Website for Psychologists, Therapists and Counsellors

On this page

1. What potential clients want to know
2. Essential pages
3. Design for calm
4. Make first contact easy
5. Crisis information
6. Ethical marketing
7. Privacy and confidentiality
8. Content and SEO

Reaching out to a therapist is a big step. Someone visiting your website may be anxious, unsure what therapy involves and worried about privacy. Your website should feel calm, answer their questions and make the first contact as easy as possible.

What potential clients want to know

• Are you qualified and registered?
• Do you work with issues like mine?
• What is your approach, and what happens in sessions?
• Online or in person? What does it cost?
• Is it confidential?

Essential pages

• About: qualifications, registration, experience and a warm, human introduction
• Areas of support: anxiety, stress, relationships, grief, and so on, explained gently
• Approaches: the therapies you use (such as CBT) in plain language
• Sessions and fees: formats, duration, fees and cancellation policy
• Your first session: what to expect, to reduce anxiety
• FAQs: confidentiality, number of sessions, online therapy
• Contact and booking

Design for calm

• Soft, simple design with plenty of space
• A real, friendly photo of you
• Clear, gentle language without jargon
• Easy-to-read text; see accessibility basics

Make first contact easy

• Online booking for an initial consultation
• A short contact form that doesn't ask for sensitive details
• Clear response time expectations

Crisis information

Make it clear that your practice is not an emergency service, and point people in crisis to local emergency services and a national mental health helpline (in India, Tele-MANAS).

Ethical marketing

• Many professional bodies discourage or restrict client testimonials for therapists; check your guidelines
• Avoid promises of cures or outcomes
• Use helpful articles to show your approach instead of client stories

Privacy and confidentiality

• HTTPS on the whole site
• Secure booking and payment tools
• Collect only essential information through forms
• A clear privacy policy; see privacy policy basics

Content and SEO

Gentle, practical articles on topics like managing exam stress or starting therapy help people find you and feel comfortable reaching out. Add a Google Business Profile if you see clients in person.

For professional practice websites generally, see personal brand websites for professionals.