title: Blogging and Social Media for Mental Health Education and Advocacy: a Review for Psychiatrists.
abstract: We live in a digital age where information can be found instantaneously via the Internet. Studies have shown that consumers search for much of their medical information on the Internet, particularly utilizing blogs and social media platforms. As the mental health field is riddled with misinformation and stigma, this offers a unique opportunity for psychiatrists and mental health professionals to reach a broad audience for mental health education and advocacy. In this review, we discuss the various methods and techniques for blogging and social media. We then review the current recommendations for ethics and professionalism as well as make recommendations to strengthen our guidance in this new and evolving field.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Yawkey 6A, Boston, MA, 02114, USA. hpeek@partners.org.
authors.forename: Holly S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Peek
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of California, Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Plaza, C8-193, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. mcrichards@mednet.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Misty
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.affiliation: NYU School of Medicine and Hofstra-North Shore/LIJ School of Medicine, 154 N 9th Street Rear House, Brooklyn, NY, 11249, USA. Owen.muir@nyumc.org.
authors.forename: Owen
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Muir
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Davis, 2230 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA. steven@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Steven Richard
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, Davis, 2230 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA. mcaton@ucdavis.ed.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caton
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Child Study Center, NYU Langone Medical Center, Manhattan Office: One Park Avenue 7th Floor I, New York, NY, 10016, USA. Carlene.MacMillan@nyumc.org.
authors.forename: Carlene
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: MacMillan
mesh_terms: D001292:Attitude to Computers; D057218:Blogging; D003254:Consumer Advocacy; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D020407:Internet; D008603:Mental Health / Q000193:education / Q000941:ethics / Q000639:trends; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards; D061108:Social Media / Q000941:ethics / Q000639:trends
keywords: Advocacy; Blogging; Ethics; Internet; Professionalism; Social media