You must be supervised in order to become a therapist. You studied human development, ethics and clinical interventions. What you probably didn’t do is study marketing. How can you attract the right clients and fill your practice with them? What is therapy marketing supposed look like?
Register Online for Therapy Marketing
Online registries such as GoodTherapy are an essential part of your therapy marketing strategy. Why?
- GoodTherapy ranks highly in Google search results. Profit from this fact and put your name and details online for everyone (or at least those looking for therapy in your region).
- Trusted registries are used by people to find therapists. They understand that we have membership standards, and they know that if we vouch for you, you probably know what you’re doing. Potential clients should find you in your area.
- Professional credibility is gained by appearing in multiple registry with a solid reputation. People will see your name and image in multiple places on the internet. This is a sign that you are a trustworthy and reliable choice for therapists. In marketing terms, these are called impressions, and you want to make the most of them when you’re marketing your therapy practice.
What should be on your profile?
Your profile is the first step to making the most of your registry membership. Your profile is key to growing your therapy practice. Potential clients will find out more about you, your services, and if you are the right therapist for them by looking at your profile.
General Tips for Writing Profiles
Your profile should be short and concise, but still informative. Your personality as an therapist and the ideas behind your work should shine through. This section of your profile can be thought of as an interview. This space can be used to communicate with clients and answer any questions they may have about you.
Here are four tips that will help you when you write.
1. In your written sections of your profile, aim to include between 200 and 400 words. People want more than a soundbite, but they don’t want homework yet.
2. Talk directly with potential clients. As much as possible, use the first- and second-person pronouns “I/me/mine” and “you/you/yours” instead of third-person “client” or “patient.” This normalizes and destigmatizes their search for help and helps them feel seen.
3. While you can briefly address some specific specialties or modalities that are central to your practice, more than two or three may warrant a list. You can always invite others to visit your website (the button is under your photo, along with other ways of contacting you) for more information.
4. Remember that you want to target people who are most suitable for your practice. Referrals from the right fit are more likely to be long-term customers.
You want more? Curious about best practices for what to select from your profile’s drop-down menus? Check out our perfect profile walkthrough.
The Approach to Helping
Begin with the potential client. You should address them in the same way they are likely to be coming from. You don’t know what that looks like? Consider how clients came to you in the past. What were their thoughts and feelings? What was their journey like? Talk to them. Reassure them that you “get it.”
Then, present your solution. Discuss who you are and what you value as a therapist. Follow that old adage, “show, don’t tell,” by sharing the language you use in session and describing the atmosphere you create for your clients. Authenticity will give the reader a sense of what it would feel like to work alongside you. You might cover topics such as how long you have been practising, what you value and how you work together with clients.
There’s Much More to Therapy Marketing
Registries are an important way to get your name out there, but they’re just one part of any robust therapy marketing plan. You should also have a top notch website (our buddies over at Brighter Vision have this nailed down), professional social media accounts (interestingly, there’s currently a trend of looking for therapists on Instagram), and referral-driving connections with doctors, religious and community organizations, and schools in your area. Your registry listing is a great place for you to start.
Learn More About GoodTherapy Membership
GoodTherapy offers three levels of membership that include registry listings and many other benefits. Every member, Basic to Pro, can submit original content to be published on our blog. This will help you gain more referrals for therapy, establish your expertise in your areas, and increase your overall SEO (affecting both your GoodTherapy account and your website). You can also submit new content to our blog.All members can access a customized profile support service through e
Premium and Pro memberships include unlimited access to our continuing education program for therapists as well as our curated list media relations opportunities. Pro allows you to add online scheduling to the profile and a client portal with intake paperwork. This feature is a result of our collaboration with our sister business. Therapy Partner.
Have questions about any of these? Please feel free to reach out to our Customer Support team.
© Copyright 2021 GoodTherapy.org. All rights reserved. GoodTherapy has granted permission to publish