very least Use voiceovers or B

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roll in your content, intermittently,

people are not going to get to

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know you for the therapist that

they're going to hire down the road.

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There are many creators outside of

the mental health space whose whole

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platform is based on lip syncs and

that might work for them because they

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are not running a business or they're

not running a business that relies on

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them to be the face of the company.

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But put yourself in a future

client's shoes for a moment.

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You're excited.

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You've seen this therapist, you

bonded, you've connected over their

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content and you're inspired to

finally say yes to working with them.

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They want to build up that rapport before

starting therapy and your mental health

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content is going to allow them to do that.

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When we talk about know, like, and

trust, that is an element of what

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we're talking about, building up

that rapport beyond the session.

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And you can do this effectively

if your content is engaging enough

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and if you're showing your face and

using your natural voice, they can

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be a lot of fun to do lip syncs.

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I did one not too long ago.

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Yet when you are a mental health

business owner, it's important to

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show a sneak peek and what it's

like to actually work with you.

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So if there's a nice balance between

the different types of content you're

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creating, then that's a fantastic start.

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But if a majority of your content is

no face, no voice or anything at the

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very least post your profile photo,

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then people are going to be able to

connect with you in a different way.

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There is a play therapist that I recently

came across her content and I'll I'll link

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that in the show notes where her whole

platform is her having these Play sessions

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where she is the therapist, and then she

is also the child and she is modeling

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for the things that she is seeing in her

sessions to help parents understand how

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she's going to give them feedback about

what their child is doing in sessions.

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Because that's what we're I know

firsthand that the play therapists that

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I've worked with, it's hard for them to

figure out how to convey to the parents

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of the children they want to work with

that play therapy is actually effective

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and is going to elicit some insight

and some clinical feedback about how

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their child is functioning at home.

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And so the fact that she's modeling this.

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In her social media content on

TikTok in videos using her voice.

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This is so powerful.

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The other thing that you can do to

keep your content more authentic,

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if showing your voice is, is kind

of jumping off into the deep end

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is filming in your office space.

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If you are offering in person

sessions, why not do scenes, a video

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B roll voices or no voices or even.

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Creating your own stock imagery in

your office, because that's the space

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that your therapy clients are going

to engage with when they hire you.

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That's warming them up.

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That's building rapport before

they even step into the space.

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It's allowing them to feel

comfortable and confident about

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the decision that they made.

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One of the big things that is just on

my list of big no nos and this list of

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five, and I actually added a second one.

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Six one.

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Complaining about therapy seekers online.

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This really grinds my gears.

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I have a very low tolerance for people who

are complaining about the people that are

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going to help them sustain their business.

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And Frankly, these are the same people who

complain about not having enough clients.

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So make that make sense.

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You're upset that you don't have

enough clients and yet you're

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complaining about the people that

are reaching out to you for therapy.

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That is a problem of your own making.

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And so instead of being in a position

where you're frustrated and overwhelmed

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by the fact that people are not following.

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As according to some people etiquette,

which, you know, that's a different

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conversation for a different day that

I will climb off my high horse for now.

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But if you feel like therapy seekers are

not behaving quote unquote appropriately

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to ask you for therapy, guess what?

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You have a hole in your system.

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You need to create a system and boundaries

and clearly communicate what you expect.

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How are they supposed to know?

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That it is not okay with you to call

you five times back to back, right?

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Do you ask them to leave

a voicemail message?

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Do you let them know that the only

way that you're going to call them

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back is by leaving a voicemail?

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Do you have that on your website?

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Do you even have a website?

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So there are so many different

things that are within your control.

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And the frustration that is

building up is something that

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you can resolve pretty quickly.

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That is another thing that I talk a

lot about with my coaching clients.

264

It's running your private practice

is not only about filling your

265

caseload and serving your clients.

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There are a lot of business things

that have to go in to running

267

your mental health business.

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And it comes down to

communication expectations.

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How much does it cost to work with you?

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Making sure that they understand

where your office is located.

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The list goes on and on and on.

