Just occurred to me the number of times I've been asked about mental health inquiries but more centered on a friend's personal problems. While I do like the idea that I'm relied on for friendly advice, professional advice hits different.
Whenever a patient wants my personal number or just wants to get friendly, I just use the department's hotline or social media account to reach me. It sounds like rejection but it has to be this way, otherwise you stop putting boundaries between your work and personal life.
I tell you, there's no healthy and therapeutic relationship that could work long term if your patient is also your own friend because of how overfamiliar you are with each other and how much bias you are with your judgment. This is the major letdown news I have to constantly break with some friends that caught up with what I'm doing these days and are interested in getting a psych consult.
I like to help but we have to stop being friends first and it's going to be business. The overfamiliarity would mean making the wrong calls in treatment, patient/friend setting different expectations that are unrealistic like having your own personal psychiatrist 24/7, and breaking boundaries with each other's personal lives. I just refer their cases to someone else because there's no bias there.
Whenever I get to hang with some friends and their mutuals who happen to be professionals (lawyers, engineers, etc.), I make it a point to keep things casual despite my interest in their field depending on where the conversation goes. I mean, in social gatherings, you'd expect people to chill and enjoy NOT WORKING in the moment, so if someone just pops up for some free consult, that's major turn off.
I may or may not want to be reminded of my work in those casual gatherings but that would depend on the atmosphere. So I exercise the same empathy when talking to other friends that just want to catch up and chill.
Thanks for your time.
