Therapist and counsellor websites: warm, honest and compliant

What people want to know

1. Will you understand me? A sense of your approach, your manner and who you work with: adults, couples, teenagers, particular experiences.
2. Are you qualified? Your training, registration or licence, and professional body.
3. What happens in the first session? Fear of the unknown stops many people from booking.
4. What does it cost? Fees, concessions or a sliding scale, cancellation rules and whether you work with insurance.
5. Where and how do you work? In person, by video or phone, your address, hours, languages and accessibility.
6. Is it private? Confidentiality and how you handle messages and records.
7. How do I start? A simple, unpressured next step.

What to include

Writing warmly without overpromising

• Write to one person, in the first person, in ordinary words. “I help people who feel stuck in anxious thoughts” is better than “I provide evidence-based interventions for anxiety disorders”.
• Describe what working with you is like rather than listing every therapy you studied.
• Say whom you are not right for, and where you would refer. It builds trust.
• Do not promise recovery, cure or guaranteed results. Say what you offer and what people can expect from the process.
• Avoid language that shames or frightens. Be inclusive and respectful of identity and background.
• Use short paragraphs and plain headings. Many readers are tired or distressed.

In the UK, the advertising codes administered by the ASA require objective claims to be backed by evidence, and treat claims that a therapy can treat or cure a medical condition as unlikely to be acceptable without robust evidence. Words such as “cure”, “heal”, “restore” and “overcome” attract scrutiny. Many other regulators take a similar line.

Testimonials: a special case in this profession

Therapy has a power imbalance that makes it hard for a client to say no when asked for a testimonial. That is why the codes say what they do.

• The American Psychological Association’s Ethics Code (standard 5.05) says psychologists do not solicit testimonials from current therapy clients or patients, or from other people who, because of their circumstances, are vulnerable to undue influence.
• The American Counseling Association’s Code of Ethics (C.3.b) says counsellors who use testimonials do not solicit them from current clients, former clients or anyone else who may be vulnerable to undue influence, and that they discuss the implications and obtain permission for any testimonial they use.
• Other licensing bodies discourage client testimonials in mental-health advertising for the same reason. Many therapists therefore leave them off their sites. Check your own body’s guidance.

Independent reviews that clients post on Google on their own are different from testimonials you collect. If you receive them, reply briefly, never confirm that a reviewer is your client, and never discuss anything about them. See how to get Google reviews and reply to them.

Qualifications and membership badges

• Describe your qualifications and registration exactly as they are. Do not imply a higher level than you hold.
• UK: the ASA has ruled that a counsellor who wrote that they were “a member of” BACP misled consumers, because they were not an actual member. BACP’s member logo is a collective mark that registered members may use on their websites, with the registration number shown on promotional materials; an organisation that is an organisational member must not present its staff as individual members. UKCP’s logo has its own rules, including where on a practice’s site it may appear.
• US: use the title your licence allows, and the credentials your state recognises. Include your licence number and state.
• Working across borders: if you offer online sessions to clients in other places, check where you are permitted to practise. In the US, licensure is by state, and some interstate arrangements, such as the Psychology Interjurisdictional Compact for psychologists, allow telepsychology across participating states under conditions. Say on your site where you are licensed.

Privacy and confidentiality

• Never include identifying details, case stories or photographs of clients. Composite or invented illustrations should be clearly marked as such.
• Keep your contact form minimal: name, a way to reach you and a preferred time. Ask people not to describe their problems in the message.
• Explain how messages are handled, how quickly you reply, and that email is not a secure way to share sensitive details.
• In the US, a form that collects health details can be protected health information. See doctor and clinic websites for how HIPAA affects web forms.
• Publish a short privacy notice. In the UK and EU, the GDPR treats health data as a special category.

A crisis notice

A short, visible notice is a mark of a responsible practice. For example: “This website is not a crisis service. If you are in immediate danger or thinking of harming yourself, call your local emergency number now.” Add the numbers for the places you serve and check that they are current: for instance 988 (the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline) in the United States, Samaritans on 116 123 in the UK and Ireland, 112 as the general emergency number across the EU, and Tele-MANAS on 14416 in India.

Common mistakes

• A page full of jargon and modality names but nothing about what a session is like.
• Promising results, or using words such as “cure”.
• Quoting client testimonials without checking your code of ethics.
• Implying membership of a body you do not belong to, or misusing its logo.
• No fees, or no mention of cancellation.
• Stock photographs of a person with their head in their hands.
• No crisis information.
• Sharing too much about your own life, or too little about yourself.

For ready-made sections and notices for therapists, see websites for therapists.

Where BeVisible fits

BeVisible has a setup for therapists with approaches, session fees and a notice that includes crisis information for where you work, and it flags promises of recovery and testimonials as risky in this profession. It is guidance, not clinical or legal advice, and what you publish stays your responsibility. You can build and preview free, and publish free for 7 days with no card needed; after that one yearly plan keeps a website online, and one plan covers one website. Start from a photo or type your details.