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So if you have found yourself in a

situation where you are resenting

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the people that are reaching out for

therapy with you, knowing that you

274

need them in order to run your business

effectively, you have two options.

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Either close your business.

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caseload and say, you're not accepting

any new clients and seek out additional

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support from either case consultation,

clinical supervision, if you're still,

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if you're not independently licensed, or

maybe you need to take some time away from

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your practice to get yourself together.

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Because if you're taking it out on people

that are not paying you, I don't, I

281

don't want to imagine what would happen

if you get frustrated with a client

282

that doesn't respect your boundaries.

283

Right.

284

And You know, I, I made a TikTok video

about this, commenting on, on something

285

that someone was venting about therapy

seekers and they were being very,

286

very open and very candid about it.

287

So, you know, my philosophy is if you're

posting about it on the internet, And

288

you're posting about it on a place

like LinkedIn where it's connected

289

to your business and your name.

290

You know, I'm not going to dox you,

I'm going to, I'm going to X out

291

your name because I do want people

to learn from your experience so that

292

they don't make the same mistakes.

293

And that's why I think it is so important

to have community around you because

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the days that you are struggling.

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You're going to want to vent and you

deserve to vent, but venting on the

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internet is not a good way to go.

297

You can, like I said, vent to

your therapist, then in case

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consultation or clinical supervision.

299

And there are times where my coaching

clients that to me about what's

300

happening in their business , that

is the reality of being a human

301

being, let alone a business owner.

302

Everything is not going to be

rainbows and sunshine, we can't.

303

walk through life with rose

colored glasses on, we have to

304

recognize the fact that there are

days that are going to be hard.

305

But if you are not managing that

difficulty in an effective way, you're

306

actually sabotaging your growth.

307

So before I get to the sixth,

Social media strategy that

308

therapists need to stop ASAP.

309

I'm going to pause to see if we have any

questions from the audience So all you

310

have to do is raise your hand and then

I will bring you up on stage I'll give

311

you some space to introduce yourself.

312

Tell us where you're tuning in from

and what your clinical status is

313

And then you can ask your question.

314

So let's dive in.

315

We have about 20 minutes left

of this live recording of

316

Beyond the Session with Aisha.

317

Welcome Claire.

318

So glad to see you here.

319

Aaron, do you have any questions

or thoughts that have popped up?

320

Hey Aisha.

321

Yes.

322

So I'm tuning in from North

Carolina OCD Specialist.

323

And I think for my social media

strategies, I've mostly used LinkedIn,

324

Um, I think one of the things that you

and I were discussing recently was adding

325

more content to my LinkedIn post when I'm

advertising my latest podcast episode.

326

And so, With, uh, just kind

of revisiting that topic.

327

So with the soundbites, how do I

determine, I guess, what a good soundbite

328

would be when advertising on social media?

329

Yeah, that's a great question.

330

So for those of you that don't have

a podcast, there are many creative

331

ways that you can Let people know

about the podcast episode specifically

332

and just about your show overall.

333

So the soundbites that Aaron is

referencing, you might also be familiar

334

with the term audiograms where it is

taking an audio clip from your podcast

335

and then putting it visually so that

people can have something to look at.

336

Maybe you have, The captions, in addition

to the sound waves moving in coordination

337

with your words, or you'll have like a

standalone image like the cover image

338

of the episode or maybe even a quote.

339

So when you are promoting your podcast

on a platform like LinkedIn, it's

340

important for people to know what

do you want them to get out of that

341

snippet that you shared with them?

342

Is it a cliffhanger where you're

just like, Ooh, what's going on?

343

What's next?

344

I have to listen to this episode.

345

Or are you trying to

pull a fact out of it?

346

So, for example, if you create a podcast

episode about OCD where you cover three

347

things, you could do a LinkedIn post

that covers one thing very briefly and

348

say to Learn more about the other two.

349

I cover them on this week's

episode of the podcast.

350

Click below to listen to the full episode.

351

So that way, they're getting a

preview of what they can expect.

352

And if they're interested in listening

to the following, , parts of the

353

episode, they're going to click through.

354

If not, you, and you can see that

engagement on some platforms.

