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Social workers get into social media

Mad World is a great Community Care blog from Andy McNicoll (Twitter @andymcnicoll) highlighting the latest research, policy and debate about all things mental health.

In his latest post Andy notes that whether through forums, Facebook or Twitter, more and more social workers are using social networks to help their day to day practice. But what should you be wary of when posting online?  At ComCare Live (#cclive) he videoed two social workers (Victoria Hart and Helen Roberts) talking about the usefulness of social media and offering their top tips.  Here’s a taster:

  • Twitter, blogs, the Knowledge Hub: all great ways of finding research information, particularly from service users’ perspectives.
  • Practice with common sense, just as you do daily in your job.
  • You’re a professional so don’t ‘friend’ service users – it can blur boundaries.
  • You sign up to codes of practice and these don’t go away in whatever media you communicate.

Watch Victoria and Helen and give it a try.