Wellness Institute Blog

Are you ready to level up your social media marketing?

For obvious reasons, Facebook is a good starting point for marketing your private practice on social media. Nearly 80 percent of U.S. internet users log in regularly. That means if your clients and potential clients use the internet, they’re on Facebook.

But where do you go after Facebook? Other social media sites may boast fewer regular users than Facebook, but the most popular among them can still be valuable channels for attracting and connecting with new clients.

It all depends on who you’re targeting. If you work primarily with seniors, for example, you may want to steer away from Instagram. Only 16 percent of adults over 50 say they use the site. On the other hand, Instagram is a hit among young adults; 71 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds say they use it.

If most of your clients come from a higher income group, LinkedIn might be the channel for you. Among those that earn more than $75,000 per year, LinkedIn beats out Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter.

If you’re ready to move beyond Facebook marketing or your market research has revealed opportunities on other social media platforms, read on. Here we’ll introduce the two best non-Facebook social media sites for marketing your private therapy practice.

With most of your clients, your friends and family, and everyone you meet on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and similar sites, social media represents an ethical minefield for private practice mental health therapists. For decades, the line between a therapist’s private and professional life has been sacrosanct. Social media tempts both therapists and clients to blur the line.

What will you do if a client attempts to friend you on Facebook? Would you share a client’s personal story with your followers on Twitter? What if a client pressures you to follow their Instagram account?

Some therapists decide it’s simply easier to give up on social media altogether — for personal and professional use. But for many others, that’s not an option.

First, social media has become so embedded in modern society, it’s almost impossible to live without it. Second, sites like Facebook are heavily trafficked online destinations. With the intense competition for therapy clients in some areas, it’s hard to turn your back on this ripe opportunity to market your private practice.

If you’ve decided to strike out on your own, in your own private practice, congratulations! From a business perspective, you’ve made a great decision. There is, without a doubt, high demand for psychotherapy in most areas of the United States.

From urban dwellers dealing with the anxiety of their fast-paced lives to rural residents depressed by the lack of opportunities — and, of course, all the relationship issues, health concerns, and existential worry with which we all struggle — everyone could use some mental health support.

The question for a new private practice therapist like you is where exactly do you fit in?

When you were studying psychotherapy, you covered the intricacies of the brain, the complexities of emotion, and the depth of the subconscious. You surveyed the history of psychology, from Jung to Freud to the latest advancements driven by neuroimaging and genetics.

You learned to treat clients with compassion and understanding. And you learned to apply techniques like cognitive behavioral therapy, hypnotherapy, or psychoanalysis to help them overcome their most troubling mental health issues.

But through all that, you and your instructors overlooked one crucial topic: how to design a website for your therapy practice.

Of course, no one gets into psychotherapy because they’re interested in web design. But marketing your private practice online is a necessity if you want to attract clients. Some therapists even find they enjoy this aspect of the job.

You’re not an expert on web design, but you don’t have to be to put together an attractive, professional site for your practice.

Recently, we reviewed the four most popular website platforms for therapy practices. As we noted, each platform features pre-built templates and an easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface for customizing the look and feel of your site.

As you get to work on your therapy practice website, be sure to avoid these common mistakes — which can confuse visitors and drive them away from your site and your practice.

Ask anyone with experience about marketing for therapists these days — or actually, marketing anything — and the first thing they’ll tell you is “Get a website.” Tried-and-true offline strategies, like face-to-face networking, still have their place. But most marketing in the 21st century starts online, and your online presence starts with your website.

“Wait,” you’re thinking. “I’m a people person. That’s why I went into psychotherapy. I don’t have the first clue about how to set up a website.”

Don’t worry. You’re hardly alone among small business owners. The truth is, most small business sites you visit — including those of psychotherapy practices — were built by people with little-to-no technical knowledge. You (yes, even you) can have a professional-looking website up and running, offering basic information about your practice, within a day.

The days of hand-coding websites and hosting them on personal servers are long gone. You can do that if you want, but we don’t recommend it. Nowadays, businesses of all sizes turn to website platforms.

“I’m such a klutz!” you might say, almost as a reflex, when you stub your toe in the office or spill a drop of coffee on the floor.

Self-deprecation such as this is an attempt to replace mild embarrassment with a touch of levity. A little bit of humor is harmless enough, right?

Most of the time, off-hand comments that make you the butt of your own jokes aren’t dangerous. However, when you habitually make statements about yourself like, “I always wait until the last minute,” or “I’m never aware of my surroundings,” you could be doing psychological damage that’s not funny at all.

When you put yourself down just to be cute or comical, you send out a signal that you don’t take yourself too seriously. You chuckle, other people laugh, and you figure you’ve been charming and entertaining for the moment. Yet, because of the complicated nature of your inner workings, you might be creating undesired side effects.

Have you ever been asked in a job interview, “Where do you see yourself five years from now?” It can be annoying to have to think about the (relatively) far future when you’re consumed by your most immediate goal — landing the job.

But employers want to make sure you see their job as more than a paycheck. They want to know if you view it as a step forward in your career, a launching pad from which you can reach toward your long-term professional goals. It speaks to your longevity in the role and commitment to it.

So, at the risk of coming off like a nosy job recruiter, we’ll ask you, “Where do you see yourself as a mental health professional five years from now?”

When you’re consumed by the daily struggle of building and maintaining a therapy practice — treating patients, marketing to find new ones, and endless paperwork — it can be hard to find the time and energy to step back, breathe, and think about the future.

But before you know it, routine can take hold and stagnation can set in. Five years will pass, and you’ll find yourself running essentially the same practice, with, perhaps, diminishing rewards.

Now is the time to invest in your future.

As a practicing mental health therapist, depression is one of the most persistent and debilitating challenges you face. It’s also one of the most common reasons clients seek you out.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America says:

• Nearly 7 percent of all adult Americans have experienced a depressive episode in the past year.
• Depression is the leading cause of disability in Americans ages 15 to 44.

Your success as a therapist depends on finding ways to help your clients overcome their feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. When depression is at its worst, those dealing with it can hardly get through their day. They’re looking to you to help them regain their energy and motivation, to rebuild their relationships, and to get back to the activities that used to bring them joy.

In some cases, a client can feel like it would be easier to end their life than to deal with their depressed state. As a therapist, it is important to assess your client's risk for self harm or even suicide.

Fortunately, depression is treatable with the right style of therapy. But what is the right style of therapy?