What should I include on my therapy website? [Show Notes]

Transcript

Note: This video is transcribed using AI therefore some errors have occurred in the transcription of this video.

Hello everyone and thank you for coming to the very first episode of the Stress Less Therapist Channel. My name is Alexandria Theodore and I am the creator of StresslessTherapist.com, which is an online resource designed specifically for therapists who are looking to build and grow a business that meets not only their professional goals but their personal and financial goals as well. With this channel, I’m hoping to give you guys some practical ideas and tips based on what’s worked for me and for my business. Today we’re going to keep it super simple and we’re going to look at what to put on your website. This is great for if you are just starting out in private practice and not even sure what you need to put on your website, and there are a couple of little added tips and suggestions for somebody who might already be in the field and is maybe looking to expand to work outside of just seeing clients face to face, and some creative things you might want to include there too. So if this sounds of interest to you, stick around, feel free to subscribe because more videos will be coming. But let’s kind of get started.

So right here I have kind of a general overview of the different pages that can be on your website, and I color-coded them into two primary pieces. The green ones that you see on top are the things that really must be on your webpage. These are the bare-bones basics. The things in yellow we’ll talk a little bit more about, but there are some examples of things that are optional, so you might like to do it depending on what you need. But let’s look a little bit more specifically at each one.

The home page sounds rather obvious, but this is going to be the main page that your potential clients are going to be seeing, so this is something that you really want to be attractive but also welcoming to everybody who walks through kind of your website world. One of the main themes to keep in mind, regardless of what the page is, but particularly the home page, is that you are using this as a platform to talk to them specifically and directly. I’ve seen a lot of therapists use their websites almost as kind of a billboard to talk about themselves and to explain who they are and what they do, which is all well and good but not really what the client is looking for. Think about it from their shoes for a second. They are in a really dire, sometimes maybe even desperate, point where they have exhausted probably all the options that are at the point of like they need help. They’re feeling vulnerable, they’re feeling very raw, they don’t know what to do but they know what their problem is and they know they want it fixed. So as wonderful as all your certifications are, and trainings and methods, that’s great, but quite frankly, they don’t really care. They want to know can you fix their problem, and the best way to show them that is to speak in their language, help them understand, and you’re going to give them a little teaser of that on your home page. If, for example, you work with people who are depressed, on your home page you’re going to describe very briefly maybe some of the symptoms of depression and what they might be feeling or what some of their thoughts are, and then also give a little bit of a glimmer of what hope would look like, right? What life outside of depression or overcoming depression might look like, so they have a very brief snapshot of what they can expect if they dive deeper just by looking at the home page.

The next page is probably the second most popular and most frequently viewed after the home page, is the About page. Now again, this is where therapists often fall into the trap of talking all about themselves, where they went to school, what certifications they have, what trainings they do.

The client really doesn’t care if you can fix their problem; that’s what they want to know. They want to know how you’re going to fix it. The what and how don’t really matter to them. So, yes, maybe put a sentence or two about what type of professional you are, and if you did receive some type of extra special training that helps you work with this population, by all means, include it. But it should be a sentence or two at the most. The rest of the page should really be looking at the client again, which I know sounds a little funny being that it’s about a page about you, but talking more about why you went into this field, why you relate to the clients that you do in a way that they get to feel that they know you but also feel confident in the fact that you’re an expert in helping their problem.

Services: Now, this is important, and this often gets confused with Specialties, so I’m going to try and make it very clear of the difference between the two. Services are what specifically you offer. For example, individual therapy, group therapy, couples counseling, EMDR, online therapy, in-person therapy, that kind of stuff. Being very clear and upfront with a client is great. The more detailed in this aspect, the better. If someone’s never done therapy before, they have no idea what to expect, and it can be extremely comforting if somebody walks them through and gives them an idea of what that might look like. If you have an office that you’re seeing people in person, maybe on this page, you give some photos of what that office can look like. You can walk them through what they can expect starting from the first phone call if you do a discovery call with them all the way up to when they sit in that couch for the first time. Talking about how to prepare for a therapy session sometimes is helpful in this area. But really looking at specifically what services you provide (individual, couples, specialties like EMDR, etc.) is different than specialties, which is more the client population that you work with. For example, if you specialize in people who have head injuries, or if you specialize in working with individuals who suffer from anxiety, or if you are really great at divorce mediation, trauma histories, things like that, that’s where specialties is. So hopefully that’s clear, the difference between what a service is (say, individual therapy) and a specialty (which is anxiety and OCD management or executive functioning and coaching).

So, again, this general theme, I think you’re probably noticing already, is keep it focused on the client. Help them understand in this page what you do that’s going to help them. The best way is to kind of show that to use in their words, what their feelings are. They know that you understand and then help them see that transformation.

