Therapist Directories: Which ones should you be listed on?

You’ve heard that getting listed on therapists directories is a really great way to grow your private practice.  And, on our blog you’ve read about how listing yourself on therapist directories can be a quick way to build backlinks to your website and help with your SEO. But, which therapist directories should you be on?

In the last few years, our SEO team has talked to lots of private practice owners from around the world about the importance of building backlinks to their site.  And, we’ve learned about at least a few of the directories out there for mental health professionals.  These are often a GREAT, quick way to get high quality backlinks for a therapist website to help gain trust with search engines. So, we thought we’d pull some of those together in a single place for you to at least begin your directory/backlink search.

Some of these directories are free and some are rather costly. Some also have specific requirements in order for you to be listed.  My goal here was to just get you a list of as many directories as possible so you as a business owner can go through and see which fit your budget, brand and goals.

General Therapist Directories

• Therapy Den – I have to be honest…this is my favorite.  It’s created with a social justice mindset which I really, really appreciate.  AND you can create a free listing.  So, pretty much every therapist should be on this one. 🙂
• Therapy Tribe
• Good Therapy 
• Inclusive Therapists
• Theravive
• Mental Health Match
• ZenCare
• Being Seen
• The TeleWellness Hub
• Right Fit Client – Newer directory really focused on matching clients & therapists who will have a great therapeutic fit
• My Private Practice Collective – a newer directory (though their FB group has been around for several years) that I predict will grow really quickly.

More Specific Therapist Directories

• Therapy for Black Girls – Awesome directory meant to encourage Black women to take the next step and get connected with a therapist
• A Therapist Like Me – Connecting minority-identified clients with minority-identified therapists
• Pandemic Therapists – This is a cool, free directory for therapists offering services online during the pandemic.
• OnlineTherapy.com – This is a directory for therapists offering online therapy. You can get a free listing by including their badge on your site.
• MyWellbeing
• AAMFT for Marriage & Family Therapists
• Christian Counseling Directory – For Christian Therapists
• Christian Care Connect – Another directory for Christian Therapists
• His Heart Foundation – Christian directory with a comprehensive vetting process
• Open Path Psychotherapy Collective – For therapists offering reduced rate
• Thriving Campus – For practices that frequently see college students

Directories Based on Your Methodology

Many times you can get listed on a directory when you have been fully trained in a specific treatment modality. If you are trained in another treatment modality, I encourage you to look that up and see if they have a similar directory.

• EMDRIA
• Gottman
• EFT
• IFS
• DBT
• ACT

The great news about these is that anyone who finds you on these sites is truly looking for the type of service you provide. Therefore, you’re more likely to be a match. One thing that’s unique about these directories is that it may be another professional of some sort looking on the directory to provide a referral.

Local Directories Specific to Your Geographic Area

• HulaFrog – This is specific for children, so if you serve children or families you can get listed in your local area.
• Nashville Psychotherapy Institute – This looks great for those of you in the Nashville area.
• Denver Therapy Match – A directory for therapists in the Denver area.

These are just a few therapists have talked to me about. However, there are many, many more out there.  So, I encourage you to look for local directories. These are often free, still have a high quality backlink and are relatively likely to (over time…it may take a bit) yield paying clients.

This is not a complete list. Are we missing a therapist directory?

We know we haven’t captured all of the great therapist directories out there!  Do you own a directory for therapists that you want listed OR you are a therapist who is on another directory you find useful? If so, please let us know and we’d love to add that one! You can e-mail me directly (Jessica@simplifiedseoconsulting) any suggestions about directories to add.

What about that really popular one…..

The only thing is that since we are an SEO company, we are most interested in directories that provide the therapist a backlink to help build their SEO.  That is why Psychology Today isn’t listed. You don’t technically get a backlink from PT so we’ve decided not to include it on this directory list.  I know many people fill up their practice by listing on that directory. In fact, I used to list on there too. I stopped after my practice was full for a variety of reasons and therefore decided not to include it on this list.

Do Directories Lead to Paying Clients?

Sometimes. While all of these (to our knowledge) will give you backlinks and most are pretty high quality backlinks, there are a lot of factors that determine if a specific directory will directly lead to more clients. Sometimes it varies based on geographic region or who your ideal client is.

I’ve had mixed results personally with getting actual paying clients from directories.  Some of the directories I’ve been listed on in the past rarely yield paying clients, but when they do, they’re top notch clients (i.e. my ideal client) so I stayed on for awhile.  So, when choosing which directories to list on and how many to list on, I recommend balancing cost, the number of clients you hear from,

and the quality of those clients.  When you do decide to list on a directory, make sure to give it at least 3 months (preferably 6) before you decide it’s not worth it.  You need plenty of time to truly see how your website falls in the algorithm.

For the free directories, I recommend staying on even if you’re not getting paying clients.  Why? Because you’re generally getting a high quality backlink.  For paid directories, it’s not always worth it to pay the cost just for the backlink if you’re not getting actual paying clients.  But again, give it several months before calling it quits.

Looking for more information about building backlinks to your website?

If you’re interested in learning more about building backlinks to your website make sure to check out our building backlinks online course for therapists and/or some of the blog posts our SEO specialists have written:

• Comprehensive Guide to Building Backlinks
• 4 Surprising Places to Get Backlinks as a Therapist
• Not All Backlinks Are Created Equal: How to Spot a Quality Backlink
• Backlinks: Get Popular on Google