A Clinician's Use of Online Forums and Social Media to Provide Support and Healing

Description

Behavioral health professionals are witnessing a seismic shift: more people are seeking emotional support, connection, and healing through online forums and social media than ever before. Clinicians who ignore this trend risk missing a powerful opportunity to connect, educate, and advocate.

This course equips clinicians with the insight and tools to engage ethically and effectively with today’s digital help-seeking culture—empowering them to reach people where they already are and meet growing client expectations in new and innovative ways.

Dr. Rosenna Bakari, PhD., is a pioneering psychologist and expert in online advocacy. She brings decades of experience as a counselor, educator, and empowerment coach to this course. Having founded an international support organization and created a globally-informed model of advocacy, Dr. Bakari is uniquely positioned to guide clinicians through the intersection of social media, ethics, and wellness.

Dr. Bakari approaches this course with a philosophy grounded in empowerment and practical strategy. Her teaching style focuses on reframing challenges as opportunities for meaningful engagement, helping clinicians use digital platforms to bridge the gap between clients' lived experiences and clinical care.

This self-study course explores the growing trend of digital help-seeking, how clinicians can responsibly engage on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Clubhouse, and why social media advocacy is no longer optional. Participants will discover how to build a wellness platform that supports client autonomy, breaks down isolation, and encourages positive identity formation—all while staying aligned with professional ethical standards.

Key Takeaways:

• Understand the digital landscape: Explore data on how and where people are turning to social media for mental health support.

• Build a purposeful platform: Learn the foundational elements of creating an online presence that promotes wellness and connection.

• Take the first step: Gain clarity on how and why to launch your social media wellness platform.

Why this course?

• Stay professionally relevant: The course addresses a pressing shift in help-seeking behaviors that clinicians must adapt to in order to remain effective.

• Learn from a trusted expert: Dr. Bakari blends research, lived experience, and practical tools with integrity and compassion.

• Advance your mission: This course supports your goal of providing exceptional care by teaching you how to extend your impact beyond the therapy room.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the relevant statistics about the current trend of help-seeking through social media.

• Explain three major features to consider in building a social media platform to support wellness.

• Describe how and why to start a social media wellness platform.

Step into the evolving landscape of digital care with confidence. This course offers both insight and inspiration to help you ethically harness the power of social media for healing, advocacy, and professional growth.

Enroll today to begin building your presence in the spaces where healing is already happening.

Format and Access

This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Instruction consists of 1.5 hours of video instruction and a post-test.

Course Details

Availability: 

From the time of registration, you have six months to access the coursework.

Who Should Attend: 

This course is intended for clinicians who provide behavioral health services.

Teaching Methods: 

This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Teaching methods for this course include recorded lectures, videos, a post-test, and a course evaluation.

How to Attend: 

Course access and completion instructions.

Instructor and Disclosures

Instructor

About Dr. Rosenna Bakari, PhD

Dr. Rosenna Bakari, a Philadelphia native, is an empowerment expert psychologist. Her professional background varies from working as a drug recovery counselor to training preservice teachers and counselors. In 2010, she founded Talking Trees, Inc., the only international organization that focuses exclusively on empowering adults who experienced sexual abuse before the age of 18. She developed the Living Openly Model of Advocacy and Support based on her work with survivors worldwide. In a world that requires survivors’ silence, the model supports survivors who choose to heal by living openly. 

One of Dr. Bakari’s goals is to support the shift of psychology from a focus on mental illness to mental wellness and break down barriers to wellness resources. As an empowerment coach, she works with clients worldwide using online one-on-one and group platforms to support life changes, help resolve trauma, and reset healthy life narratives. She bases her practice on her 8-week empowerment curriculum that restructures power in the help-seeking relationship.

Dr. Bakari graduated from Cornell University in 1984 and went on to earn her Master’s degree from SUNY at the age of 22. She later earned her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Northern Colorado. Her most recent professional presentation was for the 2021 American Counseling Association Conference, where she presented on Online Advocacy.

In addition to her professional endeavors, she promotes mental wellness through transformational poetry. This year, she also published her sixth book related to empowerment. Her latest book, The Healing Journey: Relationships Health and Wellness, is a radical new book on healing intended to meet people where they are on their healing journey with such topics as “How to heal childhood trauma without forgiving the person who caused it.”

Disclosure Statement: 

The instructor(s) for this course receive compensation for their services. There are no reported conflicts of interest to disclose.

CE Hours

Credit Hours:

This course consists of 1.5 continuing education hours of credit.

Counselors:

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No, 6693.  Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified.  Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. 

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Mental Health Counselors. #MHC-0048.

Marriage and Family Therapists: 

Many MFT licensing boards accept our courses or one of the approvals which we have from professional associations.  You can check with your board to determine if your licensing board would accept this course.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0135, effective May 8, 2025.

Social Workers:

Telehealth Certification Institute LLC, #1609, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 05/02/2024 – 05/02/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 1.5 clinical continuing education credits.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Social Workers #SW-0435.

Addiction Professionals:

This course has been approved by Telehealth Certification Institute LLC, as a NAADAC Approved Education Provider, for educational credits, effective 2/9/2022. NAADAC Provider #193104, Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is responsible for all aspects of the programming.

Psychologists:

Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Telehealth Certification Institute LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Psychologists #PSY-0128.

Art Therapists: 

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Creative Arts Therapists #CAT-0093.

Other Professionals:

This course qualifies for 90 minutes of instructional content as required by many national, state, and local licensing boards and professional organizations.  Retain your certificate of completion and contact your board or organization for specific filing requirements.

This is a non-interactive, self-study course.

Accommodations and Policies

Close Captioning is available for live webinars and recorded video presentations.

You can click on the following links to view our policies:

• Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities.
• Cancellation Policy
• Grievance Policy
• Support Options
• Disclosure Statement