If you are thinking of or are in the process of creating a profile on a therapy directory such as Psychology Today here are some helpful tips to creating a professional profile that attracts clients:
- Describe your philosophy about counseling. Ask yourself, “What are my beliefs about counseling?”
Share your beliefs about counseling without focusing on your academic and professional achievements. A potential client is usually not too interested in your achievements, but rather focused on how counseling may be helpful and or if you can help.
- Describe your counseling approach. Ask yourself, “How do I help people?”
Make sure to talk in everyday terms to potential clients; try and avoid going deep on theory. As a reminder, most clients are unaware of counseling theories and approaches.
- Describe your target population. Ask yourself, “Who do I help?” or “Who do I want to help?”
Again make sure to talk in everyday terms to potential clients; most clients are unaware of diagnoses. If possible try and avoid the use of the word “client” or “patient”. For example, “I help people who feel depressed.”
- List your fee. Ask yourself, “What are my services worth?”
Make sure to list your fee, insurances you accept, and or if you work on a sliding scale.
- Share your contact information.
Make sure to list your phone #, email, and website. If you do not have a website, I strongly encourage you to create one. This is another way for a client to get to know you better. Check out my previous post here about creating a website.
Most importantly, be yourself! Share who you are, what you do, and how you can help.
Need to see an example of these tips, check out our profiles. Click on our names below to see each of our profiles.
If you have any questions or need help writing your profile, leave a comment and I will respond to you as soon as possible. Also if you have any helpful professional profile writing tips, please share-we want to hear from you!
Good luck and please share your completed professional profile with us!
Tracy Cooper, MA, LPC-Intern
San Antonio Counselors Networking Group 