Episode 89 The Benefits & Risks Of Social Media In Therapy: Interview with Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray

Nov 16, 2022

What are the risks and benefits of social media in mental health therapy? How does social media affect mental health diagnosis?

MEET Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray is a Doctor of Behavioral Health and Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor specializing in working with individuals that are motivated to make changes in their lives. She is the founder of Diversified Behavioral Health which is a group practice with a mission statement that is “Partnering with individuals to achieve whole-person wellness in their lives, including physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.”

She is the author of “A New Beginning” for Psychology Today and publishes articles every month on topics that pertain to mental health, therapy techniques, and how to live a better life.

Dr. Wendy received her Master of Arts degree in Counseling from Missouri Baptist and her doctorate from Arizona State University. Wendy has worked as a counselor in different settings such as in-patient, outpatient, and private practice with all ages, but her passion is working with women who are ready to make life changes to capture the life they have dreamed of.

Dr. Wendy is known for a warm, relaxed, and comfortable approach to counseling and is an Integrative Psychotherapist, which means that she utilizes a variety of orientations and therapies, according to the client’s individual needs. Dr. Wendy’s approach involves genuine caring, acceptance, and non-judgment while working with clients from a strength-based, positive, and affirming perspective.

Dr. Wendy stays active conducting lectures and training on Shared Decision Making, Compassion Fatigue, Mindfulness, and Self-Care among others. Over a cup of coffee you would learn that she loves her Shiba Inu “Rumi,” can be found watching some sort of historical drama series, her favorite color is teal, and is passionate about encouraging women to pursue their dreams.

Find out more about Dr. Wendy at Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray and connect with her on Instagram

 

IN THIS PODCAST:

  • What are the benefits of social media in therapy? 3:17
  • What are the risks of social media in therapy? 7:34
  • The dangers of self-diagnosis in mental health 19:47
  • Protecting yourself as a provider when on social media 21:44

What Are The Benefits Of Social Media In Therapy?

  • How to deal with information overload
  • Increasing mental health awareness and eliminating the stigma of seeking mental health therapy
  • How has mental health therapy evolved through social media
  • Utilizing social media to reach a younger generation

What Are The Risks Of Social Media In Therapy?

  • Understanding the risks as a provider when using social media
  • Understanding the difference between educating and diagnosing people
  • Seeking information that is helpful vs. harmful as an individual on social media
  • Protecting provider and client privacy with social media

The Dangers Of Self-Diagnosis In Mental Health

  • Strategies for working with clients that have already made a self-diagnosis through social media
  • How should therapists respond when a client comes in with a self-diagnosis?
  • Learning to ask the right questions as a provider when a client has already made a self-diagnosis
  • The value of listening and taking the time to evaluate clients as unique individuals

Protecting Yourself As A Provider When On Social Media

  • Not being afraid to teach general mental health information on social media as a provider
  • Avoiding a one size fits all approach on social media
  • The importance of having a disclaimer on information that you put out there

Connect With Me

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Resources Mentioned And Useful Links:

Find out more about Dr. Wendy at Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray and connect with her on Instagram

Transcript

Chris McDonald: Welcome to the Holistic Counseling Podcast, where you discover diverse wellness modalities, advice on growing your integrative practice, and grow confidence in being your unique self. I'm your host, Chris McDonald. I'm so glad you're here for the journey.

Welcome to today's episode of the Holistic Counseling Podcast. I'm your host, Chris McDonald. I hope your day's going well. I know here things are moving along and I'm just loving all the new connections I've been making through my Facebook group and this podcast. But today I wanted to talk to you about something that's been happening a lot more, I don't know about.

When you have a client that comes in and shares a self-diagnosis from TikTok or other social media, usually starting with, Well, I watched this TikTok , and you've probably been there, done that. Well, today's guess is gonna be discussing the benefits and risks of s. Social media in therapy and self diagnosis, Dr.

Wendy Bore. She's a doctor of behavioral health and licensed professional clinical counselor specializing in working with individuals that are motivated to make changes in their lives. She is a founder of Diversified Behavioral Health, which is a group practice with a mission statement that is partnering with individuals to achieve whole person wellness in their.

Including physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Dr. Whitney stays active conducting lectures and trainings on shared decision making, compassion fatigue, mindfulness, and self care. A fun fact about her is she walked her first 5k, completed her first summer reading program, and bought her first RV this year.

Welcome to the podcast, Dr. Whitney.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Oh, thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here and super excited to discuss this topic.

