I should probably start this article by mentioning that I am not saying that every marketer offering services to therapists is guilty of the behaviour I am going to mention within—but, I want to make clear that there are a lot of services that prey on an empty caseload and a desperate therapist looking to fill their case load. I should also mention that while I am now a therapist (LCT-C), I have an honours diploma in Creative Digital Media and worked independently as a web designer, graphic/print designer, and marketer since 2012. This gives me an unusual insight behind the curtain of marketing, and I have been concerned by growing trends in marketing itself, but also in vulnerable industries like healthcare and therapy.

I have debated how I would write this article for about a year now. Usually I think of ideas after seeing yet another Linkedin post or direct message from avid marketers or “AI SPECIALISTS” offering to boost my practice and solve every monetary problem the field has ever had. One offer even mentioned a “$7500 marketing plan for only $1000”. What a steal! I also tried two weeks of Blaze AI, a fully automated marketing service and that’s another bad investment story for a different day.

There’s a reason I don’t primarily offer marketing services to therapists. While I do offer web design and digital starter packages, these are simply the tools to start a business from scratch without promises. I cannot, and never will, offer to get you to #1 on Google or increase your case load. In-fact, I detest marketing even for myself because I know that there is a part of the process that feels like selling your soul for a potential client. I’ve been asked why I don’t offer “marketing consultations” and the truth is that it’s because I think that entire field is about as helpful and productive as hiring a psychic or checking your zodiac calendar before every social media post.

The truth about making money in marketing on the internet is that while marketing does work, think google, facebook ads, reddit ads, tik tok ads, and more, the truth is that no amount of “SEO Expertise” is going to trick the algorithm into sending every client in a 100 mile radius to your doorstep. There are very real concepts in marketing like social proof—ie. Every profile you have such as Psychology Today, your website, and Linkedin having a cohesive message adds trust to google. However, most of these concepts are not something that a “BRAND EXPERT” can cheat their way into giving you success. In-fact, I’d argue that these marketers are more successful at draining your pockets and convincing ese marketers are more successful at draining your pockets and convincing you that they’re valuable than ever finding you a single client.

There are two types of marketers I am concerned about: the business bros who have little ethical experience in the therapy industry that see this as a way to make bank, and what I consider worse, therapists who have pivoted from their therapy business to farming other therapists for money in an attempt to bridge the gap in their paychecks. It is almost an insidious factor of many therapists-turned-business-gurus that the way they built a successful practice was to supplement their income with yours.

The truth of marketing is that sometimes you can be doing everything right. You can be using best practices for websites, have an amazingly written Psychology Today profile, and be utilizing networking and ad placement and still not have enough clients. The truth is that the internet and the therapy market are oversaturated. This does not mean the process is hopeless, it means that organic genuine interaction such as reaching out in community groups, fostering local networking relationships, and being patient are far more rewarding than paying a marketer to “fix” something that may not even be broken. Changing your website every 6 months is not going to bring you more clients. Changing your social media with every trend is not going to make you suddenly more appealing to potential clients. While it is important to be found and in directories, you can lead a horse to water but you cannot force them to drink. The truth is that every other therapist is doing the same thing that you are. We are homogenized into best practices, SEO-driven copy, and a paint-by-numbers approach to the field. You are not failing at marketing and you do not need to pay somebody half your salary to re-arrange some commas and upgrade your profile picture.

I am not saying that all marketing practices are a scam—the basics exist and should be utilized. What I am saying is that rather than paying a marketing guru to fix your income problem, it may be time to focus on organic growth instead. Your unique voice is far more important than any idea that AI or a so-called “expert” will hand you. Find creative ways to share your voice—workshops, group therapy, blogging, forums, and sharing actual parts of your therapeutic personality rather than treating every interaction as a marketing opportunity. You’re not failing at marketing, you’re just caught in the same system that your peers are.