355

I don't know if LinkedIn gives analytics

for click through rates as far as

356

links that you put in your post, but

it would be a nice analytic for them

357

to add because you want to know if

people are actually clicking the links

358

when they're clicking the links, right?

359

How many times people have clicked a link.

360

So that's, that's one idea.

361

Another idea that you could do Especially

when you have guests on your podcast

362

is making sure that you're featuring

the face of the guest on your show in

363

addition to your face so that they're

associating your show with you and

364

they're recognizing like, oh, this

is a guest like this isn't someone

365

that's regularly on the show unless you

have like a frequent recurring guest.

366

And one more idea that I could give you

is there is a platform called Riverside.

367

fm and I use that for filming

my guests on my podcast.

368

And the beautiful thing about Riverside

is you have to record the video once

369

and then will allow you to re frame the

video automatically for other platforms.

370

So it will record it.

371

Yeah.

372

It's so amazing because this

way you can repurpose the video

373

and have your guest on the top.

374

In video form them talking you

on the bottom or vice versa.

375

You can flip it then you just do

a click of a button and you can

376

repurpose that same video clip

for youtube because we know that

377

youtube Is more of the horizontal

video as opposed to the vertical

378

video on TikTok and Instagram reels.

379

And then we know YouTube shorts, right?

380

So if you take your entire interview,

let's say the interview lasted for

381

23 minutes, you can take little

sound bites from that episode

382

and put them in YouTube shorts.

383

So it's, it's, it's attracting the

people that might not listen to the whole

384

episode in its entirety, but they're

going to watch the highlight reel of it.

385

And Riverside is amazing

because it will recommend.

386

The clips that they think

are the most engaging.

387

So it's fun how they're using

AI to assist you with that.

388

And Heather is actually using that for

her podcast, grief is the new normal.

389

Okay.

390

Now the last question I have, and it may

be just a matter of preference, but I have

391

seen like some content creators will have

multiple slides or photos, if you will,

392

like a carousel almost of like they're

advertising their podcast episode and.

393

Well, I guess it's kind

of a two part question.

394

So, part one is like, should I

consider having multiple photos

395

associated with a, a single post?

396

And then, um, well now I lost my

train of thought, we'll start with

397

part one, I'll think of the part two.

398

Yeah, so everyone who's listening in, what

Erin is describing is called a carousel,

399

where you have a series of either images

or videos in one post, and someone can

400

swipe left or right to review, read,

or listen to those posts, or watch.

401

So, creating carousels It really

just depends on how often you're

402

putting them in front of your

audience and how engaging they are.

403

So I think they're worth

experimenting with.

404

I'm going to be experimenting with

carousels, this quarter and you

405

know, your analytics are really

going to be able to show you whether

406

or not they're engaging enough with

your audience based on, you know,

407

how many people are reposting them.

408

I think that's a great way to

educate people without them

409

having to listen to the podcast.

410

When we talk about accessibility as

far as mental health content goes,

411

this is another way for you to be

accessible where you can actually have

412

the opportunity to say, you know what?

413

Everybody's not going to listen to a

podcast, maybe, or maybe not in full, but

414

I'm going to transfer that material into

written form so that people can still get.

415

The nuggets that I want them to get

so that is also the benefit of doing

416

a text based carousel whether it's on

linkedin, carousels are also available

417

now on tiktok They've been available for

the longest time on instagram I haven't

418

seen people really use them on facebook

because facebook actually posts them

419

almost like a grid in photo form But,

you know, maybe they'll, they'll switch

420

it up since Facebook and Instagram are

under the meta umbrella, but I definitely

421

think it's worth exploring for you

for sure for your, for your podcast.

422

All right.

423

Now, my last question is

when it comes to posting.

424

images for your posts.

425

Like sometimes I hear like, you

know, keep it consistent, but

426

then I also like a little bit of

like diversity and mixing it up.

427

And I'm, I feel like I'm still

testing out different, um, like

428

Canva designs, for example.

429

So I'm kind of figuring out which way do

I go with this or maybe do I have Like a,

430

let's say, a consistent logo or icon that

I put with my images so that my audience

431

knows, oh, this is Erin's product or post.