Chris McDonald: So you mentioned a lot of first, so you're, you're big on setting goals. I think ,

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: I try, gonna say I'm perfect at it, but I try and some of them just fall in my lap, like the reading program.

I was like, Hey, this sounds fun. Let, let me see what I can do. And I. Ran with it, and I think I'm up to almost 60 books this year.

Chris McDonald: Oh my goodness. Wow. Good for you.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: That's awesome. Yeah, my poor TV misses me .

Chris McDonald: Well, can you tell my listeners more about yourself and your work?

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Sure. I, I have a group practice like you mentioned, so that keeps me very, very busy.

I'm very involved with them and one aspect that I love about that is being able to train them. And for me it's important that we bring up professionals and providers in, in a certain way in order to maintain the integrity of our field. So I have really focused a lot of. On being able to curate that group practice.

I'm also starting a non-profit, so we are able to offer mental health services at low cost to no cost in the area. So I've been very, keeping very, very busy with those, with those two things on top of reading.

Chris McDonald: Yeah. Sounds like you're managing a lot of different

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: areas. Absolutely. It keeps, keeps me going though.

Right? Keeps you going, keeps,

Chris McDonald: keeps you rolling. All that juggling. Right. Well let's just jump right in then, cuz I know this was an interesting topic that you brought to me, but there is so much information out there. We were talking before we hit record on how much it could be even. over information.

Right? Too much At times. It could be difficult for clients to understand and figure out what is true, what is not true or somewhat true . Mm-hmm. . So do you think there is a benefit to all this now that more therapists are on TikTok and Instagram, Facebook? I,

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Yeah. You know, I do. I think that there is a benefit.

I think that there's a fine line, but I definitely believe that there's a benefit. And one thing that. Seen actively in my group practice is more people coming in with the attitude that it's okay to seek help. They even, it's, this is funny to me, but I love it. They come in and they start talking about friends and, Oh, my friend is in therapy and they were telling me about X, Y, Z, and they want to be a part of that.

So I think them reaching out for mental health services is wonder. I absolutely believe that's a plus that is coming from social media and more people sharing about the positives of seeing somebody, a therapist, or even a medical provider for their mental health.

Chris McDonald: No, I think you're right about that. It's, it's increasing that awareness and.

Because we never used to hear this, and I'm gonna age myself here, but back in the day when we didn't have social media mm-hmm. , like where did you get your information? Right. You had no idea and it was all like hush hush and people didn't talk about it. But I think it is increasing that awareness and, and I'm wondering if it's helping with decrease the stigma.

To get services and understanding diagnosis?

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: I think it is. I really think, I think so. I believe that the more that the community, the more that people are able to speak about it. I honestly believe that we are erasing that stigma. And in other countries, I, I talk to a few people in other countries and they still have that stigma.

They have to keep it very hush hush and they benefit from coaching. So it's just really interesting that it's okay to have a coach help you, but not a therapist. Where here we are making it acceptable. No longer things kept in the closet. They're, they're being brought out. And we can talk about how we feel, which is huge because we, I know, I know For me, I was brought up.

Okay. It's, It's okay not to feel, you should not feel, Suck it up. Right. That's what I was brought up. Exactly. And if you're sitting over there crying, well then you're a cry baby. And you know, you're not tough and you're never gonna make it, and basically you're kind of written off. So I, my, at least in my world, I'm really happy that we're able to talk about that and I'm really happy that we're able to normalize

Chris McDonald: it.

I think too, what I've found is I work with a lot of young adults and. And many of 'em bring in, Well I saw this TikTok and I told you, I sometimes I'm mentally in my mind, will roll my eyes, but , but sometimes it's beneficial. They'll tell me, you know, I heard this mental health hack and what do you think about this?

And, but sometimes it, it does help cuz they, you know, I just, I had one person, one lady, she's like, I tried this and it. And it worked. I was like, That's awesome. You know? And I, I was like, That helped me. Cause I learned from that too. From you. Uhhuh. . Exactly. So there are some things, right, that I think they can get those quick tips sometimes and, and I think the looking at the downside is, They might think that it's always a quick fix,

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Right, Right. What do you mean I have to work on this? What? Mm-hmm. . Exactly. Exactly. And that you know that. That's true. That's true. Right? You have your good and you're bad. And that reminds me, I don't know if you ever watched the Facts of life. You have your good, you have your bad taking both of what do you have?

