How to get therapy clients without paying for adverts

In short: most people find a therapist by searching online or asking someone they trust. You can be found for free by completing your professional body’s directory entry, adding a few free listings, setting up a Google Business Profile if you’re eligible, linking everything to one clear profile or website, and building honest referral relationships. Keep every claim accurate and within your code of ethics.

This guide is for counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists, arts therapists, OTs, speech and language therapists and other registered practitioners in UK private practice who’d rather not spend money on adverts. Every step here is free.

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Please read. This is general information from Therapist Circle, not business, legal or professional advice. Rules and fees on other organisations’ sites change, so check their current pages before you sign up. Therapist Circle is independent and isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by Google, the NHS or any professional or regulatory body.

1. Complete your professional body’s directory entry

If your body runs a directory, it’s often the first place people check, because the entry sits next to your registration. Fill in every field you can: where you work, who you see, the issues you work with, fees, and whether you work online. Some bodies include the listing in membership and some charge extra, so check yours. If you’re on a statutory register only (for example the HCPC), remember that the register itself isn’t a directory: it confirms you’re registered but doesn’t describe your practice.

Not sure which register covers your profession? See how to check a register.

2. Add a few free directory listings

A handful of well-kept listings is better than dozens of half-finished ones. Read each directory’s terms first, and look for ones that check registration, because that protects the people searching. Our page comparing free and paid UK therapist directories lists directories that say on their own sites that they offer a free listing.

Therapist Circle is one of them: it’s free to join and to use, it checks your registration before your listing goes live, and you can choose whether search engines can show your profile. List your practice free.

3. Set up a Google Business Profile, if you’re eligible

A Google Business Profile is Google’s free listing for local businesses, and it can show you on Google Maps and in local results when someone searches for a counsellor or therapist in a town. Google sets the rules, and its guidelines for representing your business are worth reading first:

  • Online-only businesses aren’t eligible, according to Google’s guidelines.
  • If you see clients at a room or clinic, or visit them, you may be eligible.
  • If you work from home, you can usually hide your address and show the area you serve instead.
  • Use your real practice or professional name, without extra keywords added to it.

4. Give yourself one clear home online

People often look you up more than once before they get in touch. Make sure every listing points to the same place: your own website if you have one, or one full directory profile if you don’t. Use the same name, title and town everywhere so search engines can tell it’s all you.

If you’re a Therapist Circle member, you can add a free “Listed on Therapist Circle” badge to your own website, linking to your profile.

5. Write a profile that helps people choose

Write in the first person, say who you work with and how, give your fees and say what happens next. Plain words work better than jargon. Our guide to writing a therapist profile goes through it step by step. Name the town you work in clearly, because many people search for a counsellor or therapist plus their town.

6. Keep your availability up to date

It helps people if they can see whether you’re taking new clients. On Therapist Circle you can set “Taking new clients”, “Waitlist” or “Not taking new clients” in one tap on your Account page, and the date you updated it is shown.

7. Build honest referral relationships

Colleagues are often a good source of referrals, especially when they’re full or a client needs something they don’t offer. Peer supervision groups, local practitioner networks and training events are natural places to meet people. Our supervision finder lists members who offer supervision or want to join a peer group.

Keep referrals in your clients’ interests. Don’t offer or accept payment or gifts for referrals unless your code allows it and you’ve told the client, and never share client details without consent.

8. Stay within advertising rules

In the UK, the CAP Code, applied by the Advertising Standards Authority, covers marketing claims on your own website and social media, not just paid adverts. Your professional body’s code also applies. In practice:

  • Only use titles you’re entitled to, and say which register you’re on. See our plain-English glossary for protected titles.
  • Don’t promise outcomes or cures, and don’t claim to treat conditions you can’t show evidence for.
  • Check what your code says about client testimonials before using any.
  • Be clear about fees, cancellation terms and whether you offer a free first chat.

A 30-minute checklist

  1. Update your professional body’s directory entry.
  2. Choose two or three free directories and complete each profile fully.
  3. If you see clients in person, check whether you’re eligible for a Google Business Profile.
  4. Make sure every listing uses the same name and town and links to one place.
  5. Set your current availability.
  6. Read your website and profiles once more against your code and the CAP Code.

Common questions

Where can I list my therapy practice for free in the UK?

Start with your own professional body: many run a member directory, and some include it in membership while others charge extra, so check yours. Free general directories such as Therapist Circle are another option. Our comparison page lists directories that say on their own sites that they offer a free listing.

Can I have a Google Business Profile if I only work online?

Google’s own guidelines say online-only businesses aren’t eligible for a Business Profile. If you see clients at premises, or visit them, you may be eligible, and if you work from home you can usually hide your address and show a service area instead. Check Google’s current guidelines before you set one up.

Do advertising rules apply to my therapy website?

Yes. In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority applies the CAP Code to marketing claims on your own website and social media, not just to paid adverts. Your professional body’s code will also say how to describe your qualifications and services. Only make claims you can back up.

Starting out? See our starter kit for newly qualified therapists, or read why Therapist Circle is free for practitioners.

Not a crisis service. If a client or enquirer needs urgent help, NHS 111, Samaritans (free on 116 123, 24 hours) or 999 if life is at risk. See enquiries from under-18s or people in crisis.

Are you a registered practitioner? List your practice free in our free UK therapist directory.