How to market your private practice

Congratulations, you've qualified as a therapist - now what? How do you put into practice all those amazing skills you've learned? Maybe you've been working as a therapist for years in another setting, and want to open your own private practice - how do you go about finding clients?

Before I qualified as a counsellor, I spent 20 years working in magazine publishing, on print and digital brands like Cosmopolitan and HELLO!. I'm lucky that this has given me good experience in marketing as well as counselling, and I hope that I can share some of that knowledge with you, to help you to grow your private practice.

Know your niche

You don't have to have a certain specialism, but if you can find an area that you particularly like, or have trained in, that can be helpful. It's a great way to target whatever you write about yourself, and think about who you're writing to. It doesn't mean you have to pigeonhole yourself - other people can still find you and you can still do other work, but it's a good place to start.

For example, if you're trained in bereavement or addiction, you can write about this in your directory listings. You can link in with other counsellors in this field. You can advertise in doctors surgeries, betting shops, church halls and funeral homes. If you work predominantly with children, you can use more bright colours, or child-centred language. You're more likely to promote yourself in places parents hang out, like schools and coffee shops.

Should I use a company name?

In my view, it's not essential. Plenty of great therapists work under their own name and that's fine. I always used 'Chigwell Therapy Centre' though, as I though it sounded more neutral and professional and had a broader appeal. I also think my name 'Katie Rose' sounds a bit twee, and it's not that unique - you can find plenty more of me on Google. Other colleagues have said that they think that their name is hard to pronounce, or (often wrongly) categorises them a certain way. For others, choosing a company name can help clients find you through a niche, if your business name reflects this specialism. There's no right or wrong, but choosing something now comes in handy later (carry on reading to find out why).

Spend your time and money wisely

Consider the client's journey into counselling. They are probably likely start their search online, so let's begin there. Do your own search on Google (try something like 'counselling near me') to see what comes up. Let's say you're only advertising on Psychology Today - how likely is Psychology Today to come up on their search? How likely are they to click on that link, ahead of any of the other search results? How likely are they to choose you on that directory, if that's where they click? There's a funnel, which makes it increasingly hard to be noticed. By limiting the your opportunities to be found on search, you might have inadvertently made yourself almost impossible to find.

I would recommend aiming to be in as many places as possible - Counselling Directory, Psychology Today, Welldoing. Think about investing in top listings - I would try things for a couple of months and measure the results, and then decide whether you want to continue based on your return on investment.

Social Media

You don't need a social media profile that you regularly update, if that doesn't feel right for you, but using whatever name you decided on (see above), I'd open accounts on all the major platforms with that name, even if you never intend to use them. There are two reasons for this - one is to stop anyone else using it, and secondly, when search engines crawl for information, they look at the biggest websites first - so if you're there on Facebook, Insta, X, LinkedIn etc, you're more likely to get noticed.

If you're good at social media, it can help to create a presence or personality. You can use hashtags to help clients find you, locally or online.

Website

This is a question that I often get asked - do I need a website? The short answer is no - you don't NEED one exactly. And unless you're generating amazing content or updating it regularly, you're unlikely to get any sort of meaningful traction from search engines. But where is does come in handy is on the client journey. If the client is choosing between two therapists, and one just has their Psychology Today listing, and one has a link to a website with a bit more detail, more pictures of you and your therapy room, maybe a map of where to find you or details of our qualifications, that feels to me like it would make the client more likely to choose you over someone they know less about. If you choose a company name, you can also use it for your website, email etc.

Call to Action

Personally I would recommend keeping work and life separate. That means separate email addresses and phone numbers as well as separate social media.

Make sure that there are a number of very clear ways for them to easily contact you - phone number, whatsapp, email, enquiry form - and that when they do make contact, you respond quickly.

Offline advertising

Much like internet dating, online feels easier but isn't always the most effective way to meet people. Doing things in person is more intense - you might have to print materials, visit offices and shops, and talk to people. This hard work can really pay off though, as the personal touch can really help you stand out from the crowd. There are so many ways to do this - you could visit your local high street and talk to relevant people - schools, cafes, pharmacists, funeral homes and betting shops. Ask if you can put up posters and leave business cards. You could sponsor school fetes and provide raffle prizes, or leaflets for goody bags.

There are also local networking groups that can be really effective for referrals, plus they're a great way to meet other local business owners who might be in similar situations.

Referrals

Referrals can be a really useful way to meet clients. At TherapEast, we spend a lot of time (and money) to be in the right places - online advertising, AI platforms and directories - but also meeting people in real life, at local events, networking and talking to people.

Clients have a number of ways to get in touch - where possible, we'll reply with a message or phone call, and match them up with a qualified counsellor straight away. If you can find a therapy centre near you that offers something similar, it can be a great way to find clients and a supportive community too.

What do you think? What's been successful for you. What's pushed you out of your comfort zone? And what's flopped? Comment below to let us know what you've learned in this journey.