Someone considering counseling may want to understand the therapist's work before describing a personal concern. Your website should make that possible.
Explain the services and visit options your practice offers. Keep the contact request simple enough to begin a conversation with the office.
What a counseling reader looks for
Describe the people your practice works with and the concerns it accepts, using its approved wording. Connect that description to the appropriate therapist.
The National Institute of Mental Health's psychotherapy guide suggests asking about a therapist's experience and approach. Give those questions a clear place beside the service information.
The things the site must show
The therapist's work in plain words
Explain the counseling offered without relying on a list of unfamiliar terms. Where a method has a name, add the practice's plain explanation.
Identify the therapist using records the practice supplies. Keep their role and qualifications connected to the service described.
Read the page as someone considering contact. They should understand what they can ask about without deciding which approach they need.
Visit options and office arrangements
Describe the visit options your practice actually supports. If remote appointments are offered, use the office's approved explanation of how someone asks about them.
Keep payment information near the service it concerns. Give questions about office arrangements a recognizable destination.
Check repeated instructions across the website. The therapist page and contact page should give the same account of how a new inquiry begins.
A request with room for a question
Use contact fields the practice has approved for a new inquiry. Let the reader state the purpose without requiring a detailed personal history.
Keep the phone number nearby. If the practice has separate instructions for existing patients, label those clearly beside the appropriate contact.
Review the request message with the receiving office. Its wording should match what the practice actually confirms about an appointment.
The mistake to check for
Look for a contact form that asks someone to explain their entire situation before identifying the therapist or visit options. The page has left basic questions unanswered.
Read the therapist description and contact instructions together. Check what the reader knows before reaching the form.
What that gap can cost you
Missing service information can leave someone unsure whether the practice fits their question. A demanding form can make the initial contact harder to begin.
A clear page gives the practice a useful starting point without trying to settle the person's care.
The next step
Open a therapist page on your phone. Check the service description, visit options and contact questions against the practice's own instructions.
Related: Mental health practice websites
If you want an outside look at how counseling questions reach your practice, start with the free check.