Sometimes I meet therapists who are short of clients. And much more often potential clients who are interested in therapy, but can’t find a suitable therapist. The reason, I think, is primarily because most therapists do no marketing at all. That’s why I’ve written up what tools can be used to promote therapy, and why to even bother doing something like this.
(By “therapist” I am referring primarily to psychotherapists. But this article aims also at art therapists, body workers, aromatherapists, constellations, EFT practitioners, or people involved in Reiki or energy healing.)
In what ways do I find people in therapeutic professions specific?
They have an aversion to marketing
For a long time, I thought it was prejudice. Until I came across a qualitative research by Pavel Pařízek from Terapie.cz, which showed exactly the same thing.
“There is a strong aversion to self-promotion and marketing among therapists. The factors feeding this aversion are technical, informational and moral in nature. Therapists do not enjoy marketing, do not know how to do it, and do not believe that such things actually work, implicitly speaking of the immorality of such actions. Ideally, therapists would prefer to sit in their therapy rooms and clients would come to them alone…
This attitude is also influenced by the general perception of the marketing industry and also by the nature of therapeutic work, which prioritizes respect for individual boundaries. On the other hand, marketing is often perceived as a field that focuses on crossing these boundaries in the interest of sales. Some therapists then have the perception that good work must sell itself, and if it doesn’t sell, it must mean that they are not doing good work,” the author writes in the research findings.
To this must be added the fact that the demand for therapy (at least in the Czech Republic) usually exceeds the supply. In particular, services that are fully or partially covered by health insurance have an overflow of clients and long waiting times.
The motivation to attract new clients is especially for therapists just out of training who need a start. For those who already have a stable clientele, it makes little sense to engage in marketing. At the same time, they often complain about low income or clients who cancel sessions at the last minute or are not really willing to work on themselves.
It’s hard to build on testimonials
Most services run by freelancers are sold on referrals. This is also true for therapy services, but with a number of limitations. In fact, mental health is still a bit of a taboo.
Lots of people are fine with telling their friends they’ve been to the dentist or had knee surgery. But they wouldn’t admit to anyone that they’re seeing a therapist. It makes it hard to pass on a personal recommendation. And getting a good written reference, signed with at least a first and last name, is really a challenge.
Therapy is a pig in a poke
Describing how a therapy session really looks and works is quite difficult. For one thing, words are hard to find for the awareness gained during the process. And secondly, the trust of existing clients is more valuable to most therapists than new clients.
Some thrive on sharing their therapeutic experiences in articles or social media posts. Carefully, of course, and with the client’s consent. In a way that the client is unrecognizable, but the point of the whole story is preserved. But I also completely understand those who voluntarily decide they’d rather not try something like that at all.
Why do marketing at all
Despite what I’ve described, it makes sense to me to get into promoting therapy services. Despite the reputation marketing generally has, it can be done authentically, empathetically and respectfully.
As a therapist, marketing can help you get clients that are easier to work with. You’ll be able to ask for a better price for your work. This means you won’t have to work as many hours and you can more easily avoid professional burnout.
But your marketing can also benefit the clients themselves. You’ll allay fears they often have about seeing a therapist, fill in missing information, and enhance their sense of security.
Find your specialization
Most therapeutic methods are very versatile. They are suitable for different people and different life situations. But what is true of your method is not quite true of you. I bet you can help clients with some topics much better than others. Yet most therapists don’t have a particular specialty or don’t consciously work with it.
As Pavel Parizek’s research shows, it’s probably because it’s not the norm in the field. Most people consider themselves “general therapists” and assume that specialization is something that comes naturally with age and practice. But I think it’s better not to wait for anything and to identify a specialty.
Because:
- you start attracting more clients who are dealing with the same thing,
- people will associate you with your specialty and it’ll be easier for them to recommend you,
- you’ll have a clear topic that’s much easier to talk and write about.
Define your ideal client
Clients are similar to specializations. While you may be able to work with a variety of people, some are just easier and more effective to work with.
Get clear on these questions:
- Do you get along better with men or women? At what age?
- What are the educational and social backgrounds of your ideal clients?
- In what life situation do they seek therapy? What are they experiencing at that moment?
- Where do they work? How much do they probably earn? What time of the day are they available?
- Where and how are they most likely to seek you out? Who are they going to ask for referrals?
The answers will help you set up your services to suit you and your ideal clients.
Show yourself
This is exactly how I would describe the basic strategy for promoting therapy services. Because choosing a therapist is not easy for your clients. In order for them to trust you with their thoughts and feelings, or traumas and things they may have never told anyone, they need to trust you. So before they make contact with you, they need to know if that’s even possible.
“As therapists, we need to offer enough ways for clients to validate us from a safe distance,” says Marketing for Hippies founder Tad Hargrave in this video. And, he adds, it’s your energy that attracts potential clients.
So show them your face, whether in a photo or in a video. Describe what principles you’re building on. What values are important to you, what experience, practice and code of ethics you have. Explain what situations you most often address with clients, what therapeutic direction you have chosen and why, and how you work.
7 tools for therapists
Let´s start from the other side – namely with methods that I think are not suitable for the field of psychotherapy at all. I would definitely avoid referral fees, affiliate programs, aggressive discount policies, and any practices that rely on manipulation. Instead, tools that are based on creating quality content will work for you.
1. Get a website
A website is a staple these days. You can start on some free platform. But even better is to invest in a full-fledged website on your own domain and hosting. Describe your services in detail on it, add About Me and Contact pages. And don’t forget to include some professional portrait photos.
2. Write a blog
Some clients search the internet specifically for therapy services. But I’d venture to guess that they are a minority. Much more often, they type what’s bothering them into a search engine. Like relationship problems, insomnia or anxiety. Your job is to connect the client’s problem to your solution. And blog articles are the perfect tool for this. If you’re tired of writing, you can do podcasts or videos instead. The principle is the same.
3. Start a newsletter
While you’re writing those articles (or making videos or podcasts), start sending them out via email as well. Therapy is usually not a one-time service, so it makes sense to stay in touch with clients. Under GDPR (valid in EU) , you can send newsletters to existing clients without consent (called legitimate interest). For others, add a contact collection window to your website.
4. Get a Google listing
This is especially true if you’re running your therapy live at a specific location. But even if you work online, it will help you drive clients to your website. A listing shows up in search and on maps, and you can add information, photos, and news (like that you’re on vacation). Set it up here.
5. Go to events
If you’re introverted, the idea of networking can seem like a nightmare. Still, give it a shot. You can go where your potential clients are most likely to go. But you can also meet fellow psychotherapists. If you introduce them to your specialty, they may start sending you your ideal clients. And you, in turn, can refer them.
6. Do lecturing and training
Live or online lectures and workshops are the perfect place to both meet potential clients and start building your reputation and spreading your specialty to the world. Getting out of your comfort zone once in a while is also a good idea. It can be tough at first, but it usually gets better quickly.
7. Work with the media
When you publish content on your website, you may find that journalists start approaching you to provide a few sentences for an article. You don’t have to worry about stopping being a good therapist with your first statement to a popular media outlet. Although that’s the industry tradition. Not only are you building your own reputation, but you’re helping to spread awareness of therapy itself.
Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash
