‘It's All About Trying to Be Relatable’: Counsellor relatability and personal experiences of social media when supporting young people

Abstract

Background: Although there is a small area of research exploring how mental health practitioners can support young people with the impacts of social media (SM) on their mental health, no study has researched into practitioners’ own relationship with SM. This study aimed to explore counsellor's own relationship with SM, and how such insights contributed into their support to their clients who may be impacted by their engagement with SM. Methods: Counsellors who worked with young people aged 16–25 were recruited and interviewed. A reflexive thematic analysis of the interviews identified three main themes. Findings: The first theme “It’s Not Based on Reality” related to counsellors comparing themselves to the unrealistic highlight reel depicted on SM in the same way as the young people they supported. The second theme “All Of a Sudden I’m on Facebook” explored the counsellor’s obsessive use of SM yet they believed they were better able than their young clients to recognise when SM impacted their mood and to instigate boundaries by coming offline. The third theme “It’s All About Trying to Be Relatable” highlighted counsellors’ evaluation of efficacy of their own SM use to their therapeutic practice. Conclusion: Despite the noted parallels in SM use between counsellors and the young people they supported, counsellors believed their experiences of SM differed from their clients. This study provides implications for counsellor training when working with young people and the importance of counsellors’ self-care when using SM.