How to Write Your Therapist Directory Profile
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Wondering how to write your therapist directory profile or how to write a therapist bio? Here are the steps to create your therapist directory listing, including a free downloadable checklist to refer to.
As a therapist, it’s essential to find ways to connect with potential clients, introduce yourself and your practice, and show clients that you’re the right therapist for them. One of the most effective ways to do that is through online therapist directories.
Therapist directories are often the first place that clients go when they’re searching for a new therapist—which means they offer a huge opportunity for you to get yourself, your expertise, and your practice in front of the right clients at the right time.
Your therapist directory profile gives clients all the information they need to understand who you are, what you offer, and why they should work with you—and if you want to fill your practice, it’s important to get your directory profile right.
If you need tips on how to write your therapist directory profile, this article and downloadable checklist contains key information. Let’s take a look at some of the best therapist profile sites—and tips for how to write a therapist bio on each.
How to write your therapist directory profile on Psychology Today
One of the more well-known therapy directory sites, Psychology Today is an extremely popular and effective website for marketing your therapy practice.
So, how, exactly, do you write your therapist directory profile on Psychology Today? Here are a few tips on how to write a therapist profile:
Include all your basic information
In order for your Psychology Today profile to be effective, it needs to be complete. You’ll want to include all of the basics a potential client would need in order to decide whether they want to engage your services.
This includes:
- Your full name
- Your contact details and preferred method of contact
- Your location/office address (if you’re seeing clients in person)
- Your license details (state, license number, how long you’ve been licensed/practicing, etc.)
- All areas of speciality (for example, cognitive behavioral therapy, internal family systems, etc.)
- A description of your expertise and what you treat
- Accepted insurances (when applicable)
- Payment options
- Session options (for example, individual therapy, couples therapy, group therapy, etc.)
- Session length
- Session pricing
- Availability
- Telehealth availability
- Related services/resources (support groups, educational materials, etc.)
- A link to your website and/or online scheduling portal (when applicable)
While you’ll need more than the basics to make your profile stand out (more on that in a minute), including this basic information in your profile is an absolute must.
Here’s how to create a profile on Psychology Today:
- Sign up here
- Create your profile
- Add payment information (Psychology Today is $29.95 per month)
- Wait for up to 48 hours for Psychology Today to confirm your credentials and approve your profile
How to write a therapist bio
The information listed above gives profile visitors—who are also potential clients—the basics about who you are, what you do, and what you offer. This is helpful information for clients, who need to know that you’re licensed to treat clients in their state or that you accept their insurance or whether you are or are not offering telehealth sessions.
But, that’s not all they need to know.
Therapy is an extremely personal thing—and, in order for a potential client to want to work with you, they need to feel some sort of personal connection.
And, that’s where your bio comes in.
Your bio introduces yourself and your practice to potential clients in a more meaningful way. It’s an opportunity to show them a bit more about who you are and start building a relationship.
Some things to consider when it comes to how to write a therapist bio include:
Space
When clients search for a therapist on Psychology Today, only the first 200 characters of a therapist profile is visible on the search page—which amounts to about two to three sentences.
While you can expand on your bio within your profile, those first two to three sentences need to tell visitors who you are and inspire them to click on your profile to learn more about your practice.
Voice and tone
Consider how you talk with clients when you’re first building a relationship.
Chances are, you’re warm, encouraging, kind, and welcoming. Therefore, your therapist profile should have a similar tone and use some of the same language and phrasing. Write your bio the way that you would talk to clients. Avoid unnecessary jargon or writing in an overly professional or “stuffy” voice.
Personality
Again, creating that personal connection is what’s going to push potential clients from reading your profile to reaching out to learn more—so don’t be afraid to add in some personality!
For example, you might share some of your favorite hobbies or what inspired you to become a therapist.
In addition to your bio, make sure to include a profile picture.
Being able to put a face to the profile can help potential clients feel more personally connected to you—which can increase the chances that they’ll reach out to connect.
Outline your expertise—and do it in a way that connects with potential clients
Your therapist directory profile is a place to introduce yourself to clients—but it also gives you an opportunity to show prospective clients that you a) understand what they’re going through, and are b) qualified to help.
So, how do you write your therapist directory profile to outline your expertise?
Make it about them
You might think your therapist profile is about you. However, it’s actually about your clients.
While your profile should include key information about you, your practice, and your services, you should frame it in a way that’s centered on the client.
For example, instead of saying “I believe in [insert therapeutic approach,]” you might say “I use [insert therapeutic approach] as a way to help clients overcome [insert challenge].”
