10 Ways to Promote Your Counselling, Coaching or Therapy Practice
The most reliable ways to promote a counselling, coaching or therapy practice in the UK are a clear website, being easy to find on Google and in therapist directories, and good referral relationships with other professionals. Sharing useful content, talks and careful social media or paid advertising can add to that. Whatever you do, keep your marketing honest: advertising therapy comes with ethical and regulatory rules, covered below, that general marketing advice tends to skip.
Here are 10 practical ways to get your practice in front of the right clients, roughly in the order most practitioners find useful.
Before you start: who are you trying to reach?
Marketing works better when you know who it’s for. Write down the clients you’re best trained and most experienced to help, where they’re based (or whether you work online across the UK), and what they might type into Google when looking for help. “Counsellor for anxiety in Leeds” or “online couples therapy” tells you far more about where to show up than “people who need therapy”. This doesn’t mean turning other clients away. It just gives your website, profiles and adverts a clear focus.
1. Build a clear, professional website
A website is often the first place potential clients check, even if they found you somewhere else. It doesn’t need to be elaborate. It does need to answer their questions quickly:
- who you work with and what you can help with, in plain language
- how you work, explained without jargon
- where you see clients, and whether you offer online or phone sessions
- your fees, session length and availability
- your qualifications and professional body membership, stated accurately
- a recent, friendly photo of you
- a simple way to get in touch, and your privacy notice
Make sure the site works well on a phone, because many people search for therapy on their mobiles.
2. Get found on Google
Search engine optimisation (SEO) helps the right people find your website. For most practitioners that means a few basics rather than anything technical:
- Use the words clients use. Mention your location, the issues you work with and the type of therapy you offer, naturally, on the relevant pages.
- Set up a Google Business Profile if you see clients in person. It helps you appear in local map results. Keep your name, address and phone number the same everywhere they appear online.
- Write a useful page for each main service instead of one page that lists everything.
- Be patient. SEO builds visibility over months, not days, and no one can guarantee a top ranking.
3. List your practice in therapist directories
Many people start their search in a directory, where they can compare several therapists at once. A directory listing also helps people find you on Google, because directory profiles often rank for local searches.
When you join a directory, fill in every section: your therapy types, the issues you work with, where and how you see clients, and a description written for the person reading it. Choose directories that check their members, so your listing sits alongside other properly trained practitioners. The ABCAP therapist directory, for example, only lists ABCAP members and checks evidence of their training before approving a listing.
4. Build professional referral relationships
Referrals from other professionals are often among the best sources of well-matched clients. Let people who come across your ideal clients know what you do and who you help:
- GP surgeries and social prescribers
- other counsellors and psychotherapists, who may refer clients when they’re full or when someone needs a different approach
- Employee Assistance Programmes and private health insurers that work with independent practitioners
- local charities, schools, colleges and universities
- allied professionals, such as physiotherapists, solicitors or HR consultants, depending on your specialism
Refer people on when someone else is better placed to help. Other professionals tend to do the same for you.
We’d advise against offering existing clients discounts or rewards for referring friends. It mixes a commercial incentive into the therapeutic relationship and can put pressure on clients to talk about their therapy with people they know.
5. Share useful content
Articles, guides or a short newsletter can show how you think and help readers decide whether you’re the right fit. Write about questions clients ask you, such as what happens in a first session, or what to expect from your approach. Stay within your training, avoid giving diagnoses or individual advice in public content, and never use identifiable client stories.
6. Use social media thoughtfully
Social media can help people get a feel for you before they get in touch. Choose one or two platforms your ideal clients actually use, and post consistently rather than everywhere at once. Keep a professional account separate from your personal one, think carefully about how you’ll handle messages and comments, and don’t follow or connect with clients. Your professional body’s guidance on boundaries applies online too.
7. Run workshops, talks and webinars
Talks for local groups, workplaces, schools or online audiences raise your profile and let people experience how you communicate. Pick topics within your competence, such as managing stress, understanding counselling or supporting someone who is grieving. Be clear that a talk is educational and isn’t therapy.
8. Network locally and online
Local business groups, peer supervision and CPD groups, and online communities for practitioners are good places to build the relationships that lead to referrals. Networking with other therapists also brings practical support, such as recommendations for rooms, supervisors or cover while you’re away.
9. Offer a short initial conversation
A free 15–20 minute call, or a reduced-fee first session, lets people check whether they feel comfortable with you before committing. Be clear about what it is: a chance to ask questions and see if you’re a good fit, not a free therapy session. Explain your fees and how the work would continue.
10. Consider paid advertising carefully
Google Ads and social media ads can bring enquiries quickly, but they cost money and have to follow the UK advertising rules (the CAP Code, enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority). Key points for therapists:
- Don’t claim to treat or cure a condition unless you hold robust evidence for that claim. For certain serious conditions, including depression, addictions, eating disorders, OCD and suicidal thoughts, treatment claims are only acceptable if the treatment is supervised by a suitably qualified medical professional (ASA: mental health treatment claims).
- Don’t discourage people from seeking help through their GP or the NHS. In 2022 the ASA upheld a complaint against an online counselling ad that implied NHS and GP routes were unsympathetic and slow (ASA: treating mental health responsibly in ads).
- Describe your qualifications and membership accurately, and avoid exaggeration.
Start with a small budget, focus on the area and services you actually offer, and track which ads lead to real enquiries.
A note on testimonials and reviews
Testimonials are common marketing advice, but they need extra care in therapy:
- Some professional bodies don’t allow them. UKCP’s code says members must not include testimonials from clients in any advertising (UKCP Code of Ethics and Professional Practice).
- Others set principles rather than rules. BACP’s Ethical Framework asks members to be honest and accurate about their services and to avoid exploiting clients (BACP Ethical Framework). Asking a client for a testimonial can put them in an awkward position, and a public review can reveal that they’ve been in therapy.
- Advertising rules apply. If you do use a testimonial, it must be genuine and used with permission, and it mustn’t make treatment claims you couldn’t support yourself.
Check your own professional body’s code before using testimonials or asking clients for online reviews.
Keep your marketing honest
Across every channel, the same principles apply. State your qualifications, training and professional memberships accurately. Describe what you offer without promising outcomes. Keep client confidentiality absolute. Make sure your fees and policies are clear before anyone books. Honest marketing protects clients, and it also attracts clients who are a good fit for how you work.
Track what works
Ask every new client how they found you, and keep a simple tally. Review it every few months, put more time into what brings well-matched clients, and drop what doesn’t. Update your website and profiles whenever your availability, fees or focus change.
Get listed with ABCAP
ABCAP membership includes a verified listing in our therapist directory, where people can find you by therapy type and location and message you directly. Members also get a digital membership certificate and badge for their website, discounted insurance through our partner, and CPD courses on ABCAP Learn. Standard and Accredited members can display their website on their listing, and Accredited members get sponsored placement in the directory.