You know, the backs thes of. Exactly. . Exactly. And that's what I think of. And so there, there is, there is, um, a side to this that isn't always so positive.

Chris McDonald: So what do you think are the downsides?

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Well, if we, if we look. From, Let's just look at the provider side because there is a downside for the provider.

You have to be so careful on what kind of information that you put out there. You have to make sure what you're putting out there is evidence based or people. People can come back at you. You have to be careful that you aren't offering any kind of information. A person and an individual can perceive as you providing therapy services to them.

So I think if it is educational, that's fantastic. Yeah, I, The more that we get the word out there, the better off all of us are. I think that's important. Looking at. If we move that over to the individual side, it is easy. It is easy to believe, just like we're speaking about that it is a quick fix that if I see something, you know, 40 seconds on TikTok, well now I'm a master

Chris McDonald: I know how to cure my anxiety. And these three steps,

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: exactly. These three steps. Okay, Well it's, it's not necessarily that easy. Something that I think people don't realize is where are they getting this information from? Is this person actually legit in what they're saying? And how would they know? You know, how would, That's what they know.

That's They know. Yeah, exactly. That's, that's a really, a really, really big one. And if they're learning from maybe somebody that's not, A mental health provider, if they're learning from, you know, someone down the street that, oh, they're trying to put their numbers up, maybe, maybe they're not receiving the greatest information, and it can be more hurtful than helpful, so, and.

Another thing really, I mean, as women, I think we know this one size does not fit all. Oh gosh, yes. So true. Right? It is. Even stretchy pants. I'm sorry they, no one size does not fit all. So does the information that they're receiving really apply to them? True. It may not. And I think as providers, we tailor our treatment towards the person that we have sitting in front of us.

It's not a one size fits all treatment. I think that's really important to, to keep in mind. Another, another big downside to this, and I think as providers, this can be starting to teeter on the scary side. Is that there are, there are individuals that are recording sessions and especially with telehealth becoming so prevalent now, that's something we wouldn't even know.

If the individual isn't telling us, Hey, I'm gonna record this session. We, we would know and it's happening and they are putting it on social media.

Chris McDonald: Wow. That's

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: scary. It is scary It. It is scary. So it's, you know, it's a fine line. There are some great things that can come outta social media and then there are some things that aren't so great that are coming outta social media.

I think

Chris McDonald: it's compromising their confidentiality and. Exactly,

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: but they're okay with that. Yeah, they're okay with that. And that's, you know, that's fine if they're okay saying, Oh, you know, here's my session. This is what we spoke about. Here's a clip. But is it okay for the provider?

Chris McDonald: Yeah. And there's privacy issues.

There's a lot tied up with that, isn't there?

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Exactly. Exactly. So that I think is a concern and something that I've done. So I've been, I've been doing telehealth since probably 2017, and in my informed consent it states that recording is not allowed, Like any type of recording is not Yeah, I loud too. Yeah.

Mm-hmm. , it's, I think it's really important. I, I'm not, I'm not on TikTok and going, you know, through to look at, did anybody record my sessions? I haven't done that. No. Thought you

Chris McDonald: got me paranoid. Should I be, should I be looking ?

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: No, don't go down that rabbit

Chris McDonald: hole. That was when I was having a bad day and that was not my best issue.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: I, ok, I'm glad you said that. Cause we all have those days.

Chris McDonald: I had a migraine that day. I was not

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: myself. Exactly. Exactly. And that of course would be the one that winds up on there, . So that, that's a fear of wine as well. And I think that's something we need to be very cognizant about because it is happening.

It is happening on the flip side to. I can't remember. I think it was one of the housewives recently that I know.

Chris McDonald: I know. I love the Real Housewives. I'm, I'm not

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: gonna lie, . Okay. I live in Orange County. Oh my God. You do? Yes. And they are all over here. People. We have housewives, um, yeah. Sightings all over.

But they, Seriously, Seriously, Okay. I know this is off topic, but seriously, they really do look like that . They do. Yeah, it's not, it's not a lie, but most of the people in Orange County look like that, so doesn't, doesn't matter. But one, one of them, and I don't think it was here, I don't think it was one of the Orange County Housewives, I, I think it might have been a Beverly Hills one, but they, they, their therapist.

Actually said something. Did you see that? Yeah. So I think, again, you know, the two sides to this is true. Is that okay? I don't think it's okay. But then, you know, we go back to, well, let's get the word out there that it's okay to seek mental health services. And I, I think it's just a fine, it's a fine line.