Highlight their pain points—and offer a solution
Building off the last point, if you want to attract potential clients to your practice, you need to show them that you understand what they’re going through—and that means clearly outlining their pain points and what they’re struggling with.
In your profile, make sure to highlight the challenges your ideal client may be facing—as well as the approach you take to helping clients overcome those challenges.
Make it easy to understand
While you may be very familiar with acronyms like CBT, IFS, DBT, and EMDR, your potential clients might not know what those letters stand for. And, if they see a bunch of intimidating words and acronyms or terms they don’t understand, it could inadvertently put off a potential client. Alas, this could lead them to click over to another therapist’s profile.
Make sure, especially when it’s your first time trying out how to write your therapist directory profile, that you’re writing it in a way that’s easy for people to understand—including people who are new to therapy.
Show them what it’s like to work with you
Telling people what you do is one thing. But showing them what you do and how you do it can be more impactful.
Use your profile as a way to give potential clients a glimpse into what it’s like to work with you.
For example, what therapeutic approaches do you take?
How do you structure your sessions?
What makes you different from other therapists?
These personalized details can help potential clients better understand what they can expect from therapy—and can go a long way for clients to solidify that you’re the therapist they want to work with.
Edit down
With Psychology Today, you only have 1,360 characters for your profile—and you want to make every one of those characters count.
While there are a variety of ways for how to write your therapist directory profile, one strategy that can be extremely effective is writing a profile that has everything you want to say. Once you finish the first draft, you can edit it down to fit the 1360 character limit.
Why is this effective? By getting everything out and onto the page, you can better assess what information is important to keep—and what information feels less impactful. Plus, writing everything down ensures that you won’t miss anything.
To try this strategy, write out a thorough profile that includes your basic information, bio, and expertise. Read it over and identify what details feel important and impactful—and what feel less so. Then, edit it down, highlighting the more important aspects and minimizing or deleting the less important elements until you hit the 1360 character mark.
The Monarch Directory by SimplePractice
The SimplePractice Monarch Directory is another incredible resource for connecting with your ideal clients.
The Monarch Directory is an exclusive directory for therapists who use SimplePractice—making it easy for therapists to create and manage their client-facing profile listings directly from within their practice management platform.
To create a profile on the Monarch Directory, you’ll need to:
- Add your basic information (name, licensing, location, etc.)
- Write an introduction
- Choose your specialities and additional focus areas
- Choose your treatment approaches
- Fill out your population focus information (including appointment types, communities served, age groups, languages and faith)
- Add payment options and session pricing
SimplePractice’s Monarch Directory also offers a number of additional features that can help you more easily connect with clients, including:
Highlights
With the Monarch Directory’s Highlight feature, you can make sure that potential clients see key information at the top of your profile—including whether you’re accepting new clients, whether you accept insurance, and whether you offer telehealth sessions.
Website
The SimplePractice practice management platform comes equipped with a website builder—and you can link to that website directly from your Monarch Directory profile.
Looking for mental health therapist profile examples? Check out this list of The Top 10 Therapy Websites.
Social media
The Monarch Directory also allows you to link your profile to your social media accounts, including Facebook, Instagram, Yelp, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
FAQs
Clients that visit a therapist profile often have similar questions about the kind of services you offer or whether they can book online. The FAQs feature allows you to answer those questions upfront directly on your profile—which can cut down on the back and forth between you and potential clients and help ensure they have the information they need to make the decision to work with you.
Plus, clients can send you a message or schedule an intro call directly from your profile—which makes getting in touch easy and painless.
Here’s how to create a profile on SimplePractice’s Monarch Directory:
- Sign up a SimplePractice account (You can get started with a free 30-day trial!)
- Fill out your professional profile by adding in all of your practice information in your SimplePractice settings
- Publish your profile (once you hit “Publish,” your profile is live!)
Therapy Den
Another therapist directory you may want to check out is Therapy Den.
Therapy Den allows you to write a few key sections (each about a paragraph long) that will help your clients get to know you and your practice—helping them determine whether you’re the right therapist for them.
These sections, which get featured on the top of your profile, include:
- About My Clients
- My Background and Approach
- My Personal Beliefs and Interests
In addition, you can also choose from two different categories that help to showcase your skills, expertise, and approach to clients: Techniques I Use and Issues I Treat. You can also showcase insurance options, online services, experience, rate, and contact info.
Here’s how to create a profile on Therapy Den:
- Sign up for a free profile here
- Fill out your profile information
- You can also sign up for a Premium account to boost your profile and get connected to more clients
NOTE: SimplePractice is not affiliated with, connected with, endorsed, or sponsored by Psychology Today or Therapy Den. Nor is this article written in association with Psychology Today, Therapy Den, or either company’s editorial staff.
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