How to Promote Your Practice Online—And Why Doing So Benefits Psychoanalysis

It is now commonplace for individuals to go online to find a therapist, research a recommended therapist, and to obtain information about mental health conditions and treatment. Many prospective patients expect qualified therapists to list their practices online. While the public is increasingly turning to the Internet for information, psychoanalysis is vastly underrepresented online compared to other forms of treatment. Sadly, searches for therapy outnumber searches for analysis by more than 100 to 1 according to Google Analytics data. In addition to listing your practice on the American Psychoanalytic Association Web site, you can also establish a broader Internet presence.

Personal and Political Benefits

There are several personal advantages of an online professional presence: developing new patient leads, converting or capturing word-of-mouth referrals who research you online, and helping protect your privacy (with an online presence that you create and control, accidental discovery of personal information is less likely). Even if your practice is full, you can refer patients who contact you through the Internet to like-minded psychoanalytic colleagues, which expands and strengthens your referral network.

An online professional presence is not only about self-promotion. It is an increasingly visible outreach avenue for clinicians to share how they think about treatment, depression, anxiety, relationships, parenting, and other subjects from a psychoanalytic perspective. In order to further our own political interests in the survival of psychoanalysis as well as to effectively address prospective patients' needs, we must present psychodynamic therapy and psychoanalysis as appealing and productive treatment options.

What You'll Need

• A marketing budget

• A high-quality photo

• The right state of mind

One necessary shift in mindset is adding a line item in your practice budget for online marketing. If you gain one patient, you will more than recover your annual advertising costs. A quality, friendly-looking headshot is crucial—a warm photo that is professional, well lit, and color-corrected to display well online. Some people opt to have their photo taken professionally. Your photo represents you and your services so it is worth the investment to make it look professional. Lastly, you will need an adventuresome spirit, some creative energy, and perseverance.

Three Ways to Market Your Practice Online

Claim Your Business on Google Places

One simple, free step to take is to claim your business on Google Places and write something about your practice. This may help your business come up on a map of local search results when someone searches for a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, or therapist, and a city or zip code.

List Your Practice in Online Therapist Directories

The quickest and easiest way to get your practice online is to join online therapist directories. They require only a photo, a brief practice description, and a monthly fee. When someone Googles your name, your directory profile(s) will come up at or near the top of search results. The more directories you join the better, as they increase your chances of being found online—though beware, they are not all created equal (see below).

What is an online therapist directory?

Online therapist directories are Web sites where potential patients search for a therapist by location or specialty. These directories are the equivalent of interactive yellow pages, which allow people to browse therapist photos and brief practice descriptions. Listings include contact information and links to therapist Web sites when available.

Key considerations for evaluating a directory are:

• How much traffic (i.e., visitors) does it generate?

• How many therapists are listed? Are there enough to offer sufficient choice and to convey legitimacy? Is the competition excessive?

• How does the directory differentiate itself from other directories?

Create a Web Site

Developing a Web site, depending on its scope, can involve a significant investment of time, energy, and, to a lesser extent, money. It requires more content development and technology considerations compared to a directory listing. However, Web sites provide more space to describe your practice and specialties than a directory listing. For word-of-mouth referrals who Google your name, your site will come up immediately. Keep in mind that creating a Web site is only half the battle. If you want prospective patients who do not already know your name to find your Web site online, you will have to spend additional time and money to direct them to your site. Some of the things you can do are:

• List your practice in directories that link to your Web site

• Use paid advertising, e.g., Google Adwords

• Invest in SEO (search engine optimization) which is a strategy used by Web site developers to help your site get highly ranked in organic (unpaid) search engine results. You will need a professional to help you optimize your site for search engines if you choose to pursue high rankings.

• Optimize your Google Places local business listing

Therapysites.com offers easy and editable templates for $59 per month that allow patient scheduling and online billing, 24/7 customer service, and integrated e-mail service. APsaA members receive one month free from Therapysites and six months free listing on PsychologyToday.com. Request the unabridged version of this article from the author to read about additional options for creating a Web site.

What to Expect

Expect to find writing briefly about what you do in appealing layman's terms challenging—and a skill that you will likely have to work at over time. Many people find the process a useful and worthwhile endeavor. You should expect advertising your practice online to be an experiment that will take time and intermittent effort. Evaluate your success in increments of 6–12 months.

Expect the Internet to cast a wide net that may change the way you screen calls from prospective patients. It will also pose an interesting clinical adjustment to consider patients' transferences to your online practice description as part of their treatment.

Editor's Note: The unabridged original version of this article will appear in the September newsletter of the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis and is pre-printed with permission. Copies can be requested from the author at .