Building a Strong Brand as a Therapist: Lessons from Top Mental Health Brands

Good branding is one of the secrets to how to get more clients as a therapist. This is a tough topic for therapists. Many struggle with health branding because they feel uncomfortable with the idea of "selling themselves." While they have a lot in common with physicians and medical practices, therapists need to go the extra mile to build rapport with clients to establish a comfort level. They also need to balance showcasing their credentials and expertise with offering a "human" face. If you're trying to build a psychotherapy private practice, finding your branding sweet spot is essential. You need to find a way to stand out in a sea of other names with similar credentials. Here are the core tips to know as you grow your practice from one client to hundreds.

How Do I Brand Myself as a Therapist?

Opening a practice isn't the same as building a brand. While your door may be open, your message isn't out there yet. Here's a look at the path to becoming a recognized local leader in mental health services.

The Essential Steps to Health Branding for Your Psychotherapy Private Practice

#1 Choose a Name

Your practice name shouldn't just be your name. There are several reasons why. The first is that people are generally pretty bad with names. While they may not be able to recall your name at the drop of a hat, they may remember a peppy, sharp, or sentiment-filled name. The second reason is that you may expand your practice one day to include more therapists or support professionals. Naming your practice a brand-smart name today avoids the need to awkwardly change the name down the road.

#2 Create a Website

Every psychotherapy private practice needs a website! While there are many online therapist directories and booking platforms that should 100% be part of your branding strategy, you don't have ownership over those profiles. Your website ensures that your practice is visible 24/7 on the Internet under your terms. Therapy websites are essentially for boosting visibility through organic search. When optimized, your website will lead clients who are looking for a therapist based on specialty and location directly to you! Additionally, your website provides a great place to post blogs and resources that provide value to potential clients. You can even consider allowing patients to handle scheduling and billing directly through your website in the future.

#3 Choose Colors

Make your branding intentional! One of the most exciting aspects of establishing your practice is building a recognizable aesthetic. This is something that can be carried across your website, social media, signage, and physical practice location. If you hire a healthcare creative agency to handle your social media, they will be able to create digital assets and posts that reuse the same color theme for continuity. Of course, having a professionally made mental health logo design is essential for making your practice recognizable.

#4 Create Business Cards

Business cards still work! First, clients appreciate business cards that feature appointment reminders when they book their next appointments before leaving the office. This can dramatically reduce the problem of no-show appointments for your practice. It's also great to have branded business cards for times when you attend conferences, showcase your practice at community events, or run into peers who often need referrals for practitioners with your specialty.

#5 Make Social Media Profiles

Many therapists are reluctant to jump into social media. From worries about the time it takes to build a social media following to concerns about the ethics of posting online, this can be a true grey area for mental health professionals. Entrusting social media to a healthcare branding agency can help you navigate the waters of the digital healthcare era. That doesn't mean that you're not involved with your own image. Many of the most familiar faces in the therapy spaces on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook use branding agencies to help them manage their accounts. That's how they manage to run their busy practices while still engaging thousands of followers. Support can include things like planning posts, brainstorming on highly searched topics, and crafting informative content that gets engagement. The voice will still be 100% your own!

Examples of Strong Branding in the Mental Health Space

Looking for some inspiration? As a leading mental health marketing and branding expert, I always enjoy checking out what brands and care providers in this space are doing. Here's a look at some brands that are doing the health branding angle perfectly!

1. Talkiatry

The cohesive purple-and-yellow color theme instantly reinforces brand identity on Talkiatry's website. The website design also displays a lot of information without feeling crowded. I also like the name Talkiatry because it succeeds at identifying the brand's service right from the start. You can also get straight to the brand's social media channels from the main page.

2. Meru Health

Meru Health's website got our attention for its strong branding and clear visual identity. This is a "pretty" website that uses cohesive colors and large, highly readable text for essential information. I like that Meru Health's website has a clear focus on holistic health that comes through very strongly at just one glance. I also like the way numerous social media profiles are woven in.

3. Charlie Health

I’m a big fan of the way Charlie Health clearly invested in creating an intentional, detail-oriented website that creates a clear visual identity using illustrations. Users are really going to remember their experience on this site! I also love the color scheme and responsive features on the website that make it pop on mobile devices. Finally, Charlie Health does a great job of making social media handles accessible through the website.

4. Hers

This is a responsive, easy-to-navigate website that allows users to quickly and easily access the features they need. I especially like the way the website outlines exactly how the Hers process works to reduce user confusion or frustration. The links to the blog and other resources are also great. The Hers social media presence is also highly engaging.

5. Headspace

Headspace has a gorgeous website that leans heavily on illustrations and visuals to guide visitors through the brand's user experience. Users get the information they need without having to dig around. However, users who explore the site also find tons of resources. Headspace's social media profiles are equally as detailed and thoughtful.

You don't need to be a major mental health brand to have "major brand" energy. You also don’t need to have a huge budget. I offer affordable health branding services to private practice therapists, behavioral health companies, independent health practitioners, and more.

Let’s launch your new practice’s brand identity. Contact me today for a free consultation.