432

Yeah.

433

I'm just trying to gauge, like, what

kind of designs do I stick with?

434

Do I stay consistent?

435

Do I mix it up?

436

Or do I bring in an element?

437

Yes, so the visual of your content

is going to build that familiarity

438

and it's actually going to build

that know, like, and trust factor.

439

So I think while you're in

this experimentation phase,

440

I would say have fun with it.

441

But.

442

Notice the colors that you're already

using and like your welcome guide and

443

you know, and other elements within

your business that your current

444

clients already have and just see,

you know, if I consistently use this,

445

is this going to be familiar to them

when they become a current client?

446

The answer is yes.

447

I wouldn't put so much pressure

on yourself to keep everything so

448

consistent that it's stressing you out.

449

I'm more so encouraging you to just get

the content out there and we can always

450

clean it up later because you're going to

be reposting and repurposing this content.

451

So no one's going to remember that

last week you used a daffodil yellow

452

and this week you're using lilac.

453

They just know that Erin is

the OCD specialist that I want

454

to listen to and learn from.

455

You're welcome.

456

Great questions.

457

All right, we have Claire.

458

Welcome, Claire.

459

If you'd like to take yourself off mute

and tell us where you're tuning in from,

460

what your specialty is, population you're

serving, and then ask your question.

461

Hey there, this is so fun.

462

This is my first time joining a

live event like this, am tuning in

463

from, uh, coastal Virginia, and I

work in eating disorder treatment

464

at the PHP and IOP levels of care.

465

Um, Wednesdays is my early day,

so you'll hear my dog, you'll, you

466

will hear my dog in the background.

467

I apologize for that.

468

so the question that I care a lot about,

um, like, peer, like, connecting with

469

peers in the mental health space, in

the health care worker space, um, and

470

engaging in, like, peer supervision

and just speaking on, um, You know,

471

that, just what it is to navigate

the process of, of coming into your

472

own as a clinician through, you

know, all the stages of development,

473

that's really meaningful to me.

474

And also, um, clients will find you,

current clients or potential clients

475

will find you on the internet.

476

And so I'm curious, um, if you have

any thoughts or reflections on how

477

to balance, like sort of balance.

478

I care very much about having my, um.

479

Um, messaging kind of speak towards both,

like towards both other professionals

480

as well as to, um, people, you know,

not necessarily, I don't, you know,

481

necessarily want to use social media

to market to potential clients, but

482

I'm aware that, um, Um, people who are

not in the mental health space, but

483

are rather looking for content that

would be meaningful to them in terms

484

of what it is that they might want to

learn about are also going to view it.

485

How do you recommend handling

that or what are your thoughts

486

around that for professionals?

487

Yeah, this is a lovely question, Claire.

488

And I'm curious to know.

489

With your experience in the eating

disorder community and having the IOP

490

experience, are you an independent

practitioner or are you a part of an

491

organization, hospital setting agency?

492

Both.

493

So I, in the PHP and IOP level of

care, I work in, I mean, essentially

494

it's a private practice, but it's in,

you know, it's, it's not my business.

495

I work for somebody else.

496

Um, it is not a hospital system that

I work in, um, but it is a partial

497

hospitalization program that emerged

out of a person's private practice.

498

Um, and then I also see outpatient clients

who are not eating disorder specific

499

in private practice independently.

500

Okay, so who are you most concerned

about the, the patients that you're

501

seeing in partial hospitalization

or the patients that you're seeing

502

in your private practice that are

unrelated to eating disorders?

503

Um, it's, it's more so that like

the nature of the reflections

504

are just very different.

505

Like having a, having a reflection

about what the experience is being

506

a counselor, that would be very

meaningful to another professional.

507

is not appropriate for a current

or potential client to have

508

insight into, if that makes sense.

509

Um, so it's not, it's not so

much the eating disorder specific

510

lens that I'm concerned with.

511

Um, it's more of just, as I've evolved

in my work, I've like, Cared very much

512

about speaking about, you know, my

professional development, and those

513

are two very different audiences.

