Figuring out how to write your Psychology Today profile in a way that truly attracts the right client is proving to be more difficult than you expected.
If we’re being honest, you’ve spent way too much time trying to figure out the magical secret to making your Therapy Directory profile work for you.
With lackluster results.
You’ve tried everything it seems…
- Got all your certifications and experience listed
- Tried cool headshots after bribing your friend with the fancy camera
- Mimicked what others are doing since it seems to be working for them…
Here’s the thing:
Your therapy directory profile absolutely can be the key to drawing in full fee, long-term, “holy-shit-this-is-the-kind-of-client-I-get-to-work-with?’ clients.
And this can be done while ALSO authentically representing you and the deeply attuned work that you do without having to rely on therapy cliches or false promises.
Yep– badass, dream clients while staying in integrity with your values and your work.
So, that raises the question, how do you write a profile like that?
These 5 tips for your Psychology Today profile (or really any therapy directory profile!) will help you write a more focused, attuned therapy directory profile that will attract & convert the clients you dream of drawing in.
Before We Get Started On Your Therapy Directory Profile
I want to set the record straight.
Your Psych Today profile is not the “end all be all” of marketing your private practice.
Rather, your directory profile is one piece of your advertising and marketing puzzle.
But working on this piece will open the door to the right clients from that first interaction with you.
And it will help you begin to focus your overall marketing messaging to continue growing your private practice.
If you want more in-depth help on your messaging and how to write your psychology today profile, check out my workshop:
Full Caseload: Unlocked:
Discover the Three Keys Waitlist Only Therapists Use to Build Their Dream Business
In this workshop, you will explore…
- How your scramble to survive is obscuring what it is you truly desire
- Why your fear of connection is at the root of your generic, ineffective marketing
- What you need to do to ditch the indecision marketing cycle so you can harness your insight to build the caseload of your dreams.
Using what I teach you in this workshop, over the course of 18 months, I grossed at least a total of $526,175 (and I still have 10 ongoing clients from this profile, so it’ll continue to ‘earn’ me money).
All right, let’s dive in.
#1 Get Clear About Your Audience: Speak to Just One Person
You know what I love about marketing?
The more you focus on the individual, the more about the universal you discover.
And bonus! When you focus your copy on your dream client, the easier it is to write the content you need to advertise your private practice.
(For reference: copy = the writing you do when you advertise/market your private practice)
Wouldn’t that bring in fewer clients?
Doesn’t that go against our ethos as therapists?
Not at all.
See, if in your copy you’re writing to everyone, you’re essentially talking to no one.
In our attempt to be inclusive, we actually end up excluding everyone through our bland, generic copy.
And let’s be real. It’s unethical to believe that you have the competency to work with everyone and anyone who reaches out to you.
We cannot be all things to all people. And pretending that you can is not just unethical, it’s dangerous–for your clients and for you.
Same thing applies to your marketing.
And if we’re being honest, you know that you’d actually prefer to focus exclusively on a certain kind of client–you know the one, the client who you can’t imagine ever referring to a colleague and who you’re shocked not every therapist wants to work with.
The client who can sit with the hard stuff, who is brave enough to look at their shadow, and who is committed to doing the work, even when it’s painful and messy.
Or to put it in marketing terms–your ideal client.
The moment your therapy directory profile speaks directly to your ideal client, that’s when you’ll discover your consult slots start getting booked up weeks in advance.
#2 Ditch the Clinical Jargon: Speak Like a Human, Not a Therapist
As the great Lizzo once said, “We don’t fuck with lies,” so I’m gonna give it to you straight.
Your ideal client has no clue what Gottman Level 3 training is, nevermind how or why it may be better than Imago.
They don’t know the difference between EFT, EMDR, and a LCSW.
And they definitely don’t know what you mean by “psychotherapy being a unique and special experience” where you’ll guide them to embrace their “true authenticity.”
Nobody but your supervisor and licensing board cares about your acronyms, and frankly, about your ongoing education.
Not because these things don’t matter, but because they’re too caught up in their own pain and confusion to google the alphabet soup of acronyms and clinical jargon that litters your profile.
They’re wanting someone to attune to them and what they need right now, in this moment of fear and apprehension.
The only thing all these acronyms and therapy-speak do is confuse the dream client you’re trying to attract.
Inevitably, they exit out of your profile or scroll on by.
So what to do instead?
Tap into your greatest clinical skill: empathy.
Psych Today Profile Example:
Imagine with me, that your dream client is scrolling through Psychology Today on their phone.
Life isn’t what they thought it would be, they thought they’d be happier or more fulfilled or something by now. Sleep eludes them even though they have an early morning awaiting them.
They find themselves wishing that someone could just explain to them why everything feels so painful and so hard, even when life looks so good on the surface.
