[For a more current list of online directories for counselors, click here – updated 08-16-16]
It’s been another year since I last updated our list of online directories for mental health professions.
Because so many of you have taken the time to share your knowledge with us, I’m happy to say that our list continues to grow.
Remember, some of these are free; some charge a fee.
If you participate in any of these directories, I hope you will take a moment to let us know which ones are working well for you and what, if anything, you are paying for the listing.
1-800-Therapist[updated 07-25-16]4therapy.com[updated 07-25-16]Clinical Psychotherapists[updated 07-25-16]Counseling Book[updated 07-25-16]- CounsellingBC.com
- Denver Therapists Network
- The Family & Marriage Counseling Directory
- Find-a-Therapist.com
FindCounseling.com[updated 07-25-16]- Gay / Lesbian Medical Association
- GoodTherapy.org
- Google Business Directory
- Life Quality Improvement Center
- Metro Atlanta Therapists’ Network (MATN)
- My Therapist Match
- National Directory of Family & Marriage Counseling
- NetworkTherapy.com
- New Jersey Association of Women Therapists (NJAWT)
Online Therapy Institute’s Web Directory[updated 07-26-16]- Psychology.com
- PsychologyToday.com
- Self Growth
TherapistFinder.com[updated 07-26-16]- TherapistLocator.net
- TherapyTribe.com
- Theravive
- Washington [State] Counselor Directory
And, of course, if you know of other online directories for mental health providers, please do take a moment to let us know about them so that we can continue to strengthen our practices and our networks as a professional community!
Hi Susan,
Thanks for sharing this online directory. I was totally jazzed. I am thinking to myself-‘how cool is this! Susan is such a rock star’. I checked out the sites as per your suggestion. However,to my dismay the majority of them require a fee-several of them rather hefty. If you sign up for– say 20 of the sites, costing anywhere from $7.00 per month to $200.00 per year. It adds up in a hurry. Ouch! There has to be a more effective way to get your practice out there. I am wondering what your thoughts on this might be.
Looking forward to hearing from you, Ciao Natalie
Hi, Natalie. You are exactly right! It’s a terrific list but you still need to use your judgement and do your homework. Many of them do charge fees and, depending on your particular circumstances, a particular site may or may not be a good choice for you. Because each of these sites are independent of each other, they can change their rules and policies at will. It behooves you to be clear about the contractual agreements and also what you expect to get from each one that you sign up for. If you don’t know what to expect, you can’t determine if it was / is a good investment of your time (to create the listing) and your money.
opps…so sorry I called you Susan.
Hey, you figured it out before I got around to telling you so all is good! My name is Tamara:)
Great list! I am interested in how to most effectively use these types of sites to leverge my visibility. Any suggestions will help.
Warm Regards, Brenda
Hi, Brenda! You ask a really good question that, in some ways, ties in to Natalie’s comment.
Not all directories are created equal and not all mental health professionals need to be listed in a directory. Online directories can definitely help leverage your visibility online if they are high-volume directories. The way that happens is that the when high-volume websites link back to your website, you tend get more traffic; however, in addition to the traffic, those high-volume sites are weighted more so that your SEO gets a bigger boost. Additionally, some of those directory sites allow you to post articles that you have written – which also can push traffic back to your website, establish you as an authority, and help you build a following.
The best way for you to use an online directory is to decide what’s important to you – is it online visibility or direct referrals or something else? Then, choose a directory that fits that format and work it. A good directory can give you a leg up on your marketing but it doesn’t generate passive income. You have to work at it – keep your website and your directory listings current and keep them fresh.
And, did you notice that all of my comments reference a website? If you do not have a website up yet, don’t bother with a directory listing. I talk to counselors and other mental health professionals every day who thought that putting up a directory listing was the equivalent of having a website. It’s not. And, unfortunately, if you thought it was, you have most likely found yourself struggling to get clients and make ends meet. First things first . . . . Put up a self-hosted website and then consider your marketing options. And, if you don’t know where to begin, just ask!
Tamara,
I woud like to get referrals from an on-line directory. I did notice you mention a website and I do have a one.
Thank you for the advice
Hi, Brenda. Thanks for continuing the discussion. So . . . getting direct referrals from an online directory is one of the most difficult goals to achieve. To consistently get these referrals, you absolutely must have a strong overall web presence. Your website is the anchor for this. Your bio on the directory’s site and your website should be engaging. Your voice will be most appealing if it is targeted (think “niche”) and if it is showing up in a lot of places that your potential clients will be looking.
The more I’m writing about this, the more I think I should be writing a blog post about this. Perhaps, I’ll do that so that I can give you more ways to fine-tune your directory listing.
Tamara,
Still learning and your tips are reassuring I am doing all the right things. I agree with you writing a post. I have people questioning me about how to get the “Biggest Bang for the Buck” on their marketing efforts with referral sites.
Warm Regards, Brenda
PS: You do an awesome job!
Thanks, Brenda, for the kind words. I can see that you, too, are doing an awesome job. Perhaps we’ll just be each others’ cheerleaders.:) Thanks for reading along and joining the dialogue. It’s good to have colleagues who see the world without fear and with a collegial eye!
Thanks for this list! I was searching for directories to see which ones come up in the first two pages of the different search engines to see if their claims of being “top ranked” are valid. One thing I saw some blogger post was that your searches are tailored to your previous searches, so if you do this you may want to turn on “private browsing” to search without your particular preferences being catered to by the ever-smarter search engines. But at the end of the day, I have no idea if this is a way to really judge how a site is ranked – are there other ways to validate their claims of being a “top” site? How can you tell just how ‘high traffic’ they are? Some of these sound great, but hadn’t really come up in my previous searches so it made me wonder. Thank you!