Chris McDonald: I wonder the danger of that too, if clients post that, that they might get some negative feedback and some trolls and some really, Who knows right? When you put it out there? Mm-hmm. ,

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: you just especially

Chris McDonald: don't know exposing yourself that much with an issue. And I could see that backfiring,

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: right? Exactly.

Exactly. And if we look at another side to this, because I think this is so multifaceted, if we look at another side of this, people, you know, people are looking at this point for diagnoses. And I remember, okay, maybe I remember, maybe I don't, not gonna say, uh, when WebMD was really, really, Oh yeah. And everyone's on WebMD, right?

You, you bump your shin and all of a sudden you have cancer, you're gonna die. Right. It's sort of like that. And doctors were very shy about, Okay. You heard it on WebMD. Oh, okay. Must must be true. So it's, it's sort of a new resurgence of that. Except in a different way.

Chris McDonald: A different way, Yeah. So what are the dangers with that self diagnosis?

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: I think what I've seen is people can come in and be very rigid about what they believe they have. If someone comes in and says, Okay, I was doing my homework and I started drifting off, and oh yeah, I, I do that, you know, a few times I must have adhd. Mm-hmm. . Okay, well, have you thought about, maybe it's your study skills, You know, let, let's take a look at your study skills.

Ah, no, no, no. Can't be that can't be that. Nope. And I think that what, what happens is it plants a seed. Mm-hmm. in their mind. And to me that kind of leads back to the pink elephant theory, where if I tell you not to think about pink elephants, all you're gonna see is pink elephant. Right. I think it's that, Well, I must have this because I see in my life that I don't focus as well as my neighbor.

Yeah. Okay. Well, your life is very different than your neighbor. Can you tell me more about your life? And they, They're very rigid. No, it must be this. And then what happens sometimes, and we've seen this in in my practice, is they'll find another therapist that will agree with. Oh, right. Mm-hmm. . So that, I think that can be a downside.

And maybe being overdiagnosed, what I tend to do, , here's what I tend to do. When people come in with, with something like that, Like I saw it on TikTok, I saw it on Instagram one. Kudos for reaching out, you know, and really verifying if that's what youth believe it is, you know, let, let's check it out. But what I.

Especially if they're very rigid, concrete thinking is, I'll pull out my DSM and I'll say, Let's look it up. Yeah, let's look it up. Do you meet this criteria? And many times they don't. There's been a couple that do, but many times they don't.

Chris McDonald: Especially something like, I have a lot more, I don't know if there's more videos on autism spectrum.

Mm-hmm. , that's very comprehensive too. I mean, that's an evaluation that you can't just do, you know, looking at a few questions. And I think that many clients don't understand that

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: too. No. They don't, they don't. I almost, I mean, of course I don't know this for a fact, but I almost wonder if this is an escape in some way.

They, you know, wanna escape that maybe something isn't, Perfect in their life, or maybe they have something that they can change, but they're choosing not to change it. So if they have a diagnosis, well then I have this, so I have a reason why there's mine.

Chris McDonald: Get outta jail free card. Exactly. Yeah, that's true.

I didn't think of it that

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: way. Mm-hmm. and it, it, it's just not always the case. It's just not, and to me that leads to a much bigger picture of, you know, what is going on. Let's dive into what's really going on that you may be trying to escape from. But can it be a good thing? It can. I believe it can. I also believe it's dependent upon.

The individual.

Chris McDonald: So how should therapists respond when a client comes in with a self diagnosis?

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: So, that's a great question. And again, I don't know that there's a one size fits. I know exactly right. But what I think they can do is listen. Absolutely listen to what's going on. Listen, not just for that superficial, I guess the superficial level, but listen for something deeper and there, there will be clues there, there will be clues.

You know, I, if the person comes in and says, I've been doing this just like the person that we're talking about, Well, you know, I keep drifting off when I'm doing my homework. Listen to what's going on in their environment. Listen to who that person. As a person, you try to figure out more about them. Don't just settle on, okay, you have adhd.

That's great. Yeah, I can see where, oh, you're not, you know, you're drifting off and you're not being able to study. Oh, yeah, you probably do. Then don't, don't just do that. I think that feeds into it. Really study that person as a person. One thing that I tell my providers is you, you are detective. You are detectives, listen, learn, and then come up with your diagnoses.

You know, don't just take things at face value. Yeah, and I think

Chris McDonald: it just reminds me of the cognitive distortion, jumping to conclusions, right? Mm-hmm. . So we gotta be careful as therapist , not to just jump that. Oh yeah, that sounds like it. Okay.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Right. Right then, I mean, everybody that walks in our door is gonna have some kind of disorder, and I don't think that's always the case.

No, I really don't. Exactly. I know. Insurance companies want us to think that. Right.

Chris McDonald: lock '

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: em in. Right. Exactly. And then we're only gonna give you three sessions. So ,

Chris McDonald: you can do it, right. Three sessions.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Yeah. I'm sorry. My cape is broke. . I know.

Chris McDonald: Oh my gosh. Yeah. Mm-hmm. .

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: So there are, there are positives and negatives to social media.

I think that as providers we need to be extra careful. We need to understand that not everything is positive in social media. There are some great things that are coming out. But not everything is positive. We need to be aware of what is going on in that realm. I think that for us, it's also important, even if we're not on social media, to at least take a look.

Chris McDonald: Yes, for sure. See what's out there, see what clients are looking into and what, what kind of information they may be seeing, cuz that can give you some idea of what's out there and help to understand their world a little more.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Exactly. Exactly. There are. People. So I'm gonna say, especially on TikTok, not always on TikTok.

I know Instagram and you know, Facebook and other, other platforms also have this, but TikTok seems to be a pretty, pretty big deal where people that may honestly be diagnosed with depression or anxiety or bipolar, you know, some type of disorder, they do get on there and they will show people what it's like to live with this.

Yeah. Mm-hmm. again, I think, you know, there's positives and negatives to that, especially when we look at things like bipolar disorder. When you have bipolar disorder, it's not, it's not the way it's portrayed in movies. Yes, , it's not, and I think it's great. That individuals are able to see what it really, truly looks like from a patient's perspective.

But I also believe in a way that, again, that's planting seeds. It's not the same for everybody. Mm-hmm. , not at all. Not at all. And d probably don't even get me started with medications. So ,

Chris McDonald: You know, and I think that that's, you know that of course, that disclosure you mentioned as far as the provider side, that you do have to mention that this is not therapy and.

Some people could get that confused, Oh, this persons a licensed therapist on TikTok, so then I don't really need to reach out cuz I'm just gonna watch their ticks and get my information. Right.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Right. And I think as I think as therapists or mental health providers, that we have fantastic information to share with the world.

I really believe that. And I also believe that there are, are things that, you know, are pretty general that we can offer people, just like you said, setting goals. We can teach, Hey, you know, here's a 15 minute clip on this is what I use when I'm gonna write goals. Right? It's pretty, Pretty harmless. Pretty harmless, you know, But diving into, Okay, well, you know, if you have bipolar, this is what medication you should be taking.

I, I think that really risky. Yes, it goes beyond what we need to be

Chris McDonald: doing. I just watched a TikTok , I just had to say it , but I did, I said I was a licensed therapist, cuz I've been looking at some as well, just looking at different accounts and they said, I'm a licensed therapist, but I'm not your therapist.

I was like, Bam. Yes. . Right, Right. I thought that was perfect.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: That's what we have to do. That's what we have to do. And then if there are therapists, Cause I know this is a thing and I have, I have a couple of them on my website, but I think that it's fantastic and if you're a therapist, you go, you know, when you create courses, When you create courses, if you are selling your courses and you are advertising through social media, absolutely have a disclaimer not only in the little blurb that you write up on social media, but also on your website stating that you are not offering therapy.

This is not to be confused with therapy. Good

Chris McDonald: point. Seems like we gotta do a lot of that covering ourselves and that clarity too on it.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Absolutely. We, you know, we, we have enough things to deal with in the day that we don't need to bring more onto our plate. So it's any time you put yourself out there on social media, Please put some kind of disclaimer that you are not offering therapy that I

Chris McDonald: just wanna rewind for a moment.

I know we were talking about clients recording sessions. Mm-hmm. . Cause I'm wondering how therapists can handle that besides informed consent. Do you have any other ideas about

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: that? I think it's important to talk to your person, your individual, talk to them about it. Let them know the benefits and the risk.

And the risks, and if you are completely okay with them doing that, you know that's up to you. What I would would probably do is have them sign something and you sign something saying that you were okay with it, so that way it does not come back at you for whatever reason. True. I, I would have something in writing because things might sound great in the moment.

But later on, they may not. Mm-hmm. , And I think all of us as therapists, we've all had that one person, the patient say later on, Well, you don't know what you're talking about. You know, And you essentially get fired by, by your patient. So, yeah. Mm-hmm. . Sometimes things can go sour. And I think it's important to have everything in writing.

Chris McDonald: And I think too, I'm just thinking if they took a clip of something and it was kind of out of context. Mm-hmm. too, that could be misconstrued on social media as well.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Exactly. And that goes back to, you know, you have somebody on social media highlighting whatever their diagnosis either is or what they want it to be, and.

I was in therapy and my therapist said, That's, that's not what you have. And I was really upset. And then they reacted in this way. And that's all you see. Yeah. You don't see, you know, all the groundwork that was laid before that.

Chris McDonald: True. Yeah, definitely. And people can get reactive with that kind of stuff

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: and Absolutely.

The anonymity of social media. Can cause a lot of problems. And if, if your person, your patient names you by name, then you might have a lot of things come at you. And I, I've seen that from various, not providers, but I've seen that just from people that have social media accounts. They say something that someone doesn't like and then all of a sudden their name is everywhere.

And they receive a lot of negative feedback to the point where it's, it's scary and hateful

Chris McDonald: and of course that can impact your reputation and who knows what can get back to licensing boards and yeah. Mm-hmm. a lot of Exactly. Trouble can come from that. Whew. It's a lot we talked about, right? ?

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: It is. It is a lot.

And part of it can be very, very scary. I think because you don't know what to expect and some of this is really outta your control,

Chris McDonald: that makes it extra scary.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Exactly. And I know how hard we work to get to this point in our career. So I think it's really important that we learn to protect ourselves from, you know, what the could bes.

This could.

Chris McDonald: Yeah. So what do you think's a takeaway that you could share today from our talk today?

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: I think there's a couple. One, social media can definitely be your friend. It's a wonderful avenue for getting your message out there, for helping people that may not be able to afford therapy, which I think is a whole nother topic that we could dive into someday.

Sure. But I think it, there, there is a place for it and I think there is a place for it for therapists.

Chris McDonald: Yeah, exactly. So what's the best way for listeners to find you and learn more about you? Well,

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: I have a website and you can find me@wendybore.com. You can find me there. I am on social media under Doctor Underscore, Let's see, I think it's Doctor period underscore boring bra on Instagram.

I am not on TikTok, . I'm not saying that I don't get on there and look, I mean, there's some things on there Yes. That I'm like, Oh, this is fascinating. I, I. And let me confession time. I say off TikTok because once I get on, I'm on there for three hours, to where the point that little one comes up and says, You've been on here a long time.

Chris McDonald: It's too addicting.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Yes. So I stay away from TikTok, but Instagram, you know, I do get on there and of course on my website.

Chris McDonald: Yeah, I just starting doing some TikTok, but I was starting with Instagram reels. But to me, do, Those are fun to create. Ok. They are.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: They are fun and I'd love being able to teach. I think that's probably my biggest passion.

But yes, I, I'm not on cause I can't control.

Chris McDonald: Its. Well, thank you so much for coming on the Holistic Counseling podcast, Dr.

Dr. Wendy Boring-Bray: Wendy. Well, thanks for having me. This was wonderful. Please. I hope that everyone has some takeaway from this and just, just be careful. That's it.

Chris McDonald: Absolutely. And don't forget to tune in for another episode next Wednesday.

Remember to come join my Facebook group, the holistic counseling and self care group, where you can gain support, learn new holistic strategies, and develop community with other clinicians. This is Chris McDonald's sending each one of you much light and love. Till next time, take care. Thank you for listening and supporting the Holistic Counseling Podcast.

If you're loving this podcast, please share with your colleagues so we can continue to grow our holistic community. Also, are you ready to take the next step to create an integrative counseling practice? I invite you to sign up for my free nine part email course, Becoming a Holistic Counselor. In this course, you'll explore different holistic strategies, how to develop.

As a holistic counselor and how to manifest your dream practice, go to www.holisticcounselingpodcast.com. Scroll down and enter your name and email address today.

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The Art of Breath:  How to Integrate Breathwork Techniques for Effective Therapy Sessions 

Have you been wanting to integrate breathwork into your sessions but are unsure how?   Or maybe you want to refine your technique? Join me on a remarkable journey as we delve into breathwork techniques and how to integrate them safely and ethically into sessions. 

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Self-Care for the Counselor - a holistic guide for helping professionals by Christine McDonald , MS,NCC,LPCS