Volume 7 | Issue - 1 articles in press
Volume 7 | Issue - 1 articles in press
Volume 7 | Issue - 1 articles in press
Volume 7 | Issue - 1 articles in press
Volume 7 | Issue - 1 articles in press
The correlation between excessive usage of social media and the rise in mental health disorders has long been established. However, there is a lack of information in the existing literature regarding the responses of mental health practitioners/providers to this issue. This research utilized a mixed-methods approach, incorporating two theoretical perspectives - the Ecological Model and the Generalist Intervention Model - to determine the extent to which mental health practitioners/providers assess the impact of increased social media usage on mental health. Through the use of Qualtrics, qualitative and quantitative data were gathered from a sample of 95 mental health practitioners. Non-parametric tests and descriptive statistics revealed that factors such as prior training, agency values, and credentials influence how mental health practitioners respond to social media usage and its impact on mental health. Additionally, the qualitative findings highlighted three psychiatric conditions - low self-esteem, heightened depression, and increased anxiety - that are associated with uncontrolled use of social media. The implications of these findings were discussed in relation to theory, research, social work practice, and social work education.