Your headshot catches their eye, they stop their scroll, and they click through to read your intro paragraph:
“Congratulations on seeking help, searching for a therapist is the first brave step you can take. My background is in individual, couples, and family therapy. I use a person-centered approach that incorporates MBT and CBT. I graduated from X University and have my LMFT. I have over 12 years of experience helping clients who struggle with mood disorders, family trauma, anxiety, adjustment disorders, and stress management…”
What do you imagine happens next? Do they schedule a call, or just keep scrolling?
If you’re being honest with yourself, you and I know that you wouldn’t schedule a call with that therapist–even though we can sort through the acronyms and jargon, what we’re searching for in the moment of pain is warmth and human connection.
What your ideal client is looking for as they’re trying to find a therapist using the Psychology Today directory is:
- Can this person help me?
- Does this person understand what I’m going through? and,
- Is this person the right fit for me?
You won't show them that by listing out your acronyms.
You won’t show them you’re the right fit by listing your experience.
You will show them that you know what they’re presenting with and that you are the right therapist to help them by naming their one problem and offering them one solution: you.
Or in other words, you show them that by speaking like the deeply attuned human you are, and less like the therapist robot you impersonate on Psychology Today.
#3 Don’t Bury Lede in the Details: Speak to Their Problem & Provide a Solution
As in the Psychology Today profile example above, listing out all of the potential problems that you have experience with won’t get your ideal client to contact you.
So what if instead, you simply highlighted the one core problem you know your ideal client is struggling with and provide them with a glimpse of what solving the problem could be like?
Or to put it another way: name the presenting concern in language that resonates with your ideal client.
Another Psych Today Profile Example:
Let’s say the issue is stress management.
Instead of saying “I help clients with stress management,” speak directly to their problem by speaking directly to them:
“You’ve got your shit together, except inside, you’re slowly coming apart. You take it all on like a champ, and you have a hand in every piece of the puzzle, making sure all the puzzle pieces fit together perfectly.
But you can’t sleep. You forgot to eat lunch today, again. No seriously, I know you actually forgot to eat lunch and that’s not just a handy excuse. And I also know that you miss lunch more often than not because the higher your stress climbs, the lower your appetite dips, and when you’re not hungry, it’s hard to remember to eat.
You find yourself scared you may have some incurable disease (and WebMD is showing up on your web browser as one of your most visited websites), because you have all these aches and pains and all your doctor can think to say is that maybe you’re stressed out and need to relax more.
You know you need help because the idea of relaxing more only stresses you out. I’m here to tell you that not only is it OK to need help, helping people uncover what’s underneath the stress and create a life filled with joy is my jam.
A life that includes good sleep and daily lunch. Or brunch, if that’s your thing.
Let’s talk about how you can move from stress to bliss. Schedule a call.”
Pull them in. Have a conversation with your ideal client…
And tell them how to take action– in this case, booking a consult call with you.
The best news? You already have all of the information you need.
You have the potential to be an excellent marketer.
You're a pro at knowing what your ideal client feels, what their problems are, and what they need help with.
Use that knowledge and clinical insight in your Therapy Directory Profile.
#4 Maximize Your Psych Today Profile by Staying On Top of the Algorithm
Did you know that every time I go into my Psych Today directory profile and tweak anything, I get at least 3 new inquiries?
That’s because of the algorithm.
The Psych Today directory (and other directories, I’m sure) favors profiles that are up-to-date or active.
Once the algorithm detects a recent change, it pops you up in searches, making you more visible.
What an excellent way to maximize your profile’s efficacy, am I right?
So be sure to check in on your profile as often as necessary!
I’d say once a month.
Make a few tweaks and changes, and keep up with the algorithm.
#5 Invest in Your Business & Learning
Therapists are notoriously terrible at 2 things:
Investing in themselves and doing their own marketing.
Ironic, right?
We offer help and care for our clients, and we encourage them to invest in therapy and other sources of care, but we aren’t very good at investing in our own care or growth.
And with marketing, as I said before, therapists have the potential to be amazing marketers.
Yet– although we have all the clinical insight and client background at our fingertips, we aren’t leveraging that knowledge and insight in order to market our private practice.
Let’s end that right here.
Because you know what?
It is OK to invest in yourself.
It’s more than OK. It’s necessary.
How to Write Your Psychology Today Profile: A Workshop
In my workshop Full Caseload: Unlocked, I help you discover the keys you need to go from anxiously waiting by the phone, to regular dream client consult requests.
Because booking out your practice with full fee, long-term, ideal clients?
That's the dream, right?
Full Caseload Unlocked:
Discover the Three Keys Waitlist Only Therapists Use to Build Their Dream Business.
Save Your Seat
Peace,
Jenn
