How to Get More Therapy Clients in 2025 (Without Using Social Media)
Struggling to fill your therapy practice? In 2025, I’ve had tons of therapists come to me saying it’s harder than ever to get new clients for their practice. PsychologyToday stopped sending referrals (if it ever was), overall website traffic has dropped off, and posting on social media is getting zero results.
Well, the good news is that social media is a complete waste of time and resources, but there are other options that can be effective.
This post breaks down five sustainable ways to get more clients in 2025, without spending hours following TikTok trends and recording and re-recording (and re-re-recording) Reels. Gross.
Table of Contents
1. Why Social Media Isn’t the Only Way
Social media sucks. There, I said it. There are a lot of people who say you (and your practice) should be on social media, but it’s not always the best fit for therapists unless you have a real love of being on camera and you have hours of time a week to record and you have the motivation to actually do it and keep doing it… and keep doing it.
The best way to get clients is to be findable when people are searching for help, and most people probably aren’t shopping around on social media for therapists.
Social media might have its place, so here’s a quick list of pros and cons to using social media to get more clients:
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Can increase visibility and brand awareness | Time-consuming to create content |
| Free to start | Algorithm changes affect reach |
| Allows for creative expression | Can feel performative or overwhelming |
| Builds audience over time | Not ideal for reaching people actively searching for therapy |
2. Five Effective Ways to Attract Therapy Clients in 2025
Referrals
Word of mouth is the most powerful lead-generation tool at your disposal. But it’s extremely difficult because you can’t force people to refer clients to you. But you can make it easier for others to refer to you.
Send a short, ready-to-forward email that therapists can share with their networks
Keep your Psychology Today or website links handy — have business cards if you’re attending in-person meetings or events, or share in Facebook or Reddit groups wherever it’s appropriate. Just don’t spam or break any community rules or you’ll risk getting banned.
Consider an ethically-compliant thank you note to the referrer, in order to get them to send you more potential clients).
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Good quality leads with high trust | Can be inconsistent or seasonal |
| No cost to acquire | Rely on others to send people your way |
| Great for niche specialties | Harder to scale or track |
Google Business Profile Optimization
This is one for the in-person practices only.
Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) helps you show up when someone searches “therapist near me.” It’s one of the simplest and most powerful free tools you can use, and it’s hugely beneficial for local SEO, i.e. showing up in your neighborhood/city/state.
Make sure your services, hours, and location are accurate
Add photos of your office (or a calm stock image if online)
Encourage happy clients to leave reviews (when appropriate)
Fill out as much detail as possible, and review it regularly
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Completely free | Requires some initial setup |
| Appears in Google Maps and search results | Reviews can’t be controlled |
| High intent from searchers | Competitive in big cities |
Online Directories (with a good strategy)
Struggling to see the value in PsychologyToday? Almost every therapist I’ve spoken to in 2025 has said either that PsychologyToday has never worked for them, or it used to but doesn’t anymore.
That’s a problem, but you shouldn’t give up on PsychologyToday.
The fact of the matter is, when someone is looking for a therapist, they’ll most likely search on Google, and invariably PsychologyToday will be one of the very top results they see. That means tons of potential clients are browsing PsychologyToday looking for a therapist, you just need to make your profile stand out as much as possible.
Use a clear headline and first sentence to speak directly to your client’s pain point
Rotate specialties seasonally if needed
Test different photos or listing types
Also, PsychologyToday is not the only directory you should be on. Look around for others, like TherapyDen, GoodTherapy, and any local or population-specific directories that make sense, especially since they might be cheaper!
Here’s a list of lots of therapist directories worth checking out.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Built-in audience | Monthly fee to list on most platforms |
| Easy to set up once | Can get buried among many profiles |
| Can improve SEO with backlinks | May bring in lower-intent leads |
Email List & Newsletter
This is a bit more work to maintain, but could be a useful option for some practices. If you’ve had past inquiries or clients, an email list is a low-effort way to stay connected. You don’t need to write essays, just a short monthly note with tips, tools, or insights can help people remember you when they’re ready to book.
Use a free tool like MailerLite or ConvertKit
Share one helpful idea per month
Include a link to schedule an intro call
Add somewhere on your website to let people sign up for your list, in case they’re not ready for actual therapy work just yet.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Builds trust over time | Slow to grow a list |
| You own your audience (not a platform) | Needs consistency to work |
| Easy to repurpose blog content | Requires setup and compliance (privacy laws) |
Google Ads
When people are looking for a therapist, they’re very likely to search Google. Wouldn’t it be great if your website could show up as the first thing that someone sees when they search “couples counseling near me”?
That’s exactly what Google Ads does, and it’s a viable option even for the smallest private practices.
I recommend a minimum spend of $15/day, and with that you can literally show up as the first result in Google search.
You can target Google Ads by location, service type, and even time of day. You only pay when someone clicks on your ad and it works especially well for high-intent services like EMDR, couples therapy, or anxiety treatment.
I wrote a beginner’s guide here on setting up Google Ads for therapists, but note that Google Ads can be quite technical and it’s easy to waste a lot of budget, so reach out to me directly if you want some hands-on support.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| High intent from searchers | Learning curve to set up |
| Fast results (within days) | Costs money (pay-per-click) |
| Highly targeted by location and service | Google restricts some mental health terms |
| Easy to pause, adjust, or scale | Needs regular optimization for best ROI |
3. Choosing the Right Strategy for You
You don’t need to do everything mentioned above. In fact, I strongly recommend against it, unless you’re a bigger group practice with employees dedicated to marketing work.
Instead, pick 1–2 marketing channels that:
Align with your strengths (e.g., do you prefer writing or tech?)
Feel manageable with your current schedule
Have clear ways to measure success (leads, emails, bookings)
For example:
If you like writing → try email + directory listings
If you want consistent leads → try Google Business + Google Ads
If you love community → focus on referral partnerships
4. Final Thoughts: Consistency Beats Hustle
I’ve worked in marketing for a long time, and I’ve worked with a lot of businesses big and small. The one thing that I swear by is that small, consistent progress beats flashy one-off hustles every time.
Make small changes as often as you can, and don’t worry about getting things perfect first time, you can always make edits later.
Hopefully this guide was helpful. If you’re looking for more marketing information for therapists, check out my blog section here.
