RESUMO
The use of electronic devices and social media is becoming a ubiquitous part of most people's lives. Although researchers are exploring the sequelae of such use, little attention has been given to the importance of digital media use in routine psychiatric assessments of patients. The nature of technology use is relevant to understanding a patient's lifestyle and activities, the same way that it is important to evaluate the patient's occupation, functioning, and general activities. The authors propose a framework for psychiatric inquiry into digital media use, emphasizing that such inquiry should focus on quality of use, including emotional and behavioral consequences, rather than simply the amount of use.
Assuntos
Barreiras de Comunicação , Pessoas Mal Alojadas , Legislação Médica , Transtornos Mentais , Pessoas Mentalmente Doentes , Psicofarmacologia , Doença Crônica , Necessidades e Demandas de Serviços de Saúde , Pessoas Mal Alojadas/legislação & jurisprudência , Pessoas Mal Alojadas/psicologia , Humanos , Legislação Médica/ética , Legislação Médica/organização & administração , Legislação Médica/normas , Transtornos Mentais/epidemiologia , Transtornos Mentais/psicologia , Pessoas Mentalmente Doentes/legislação & jurisprudência , Pessoas Mentalmente Doentes/psicologia , Aceitação pelo Paciente de Cuidados de Saúde/psicologia , Psicofarmacologia/ética , Psicofarmacologia/métodos , Problemas Sociais , Responsabilidade Social , Estados UnidosRESUMO
The Internet has fundamentally altered mental health clinicians' "public selves," challenging previous models of self-disclosure and maintenance of boundaries within treatment. The conception of a public self altered by the digital age presents both opportunities and pitfalls in clinical practice. Information about clinicians available online may be professional or personal; accurate or inaccurate; and publicly accessible, purchased, or hacked. Clinicians must consider how to manage their public selves in work with patients and the community. This Open Forum outlines a set of recommendations for managing the public self in the digital age as a routine part of therapeutic work.