514

Yeah, so this is the conundrum that

I'm hearing, is that you want to speak

515

candidly about what it's like to be a

clinician, and yet you Speaking candidly

516

could also hinder the therapeutic

relationship with future or current

517

clients that you have in either sector.

518

Yeah, like it, yeah,

it feels not helpful.

519

Potentially not helpful.

520

I'm not really sure what I think about it.

521

Yeah, so this is not necessarily,

similar to what I said earlier, and

522

there will be a replay of this tomorrow.

523

Oh, perfect.

524

Yeah.

525

Um, it's not similar to what

I addressed earlier, which is

526

about therapists complaining about

therapy seekers or current clients.

527

It sounds like you're trying to have

clinical conversations about your work.

528

And so there's a couple of ways, yeah.

529

So there's a couple of ways that you could

do this with integrity and it's having

530

a conversation a social media platform.

531

I know you said that you're not using

social media, but there are some people

532

that are, that are listening to this.

533

And then having more of a

closed environment where you can

534

control who is going to see the

content that you're creating.

535

So one way to do this is to

create a subscriber only email

536

newsletter where that's where

you're having these conversations

537

where you can still speak freely.

538

It's It's more or less you creating

the content and putting it out

539

there and people could engage with

it by opening and digging into it

540

more, responding to your emails.

541

But that is the, easiest and

effective way to do what you're

542

trying to do without potentially

harming the therapeutic relationship

543

of future and current clients.

544

Okay.

545

Yeah.

546

Yeah, and there are free email

newsletter platforms out there like

547

LinkedIn is still in its experimentation

phase with its newsletter.

548

So that's not private that exists

and it's owned by LinkedIn.

549

So you don't have.

550

an audience that you could, you

know, curate to the point where

551

you're like, oh, I only want X

person to see it instead of Y.

552

You could create a page on LinkedIn,

um, depending on the settings on your

553

LinkedIn profile and admit people to

like this private LinkedIn page or

554

LinkedIn group, and then that way it

kind of functions like a Facebook group.

555

But it would be important for you to

just manage those, those group dynamics.

556

If people who do not see your clinical

work in the same way and, and do want

557

to complain about clients, like that's

where you get into that slippery slope.

558

So creating an off platform

and off social media.

559

newsletter using, , Substack.

560

Substack is really popular right

now, and they are currently allowing

561

people to create email newsletters for

free, , and then you can monetize those.

562

I recommend for people that have their

own private practice to actually take

563

it a step further, and, Use their email

marketing to actually support their

564

business endeavors because it allows you

to build up wait lists very naturally.

565

It kind of crosses off another box for

any future needs for client work or case

566

consultation if that's what you want to

offer to your colleagues down the road.

567

And the two platforms that I recommend

for that are flow desk and, uh, uh,

568

uh, And I use both of those flow

desk for my private practice and then

569

convert kit for my consulting firm.

570

Yeah, that makes sense.

571

Um, I sort of, I've taken a similar, I

do, I do have social media and use it

572

like in a professional context and just

not using it to try to get clients.

573

That's just not consistent with how

I personally am using it right now,

574

but I do also have flow desk and I've,

I've started to sort of differentiate

575

those two aspects just on Instagram

on the most basic level using the, um,

576

What's that, like, close friends feature

where it's like you decide who it is

577

that can, like, get access to that.

578

But I think I'm, like, having a

more I'm having a more complicated

579

relationship with it because it's

like, I don't, I believe that there's

580

a world, like a world where this

doesn't need to be differentiated as

581

stringently, but I can't figure out

quite yet what I think about that.

582

Um, it's something that I want to be

cautious about and thoughtful about

583

and deliberate about, um, in order

to, you know, um, Like, I, I, I'm one

584

person, and these are not separate

parts of my professional identity.

585

These are companion parts

of my professional identity.

