Social Media PolicyCounseling Department's Official Social Media Account Policy
Since we believe that a large portion of our student body is active on social media, we utilize Instagram as a platform to increase student engagement. We currently utilize Instagram and use the handle @GustavusCounseling. The Gustavus Adolphus College Counseling Center utilizes Instagram as a form of outreach to:
- inform the Gustavus community about Counseling Center services,
- provide education and awareness regarding mental health issues among college students,
- and to engage with more students who may not otherwise interact with our department.
There are potential risks and benefits that students can face in engaging with social media for mental health support.
The risks include:
- social media content alone may not be sufficient to support an individual’s mental health needs
- we emphasize that our Instagram posts are meant to be educational and not as a substitute for clinical mental health care
- to encourage appropriate and timely response to student mental health needs, commenting and messaging features on our Instagram account are turned off and students are encouraged (on our account bio section) to refer to our website for information on how to connect with us (via phone, email, or in-office visits) and appropriate crisis/emergency response services
- while we don’t disclose identifying information about our clients or their engagement with our center, we cannot fully ensure that student engagement with our Instagram account is private or confidential
- if students comment on or share posts on Instagram, this information may be publicly accessible on Instagram; likewise, the list of accounts that follow our Instagram account is publicly accessible on Instagram
- to enhance student privacy and confidentiality, we have decided to turn off commenting features on our posts
- we do not connect, link, or tag personal social media accounts for Gustavus students and/or employees
- our account does not "comment" on individual student or employee accounts
- our account does not follow students’ personal accounts, it may follow Gustavus organizational accounts though as this will help our account to show up as a “suggested account” for Gustavus community members to find and follow
- if students comment on or share posts on Instagram, this information may be publicly accessible on Instagram; likewise, the list of accounts that follow our Instagram account is publicly accessible on Instagram
The benefits students can gain from engaging with our Instagram account include:
- increased college student mental health literacy, coping skills, and other ways to promote wellbeing
- familiarity with our services and other campus resources to promote student wellbeing
While we take steps to disable messaging and comment features, accounts that our account follows (i.e., other student organizations on campus) still have the capability of messaging our account. In the case that someone messages our account for information or support, we will respond to their message with directions on how to get in contact with our office for further communication or support.