Hey, Kat – Stay tuned. I’ve talked to my Social Media Guru, Beth Hayden about this and I’m going to throw up a quick blog post in the next week or two telling you how to assess “high traffic.” It’s not an exact science but there are ways to make intelligent guestimates.
Hey, Tamara,
I wonder which of these you are actually using? How are they working for you?
I’ve always heard that Psychology Today is the main one that you want to get on, because it has such a high volume. I have gotten some good referrals from them, and also contacts from the media for my specialty area, which is great. But they’re also expensive. For me the jury is still out on whether the cost is worth the benefit.
– Peg
Hi, Peg! Thanks for dropping in! I have been on Psychology Today the longest and I do believe it’s working well for me. They send me stats every month to let me know how many folks have looked at my listing and how many have attempted to reach me by email. Unfortunately, I spent the first year ignoring those emails from potential clients – not knowing that that is how they would contact me! (Once I figured that out, I was much happier with the directory.)
I have been listed on Good Therapy for about a year, I think, and am a bit frustrated because I cannot figure out where to find similar stats for them. Anyone out there got suggestions for accessing these numbers?
And, locally, I am also a member of the Denver Therapists Network. The DTN was formerly a discussion list only. However, in the last month, it has moved to a directory and forum format for therapists in Colorado. It’s really an excellent investment (only $55 / year) for a directory listing; however, my primary interest is in the the collegial support and information / resources that will be curated there over time.
That’s what I’m using, Peg. They may or may not be good options for you but they are working out well for me! Anyone else out there using other directories and getting good results?
Great list Tamara!
Here’s another, but it’s just for Australian mental health practitioners:
http://www.australiacounselling.com.au
Thanks, Clinton! It’s been a while since I’ve heard your voice here! Thanks so much for taking time to help me curate resources for my Aussie readers, too! I wasn’t familiar with this directory. Do you own it or have a financial interest in it? (Just wanting to be as transparent as possible with my readers.) In any case, I appreciate you sharing the info!
Yes, I am the creator and founder of Australia Counselling. Thanks for your list of resources Tamara.
Excellent resource, Clinton! Thanks so much for sharing it!
I finally took the plunge this week thanks to the timely reminder of this post! But, already I have had some results, we’ll see how it goes in the long run:
Psychology Today: (Google Six month free trial and find a coupon, it will save you $175) Been on that for about 6 weeks, no real results, but I didn’t have office space yet anyway (what client would contact a therapist with no location? LOL!)
This week I signed up for:
Goodtherapy.org (Google goodtherapy trial and find a 60 day free trial!). One contact from a potential client within 24 hours.
Theravive: (Google coupons, I got like $10 off or something) Two client contacts within the first 48 hours, but one was from Toronto ?!? I think he read it wrong…. (Theravive’s profile take a while to fill out because they want a unique blurb for each specialty, probably good.)
Network Therapy: Nothing yet.
Two free trials and two paid listings, three client contacts. Sounds promising. Sorry that I don’t still have those coupon codes!
Kat
Kat! That’s better than average results, my friend! Good for you! Thanks so much for taking time to share the details! So glad to give you a nudge!
Just a reminder, gang . . . . Online directories are advertising and they should be treated as such. Don’t expect Kat’s results. Yours may be very different. Try a directory out for 12 months. If you don’t get a phone call (or two or three), then you may need to try a different directory or a different tactic all together. Just don’t throw in the towel without giving it a full year’s effort first!
Kat, I hope you will drop back in here in a year and let us know if you are still pleased with them, too!
Thanks Tamara! I’d like to add that the wealth of info on this site has helped me to write my profile, so if these results are because of that then listen to Tamara when she says what to put in your content. Very much looking forward to your future post about maximizing profiles because each site has different limitations. We’ll see how these pan out in the long-run or whether these early hits were just Google’s bots noticing “something new.”
Kat, it’s my pleasure! And, I’ll put that post on writing profiles on my to-do list for 2012! Thanks so much for the idea!
While working with a therapist who specializes in working with expats, I stumbled across the International Therapist Directory – an online directory of mental health professionals working with expats! You can find more information here: http://internationaltherapistdirectory.com/
Just stumbled across a directory called Counselling Directory. I is based in the United Kingdom and can be found here: https://secure.counselling-directory.org.uk/join.html.
This is just a reminder that I need to update my list again.
I find a great way to figure out therapist directories is to use the search terms a client might use to find you, and see what comes up, then drill down further into zip code, etc.
Hi, Michael! Welcome to Private Practice from the Inside Out! That’s great advice for anyone who is feeling overwhelmed by the selection of therapists.
HI there –
My private practice is entirely online – I get all of the software I need (HIPPA compliant) through a company called iTherapy.com They have a kick butt directory you might want to add. I also list with Open Path and Open Counselling – both of whom offer reduced rates for people who need them. Thanks for the work you do! It’s really helpful!
Thanks, Amber, for following my work here and for sharing your resources with us!
I’ll definitely check them out!
By the way, I just went to check out your video on the 10 fingered gratitude exercise.
Love it and will be sharing it as a good example of video blogging!
Keep up the good work and I hope to find you back here soon!
Tamara, I am glad the list is directories contains a lot of resources that are still available. As a supervisor, I continue to return to your website often because of the plethora of useful information.
PPIO is still relevant after 11 years and you provided an updated list in 2016 – thank you!
https://tamarasuttle.com/online-counseling-directories/
Thank you, Brenda
Thanks so much for the mention, San Antonio Counselors Networking Group! It’s exciting to see that you guys are blogging these days!