Social media for therapists and counsellors: a practical guide

Most people looking for a therapist are nervous, and many have never had therapy before. They want to know what you are like, how you work, what a session involves, what it costs and whether you have space. Your posts should answer those questions calmly and plainly.

You do not need to post every day or share your personal life. A steady stream of useful, warm explanations does more than trending audio or hot takes. Write as you would speak in a first session: clear, kind and without jargon.

Two or three posts a week is plenty. Plan them a month ahead so you are never posting in a rush between sessions.

• Monday: a plain explanation, such as the difference between counselling and CBT.
• Wednesday: what to expect, such as how the first session works or how you handle confidentiality.
• Friday: a practical note, such as your current availability, fees or how online sessions work.
• Monthly: one post about you as a practitioner, such as your training, your approach or why you chose this work.
• Never: anything based on a real client, even with details changed, if the client could recognise themselves.

UK, HCPC: the HCPC's social media guidance, which applies to registrants such as practitioner psychologists and arts therapists, says you must treat information about service users as confidential and should not share a post that could identify a service user without their permission. It suggests a separate professional account, refusing friend requests from service users and moving any contact to a professional channel such as work email. It also says any promotional activity you are involved in must be accurate and not likely to mislead.

UK, BACP: the Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions asks practitioners to communicate their qualifications, professional experience and working methods accurately and honestly (paragraph 45), to protect information about clients from unauthorised access or disclosure (paragraph 55a) and to separate their personal and professional presence on social media where blurring them could lead to harmful dual relationships (paragraph 33c).

Titles and memberships: the HCPC lists protected titles for practitioner psychologists, including counselling psychologist, clinical psychologist and health psychologist, so only use them if you are registered under them. In August 2026 the ASA upheld a complaint against a counsellor whose website said he was a BACP member when he was not; the ASA said readers would take the claim to mean he was an accredited member bound by its code. Check every badge, logo and bio line is current.

Health information is sensitive: the ICO says data concerning health is special category data, and that appointment or invoice details can count where they reveal something about a person's health. A comment saying "see you Thursday" to a client, or a photo of your diary, can reveal that someone is in therapy.

This is general information, not legal or clinical advice. Rules differ by country and change, so check with your regulator, professional body or a lawyer before you post claims, prices or photos of the people you serve.

1. Keep a separate professional account and do not follow or friend clients from it.
2. Never like, reply to or share a post in a way that shows someone is your client.
3. Keep your waiting room, diary, notes and screen out of every photo and video.
4. Check that every title, qualification and membership in your bio and graphics is current and accurate.
5. Write a short line in your contract about how you handle social media contact, and stick to it.

Sources: HCPC: Guidance on use of social media, checked 15 October 2026; BACP: Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions, checked 15 October 2026; HCPC: The professions we regulate and their protected titles, checked 15 October 2026; ASA ruling: counsellor claiming BACP membership (August 2026), checked 15 October 2026; ICO: What is special category data?, checked 15 October 2026

Many therapists choose not to ask clients for testimonials at all, because asking can blur the relationship and a public review shows that the person was in therapy. If you do accept reviews, ask everyone the same way after therapy ends and never reply in a way that confirms someone was your client.

Google's policy bans offering incentives for reviews, selectively asking happy customers and reviews written by people with a conflict of interest, such as current or former staff.

US: HHS says that, with limited exceptions, the HIPAA Privacy Rule requires an individual's written authorization before their protected health information is used or disclosed for marketing. Treat any client story, quote or photo as needing written permission. The FTC's endorsement guidance says an endorsement must reflect the honest opinion of the endorser, and if you cannot show an experience is typical, the ad must make clear what people can generally expect. The FTC's 2024 rule bans fake reviews and rewards that depend on a review saying something positive or negative.

• Reply to every review with the same short, neutral thank you that gives nothing away.
• Do not argue with a negative review in public, even to correct facts, because your reply could confirm a client relationship.
• Never write, buy or swap reviews, and do not ask friends or family to review you.

Sources: Google Maps user-generated content policy: fake engagement, checked 15 October 2026; HHS: HIPAA Privacy Rule, marketing, checked 15 October 2026; FTC: FTC's Endorsement Guides, what people are asking, checked 15 October 2026; FTC: Final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (August 2024), checked 15 October 2026

Social media is not a safe place to provide therapy or handle a crisis. Say clearly on your profile and in your auto-reply that you do not monitor messages for emergencies, and point people to their local emergency number and crisis services.

• Put "messages are not monitored for emergencies" in your bio and pinned post.
• Reply to enquiries with your booking link or email, not with advice about someone's situation.
• Hide comments that share someone else's private details, and keep a note of what you removed.
• Take extra care with posts about suicide, self-harm or eating disorders: no graphic detail, and always signpost support.

Think about the moments when people search for help: the new year, exam season, the run-up to the holidays, and awareness days such as World Mental Health Day in October.

Disclosure: Zolyp, which publishes this guide, makes an AI social media manager. It plans a balanced week across your content pillars, writes the captions and designs the visuals in your brand voice, and schedules them to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads. You can add your own photos to any post, and you start by approving every post. Brand Brain can hold words and topics you never want used, such as "cure", client stories or titles you do not hold. Zolyp does not check posts against BACP, HCPC or HIPAA rules, so read every post before you approve it. Everything in this guide works just as well done by hand.

• Week 1: check your Google profile, bio, titles and booking link.
• Week 2: write two explainers from questions you hear in first sessions.
• Week 3: one post about your approach and one about practical details.
• Week 4: review enquiries, reply to reviews and plan next month.