The last page that is really going to be a prominent page on your website that is mandatory is the contact page. How do you want these people to reach you? It’s not uncommon for some people to have a contact form on your website. I personally have mixed feelings about a contact form. I think they’re great. I think it’s convenient. I think, especially if someone is searching the web at two in the morning, they’re clearly not going to be one to call. They’d rather write some type of email down. I would be mindful, though, of HIPAA. If you are using a contact form, I would strongly make sure that whatever hosting platform that you’re using web hosting platform has HIPAA security. This way, if a client puts in any sensitive information because I imagine that on that contact form you’re going to want some type of either name or phone number or email that is identifying information you want to make sure that that’s protected. One way that you can kind of go about that in a different way that’s still email option is to put your email on there and say, “Hey, please email me at XYZ@gmail.com or whatever your professional email address is.” Of course, put your phone number on there. If you have an in-person office, you might want to put your office address so people know where they would be driving to. If you have a virtual office, you might have a PO Box that you put on there. Or you might leave it blank, and that’s okay too. This is really the best way that you want the client to contact you, and I wouldn’t put too many options on because you don’t want to confuse people. So if there’s one primary one that should be the primary that’s kind of front and center, the others you can have, maybe have them a little bit smaller font or lower on the page. But having that information is important.

The last couple that I’m going to be talking about are the legal pages. These aren’t necessarily front and center on your web page; they’re more like the footer on the bottom. But they are things that any website will need. I don’t care if you’re a therapist, if you’re a plumber, if you are a doctor, or even just running an Etsy shop, these are things that are really important to have: privacy policy, terms and conditions, and a disclaimer. You can get a lot of really great examples just by looking at other people’s websites. If you are consulting with a lawyer to do your practice paperwork, this is a really good spot for them to kind of take a peek to make sure that everything is there and is not missing. There are some websites that you can get this generated for free, but the long and short of it is you do want to make sure that it’s very clear in those terms and conditions and disclaimers that any information that you have on your website is purely psycho-educational. It is not an immediate contract saying that you are in a therapist-patient kind of relationship. I have on my website that I’m a mandatory reporter, so if somebody did email me and then fill out the contact form that said something along the lines that is reportable, they know right off the bat that that’s there. This way, there are no surprises because legally we do have to kind of protect those vulnerable populations. Again, those are the main core pieces that have to be on your website no matter what. Then you get to the kind of creative stuff, which I have on the yellow a block.

For example, I am a huge proponent of blogging. I think it’s a fantastic way to establish yourself as an expert. I think it’s a great way to market not just for potential clients but even for networking. To show peers what you’re up to and what you know and to share that knowledge. If you are looking to get kind of creative with your income, blogging can also be a great way to make some passive income on the side. Although, I do typically recommend having a separate website if you are going to do some of that non-clinical stuff in affiliate marketing. That’s why you’re kind of separating your urgent state. But that is a video for an entirely different day. FAQ section is really helpful. Having commonly asked questions on there such as “do you take insurance?”, “what are your office hours?”, “do you do virtual sessions?”, “what’s your cancellation policy?”, “what can I expect in my first session?”, “am I allowed to curse in session?” seems to be a common one that comes up, “can I travel and do virtual therapy?” So, think about your ideal client and some questions that they might have or questions that you’ve heard people ask you over the years and maybe you think about including them in a fax section. People tend to really like that and look at those so it’s something to consider. Again, not mandatory but it does have to be helpful. The last one that, again, if this is something that you’ve been doing for a while and you have some products, maybe a couple of books, workbooks, you might want to have a store. This way everything is all together. Again, usually this is something that I recommend that people keep on more of the non-clinical side. This way there is no risk of current clients or potential clients feeling pressured to purchase your items because that could become a dual relationship. But again, there are a lot of therapists out there that have made their own meditation tapes, they have made books, workbooks, and promote that and I mean you work hard for it so by all means you should. But again, something to think about and future posts for future days we’ll go into the difference between clinical and non-clinical work and when what really needs to be on a separate website and what doesn’t but a store might be something that you consider. Or even if it’s a tab that’s on your website but hidden until you kind of give other people access to it. That’s another way of kind of keeping it all on the same spot but not having it open to the world. So yeah, so this was a very, very brief overview. If this was helpful for you please subscribe. Better yet, reach out by scanning this QR code and joining the Stressless therapist Community. I send newsletters out whenever I have helpful information whether that is a tip, a trick, a product, a resource. So feel free to kind of join us along and I hope to do more of these in the future but bye for now. Thank you.

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Hello, I’m Alexandria Theordor, a life-first business strategies helping therapists create a private practice that prioritizes their personal life and values. My goal is to help you achieve the freedom to focus on what matters most: health, wealth, and relationships. Whether it’s through my consulting services or online resources, I’m here to provide the guidance and support you need to succeed in your business endeavors. My aim is to help you gain the confidence and knowledge necessary to launch your own profitable practice.

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