586

And I think that, like, there's a world

in which the, all of the things that one

587

does Um, like the meaning making process

of their own professional development

588

with integrity that is healthy for, for

individuals who seek therapy to have

589

awareness of if for no other reason from

like an education standpoint to advise

590

like you want somebody who engages

in their, in their professional life

591

in this way, you want somebody who's,

you know, passionate and convicted and

592

self aware and engages all of these,

Um, but I don't quite know how to, I

593

don't think a lot of people do that.

594

I don't see a ton of examples

of it and so it's just something

595

I'm way more cautious about.

596

Yeah.

597

And, you know, I think it's unfortunate

that more people aren't vocal about it.

598

I do this in my content very openly on my

Instagram channel for my therapy practice

599

and with my current clients, I will

tell them, you know, Other things that

600

I am doing to advocate for you and you

know, I specialize in treating anxiety.

601

So making sure that people are

not discriminating against folks

602

that have anxiety in the workplace

is having these conversations

603

out loud and out in the open.

604

And so they already know that when,

if, if they happen to follow me on

605

Instagram, LinkedIn, which, you know,

it's their prerogative to do that.

606

You can have any social media

policy you want, but it's not going

607

to stop a client from following

you or reading your content.

608

And I do the same thing on Tik TOK

too, the reason why I'm on Tik TOK is

609

to elevate the mental health industry.

610

And.

611

The people that are engaging and

commenting and saying, Hey, can

612

you create a video about this?

613

It's it's almost split 50 50 between

therapy seekers and therapists and people

614

who are interested in elevating the mental

health industry and being advocates.

615

So I don't think you have

to stringently separate.

616

The communities, if you feel

comfortable and confident and knowing

617

that you are not going to harm the

other by talking about it candidly.

618

And I think there's a way to do that.

619

But there are some conversations, I

agree with you, that are There has to

620

be a deeper level of understanding of

what case consultation is and clinical

621

supervision is so that if a therapy

seeker does come across your content,

622

they understand like, oh, okay, yeah,

this is them supporting each other.

623

But there is a time and a place for

it and a depth level that social

624

media as a whole can tolerate.

625

And we know that, right.

626

And even if we think back to

the clinicians that we have.

627

have been practicing before

the advent of social media.

628

You know, all of us are young

enough to remember a time where

629

social media did not exist.

630

Those therapists were still having

those meaningful conversations.

631

So just because it's difficult

now doesn't mean it's not.

632

worth doing and doesn't

mean that it can't be done.

633

But I think you're setting a great example

for what it actually looks like and trying

634

to make sure that you're maintaining

the integrity of the other parts of our

635

work beyond the session, instead of just

pretending that like, Oh yeah, clients

636

aren't going to find us on the internet.

637

It's like, no, it's the internet.

638

They're going to find you.

639

That's the whole point of it.

640

Yeah, and I think the one thing I

just want to add is that like, in no

641

world would I ever bring anything that

has anything even remotely to do with

642

case consultation into social media.

643

That feels profoundly inappropriate.

644

It's sort of so started out of like

medical students will do this a lot.

645

They'll continue it into their

residency where they're kind of

646

talking about what is the journey

of becoming this professional?

647

What is that kind of, you know,

what is that trajectory like?

648

Um, and so the thing that I'm most

passionate about, you know, Is speaking

649

about like the first generation college

student experience, what it is to be like

650

the first generation of a profession,

like a woman with a profession in your

651

lineage and what kind of like what,

what is it like to kind of assume that

652

kind of authority for yourself for your

life for professional identity and role.

653

And then related to that is like,

what is it like to engage sort of

654

systemic barriers within health care

infrastructures that both make it

655

difficult to assume that identity and

also are oppressive toward, you know,

656

the clients that those, you know, That

the healthcare industry kind of serves.

657

And so it's like my desire to be,

uh, you know, just to contribute

658

to a reflection around that.

659

Um, I hope doesn't need to

contraindicate what, you know, how

660

then, you know, therapy seekers, I

appreciate the languaging around that.

661

But that's That makes so much sense, um,

how then therapy seekers engage with, like

662

if that means that they know more about

my identity, do you know what I mean?

663

They know more about, um, you know, or,

or there are transparent conversations

664

about the kind of systems that they

might find themselves in or be served by.

