The Invisible Frontier: Practitioner Perspectives on the Privacy Implications of Utilising Social Media in Mental Health Social Work Practice

Arnold Thornton-Rice,Nicola Moran

doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcab184

Abstract

AbstractIn the digital age, traditional approaches to accessing information are disrupted by the ‘public’ nature of social media. The notion of accessing service users’ social media in social work practice is fraught with ethical issues around privacy and boundaries, yet lacks clear guidance from existing law and policy. This qualitative study sought to identify how mental health social workers were navigating these issues and how they thought practice could be developed. Ten mental health social workers, from one NHS Trust in England, were interviewed about their views and experiences around accessing service users’ social media without express permission. Semi-structured interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Practitioners shared a variety of justifications for utilising social media, based upon statutory responsibility and professional values, but felt direct guidance/legislation and training would be helpful. A process of ‘digital reflexivity’ was outlined, which balanced reasons to access social media against considerations of privacy and the potential effects on the therapeutic relationship. Implications include the need for definitive guidance and training around if, when and how to access service users’ social media; inclusion of digital reflexivity in supervision and multidisciplinary meetings; educating service users about privacy controls; and a potential reconfiguration of theoretical boundaries to include the ‘public’ domain.

Highlights

Social work is a profession that relies on information about those it seeks to protect and empower
One way of understanding the impact of such data-collection and surveillance is through a Foucauldian perspective: That the detriment of privacy contributes to a detriment in trusting relationships, as an assumption of non-confidentiality prevents comfort and confiding, especially with people representing authority (Fuchs, 2012; Lyon, 2015). This resonates with Foucault’s (1975) fears of a society where citizens are treated as ‘the object of information, never a subject in communication’ (p. 200). This current study proposed to contribute to the evidence base by gathering the views and experiences of mental health social workers who may highlight nuances to the arguments around looking at service users’ social media
In the study information sheet and the applications to the University of York research ethics committee (SPSW/MTA/2018/48) and the NHS Health Research Authority (HRA), we explained that the purpose of the research was to understand how mental health social workers were responding to social media and its privacy implications, and did not intend, to critique or challenge the approach being used by participants

Summary

Introduction

Social work is a profession that relies on information about those it seeks to protect and empower. This is the daunting question frontline practitioners are facing in this age of digital technologies, which ‘play a vital role in the mediation of personal and professional human interaction and the access and distribution of information’ Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are a part of daily life for many people (Foley and Woollard, 2019) and to varying degrees document people’s personal lives and, critically, their vulnerabilities. Social workers viewing service users’ social media profiles is a highly contentious issue. It raises questions around privacy, morality, ethics, safeguarding and trust.

Objectives

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion