194 Maddie Spear: Mental Health Advocacy Online: Ethics, Connections, and Boundaries

<p><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Today With Maddie Spear:</span></strong></p> <p>Today on The Inner Edit I am joined by Maddie Spear. Maddie is a licensed social worker and trauma therapist in North Carolina where she works with children, teens, and young adults. In addition to her work in direct trauma care, Maddie also takes a modern approach to mental health through social media, where she has a massive following on TikTok (where she is @therapy_thoughts) and Instagram (where she is @loveyourlittlevictories).</p> <p>Today we are catching up and going even deeper into what it means to be a content creator, especially as a therapist. We talk about ethics, boundaries, and the difference between being a therapist and being a mental health advocate. But don’t worry, Maddie assures us there is room for both. This is such a refreshing chat and Maddie shares so openly her views about being authentic, overcoming perfectionism, and finding meaningful connections with our communities and each other.</p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Pick It Apart</span></strong></p> <p>[1:44] Maddie defines her role as a therapist first but also as a content creator, expanding on her ethics in the social media space.</p> <p>[8:41] Christie and Maddie discuss the difference between being a mental health professional and a mental health advocate and the importance of checking the source of information online.</p> <p>[12:03] Christie asks Libby to share advice on creating connection as a content creator.</p> <p>[20:51] Maddie explains boundaries, ethics, and safety within her online community.</p> <p>[31:19] Maddie surprises Christie when she shares the amount of drafts she has in her content folder.</p> <p>[42:32] Christie asks Maddie how her online presence impacts her personal life.</p> <p><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Christie Rocha's and Maddie Spear's Ah-Ha Moments</span></strong></p> <p>“There are both spoken and unspoken rules in terms of ethics and the therapy-social media community…we want to continue