665

Um, so that, you know, that's sort

of where that, you know, I just

666

wanted to, you know, kind of, you

know, clarify the, the clinical

667

supervision case consultation component.

668

I, yeah, I agree with you, not on social

media, no, that is no place, um, in a

669

social networking kind of environment.

670

Um, but it's that other stuff that,

yeah, I do hope I can figure out a

671

way, I appreciate that you're kind of

speaking towards the way in which you,

672

you know, you do that in your own work,

um, as kind of like a model of what I

673

might be able to, To follow for myself.

674

Yeah, definitely.

675

And don't hesitate to take a peek at

the content that I've created around

676

making sure that your values are

steeped in what you're doing, not just

677

in session, but beyond the session,

because And if your clients don't know

678

where you stand, we're not building

that rapport and they're not going to

679

trust us with their lived experience.

680

So there are many, many, many mental

health therapists out there that are so

681

transparent about their lived experience.

682

And that actually builds a close bond

with therapy seekers, current clients,

683

past clients, and some people are not

going to feel comfortable with disclosing,

684

but there is a delicate balance that is.

685

Each of us has, and you

can definitely find that.

686

And I, I talk about this constantly and

very upfront and very unapologetic because

687

I think about the one person that needs

to hear what I'm going to share and how

688

that will positively impact their life.

689

And then I'm ready for the other

conversations that could happen.

690

And that, You know, nicely dovetails into

that sixth bonus social media strategy

691

that I think therapists need to stop

doing on the internet overall is trolling

692

each other, there are so many people that

are so critical of what they're seeing

693

because it wasn't what we used to do.

694

Like, you know, why are you

telling clients that you have a

695

certain diagnosis and why are you

telling us this about your life?

696

And I would never do that.

697

There, there has to be something that.

698

just flashes in that person's

mind and just say, you know what?

699

Remember how we said our clients have the

right to self determination where our, our

700

clinicians, our colleagues, our therapists

from around the world also have that

701

ability to, and if they have determined

that self disclosure is going to build

702

the therapeutic relationship on and off

screen, Then allow them to share their

703

story, but it is not fair to criticize

them for what they're choosing to do

704

because that's where their values lie.

705

And that's why when we talk about

branding, you know, earlier, Aaron,

706

you know, position this question around

visual branding, but we also have to

707

think about the branding that no one sees.

708

That is sharing our values, allowing

people to understand where we

709

are coming from context matters.

710

And if we are still leaning

into this tabula rasa type of

711

therapy, people are over that.

712

That's why when people are saying

this trend, which started this whole

713

series of episodes this week, when

people are saying social media is

714

fake, and then in session, you, uh,

Your client knows nothing about you.

715

That's fake.

716

People don't want an

authentic therapist anymore.

717

They want to know that the person

across the room from them is real

718

and honest and genuine and you get

to decide what that looks like for

719

you within your own comfort zone.

720

So, if you are listening to this

on the replay, I hope that you have

721

been encouraged not only by Aaron's

questions and Claire's questions.

722

Thank you so much both for joining

us during the, the live recording

723

of Beyond the Session with Aisha.

724

You can enjoy this video.

725

Recording on Thursday, because

episodes are released on Tuesdays and

726

Thursdays, and I hope to see you all

next week where we'll have another

727

fun, exciting topic to explore.

728

Um, if you are not currently an

email newsletter subscriber, I

729

would encourage you to subscribe.

730

You can go to ayeshaarshabazz.

731

com backslash thriving.

732

That will invite you to take a

fun interactive quiz that takes

733

less than a minute to take.

734

It's the path to a

thriving private practice.

735

It'll give you some tangible tools to

help you identify which of the four

736

paths you're currently navigating.

737

And then I give you concrete

details on how to keep going.

738

So if your intention is to build a, a well

rounded practice so that people know who

739

you are, you're going to have a resource

in there where I share with you the.

740

200 values that you can pick from to

establish your brand on and so much more.

741

So I thank you all for joining

me today for this lovely episode.

742

And until next time, take care,

talk soon and keep thriving.