After 11 years in private practice, I have learned what makes a Psychology Today profile effective and what does not. To support this community, I want to share the most common mistakes I see. If any of these apply to your profile, start making changes and track your progress monthly in your dashboard (profile views, video views, website clicks, calls, and especially direct outreaches).

**No Intro Video**  
A short 15–20 second video helps people feel connected. Share who you help, what struggles they face, and how you can help (avoid sharing theories as most everyday clients have no idea what counseling frameworks are such as DBT, CBT, EMDR, etc.).

**No Endorsements**  
Aim for about 10. Each one should explain why clients should choose you. “They’re a great therapist” is too vague. Ask endorsers to name who you help, the issues you treat, and what makes you an effective therapist for these types of clients.

**Missing Top 3 Specialties**  
If you don’t select the star icon, then your top three (3) specialties won’t show on your profile. For your secondary specialties, narrow it down to no more than eight \[8\] because no one is an expert at all things mental health.

**Weak Personal Statement**  
Use all 3 paragraphs fully. Focus on:

* Who you help (pick one main group)
* The 3 main issues (specialties) they struggle with (explain how these issues show up, don't just list them)
* How you help them (explain in simple, client-friendly language, not theory or professional jargon)
* Avoid listing degrees, training, or counseling frameworks. Clients care more about whether you understand their pain and can help, not about your credentials, that wont impress them.

**Unprofessional Photo**  
Use a clear, close professional headshot with a warm, genuine smile. Avoid full-body shots, crop personal photos, black and white photos, photos with pets, kids, or partners, & group-style photos.

**Wrong Location Choices**  
Avoid big metro areas unless you have a physical office there. They are often too saturated. Pick locations with 0–3 pages of results so you can stand out since most clients won’t sift through more than 3 results pages at a time because there are too many profiles to review.

**Don't solely rely on Psychology Today**  
Psychology Today is only one tool (directory) to attract clients, not a guarantee of referrals. What you are paying for is a profile that clients can find, and it is up to you to optimize (format) it with strong writing, photos, videos, and endorsements. To grow your caseload, you also need to invest in other marketing efforts like websites, SEO, Google Business, Google ads, social media, networking, speaking engagements, workshops, and even email marketing so more people can discover your services.

**Using Ai to rewrite your profile**  
Some therapists try using AI tools like ChatGPT, but AI alone often falls short. That’s because the quality of what you get depends on how specific your prompt is, and most prompts don’t include the marketing strategy needed to turn a profile into something that truly connects with clients. Plus, if you have an em-dash, which is the longer hyphen in your writing, then its obvious you used ai to write your personal statement. For that reason, I highly recommend you all consider [**Therapy Profile Pro**](https://www.therapyprofilepro.com/?ref=ppm&utm_source=therapybusinessreddit) (TPP). This is a tool that reviews your Psychology Today profile and gives you a graded score report. TPP shows what’s working well and what could be improved.

PT Profile Tips (Private Practice)