Your website is advertising. That surprises some therapists, because it feels more like a welcome mat than an ad. But to your state licensing board, anything you publish to attract clients counts: your website, your Psychology Today profile, your Google Business Profile, your social media posts and your listing on a booking site.
The good news is that the rules are mostly common sense. Be accurate. Be clear. Don’t oversell. Make it easy for a client to know who they’re seeing and what it will cost.
This guide walks through what boards and ethics codes generally expect, in plain English. It is not legal advice, and it doesn’t replace your own board’s rules or your profession’s ethics code. Every state writes its rules differently and updates them from time to time, so treat this as a map. Then check the details with your state board and your ethics code.
Who sets the rules
Two groups shape what you can say:
- Your state licensing board. Each state has boards for psychologists, counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists (sometimes combined into one). Most have advertising rules, either in their regulations or in their rules of conduct. If you’re licensed in more than one state, each board’s rules apply to clients in that state.
- Your professional ethics code. The APA (psychologists), ACA (counselors), NASW (social workers) and AAMFT (marriage and family therapists) each have an ethics code with a section on public statements and advertising. Many state boards adopt or point to these codes.
Physical therapists, massage therapists (LMTs) and other clinicians have their own boards with similar rules. The same habits below apply.
1. Be accurate about who you are
This is the heart of almost every advertising rule.
- Use your license title exactly. Write “Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)”, “Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)” or “Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT)” the way your state issues it. Titles like “psychologist” are protected by law in every state.
- Show your license status clearly. If you’re an associate or pre-licensed clinician, many states expect you to say so and to name your supervisor. Don’t let a bio suggest you’re fully licensed if you aren’t.
- Name the states you’re licensed in. This matters most for telehealth. Clients need to know whether you can see them where they live.
- Be careful with “Dr.” Ethics codes generally say you should only present degrees that are earned and relevant to your practice. A doctorate in an unrelated field shouldn’t be used in a way that suggests a clinical one.
- List training honestly. A weekend workshop is not a certification. “Trained in EMDR” and “EMDR certified” mean different things.
2. Don’t make claims nobody can check
Ethics codes and boards generally prohibit statements that are false, deceptive or misleading. On a therapy website, that usually means avoiding:
- Superlatives. “The best”, “the leading”, “the top-rated therapist in Austin”.
- Promises of results. “Overcome anxiety in six sessions.” “Save your marriage.” Therapy outcomes depend on the person, and promising them can mislead someone who is struggling.
- Comparisons with other therapists that a client can’t verify.
- Statistics you can’t support. If you quote a research finding, make sure it’s real and fairly described.
What works better: describe who you help, how you work and what a first session is like. That’s more useful to clients anyway.
3. Testimonials: the big one
This is where therapists most often get caught out.
The APA, ACA, NASW and AAMFT codes all restrict asking for testimonials from current clients, and from anyone else who might feel unable to say no. The reasoning is simple: the therapy relationship has a power imbalance, and a client shouldn’t feel their care depends on writing you a nice review. Some codes go further about former clients, too.
In practice, that means:
- Don’t ask clients for testimonials or reviews, in session, by email or with a card in the waiting room.
- Be cautious about copying reviews onto your own website. Once you choose to display them, they usually count as your advertising.
- Never reply to a review in a way that confirms someone is your client. A short, general reply (“We take every concern seriously. Please contact the office.”) protects privacy. Health regulators have fined providers for sharing client details in review replies.
- Never offer anything in return for a review. The Federal Trade Commission also has rules against fake and paid-for reviews.
Some boards are stricter than the ethics codes. Check yours before adding anything.
4. Be clear about fees
Clear fees aren’t only good manners. Misleading pricing can count as misleading advertising.
- Show your actual session fees, or a clear range.
- Say which insurance plans you’re in network with, and keep that list current.
- If you offer a sliding scale, explain it simply.
- If you see self-pay clients, the federal No Surprises Act generally expects a notice about Good Faith Estimates on your website.
Our fees and insurance page template gives you the wording.
5. Easy for everyone to use (the ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses open to the public, including health practices, to be accessible to people with disabilities. The Department of Justice has said this includes websites, and lawsuits over websites that people can’t use are common.
In plain terms, your website should work for someone with low vision, someone using a screen reader, and someone who can’t use a mouse. That means readable text, strong contrast between text and background, descriptions on photos, buttons that are easy to tap, and forms that can be filled in with a keyboard. Practices that take Medicare or Medicaid may have extra requirements, so ask your compliance advisor.
6. HIPAA and your website
HIPAA protects your clients’ health information. Your website doesn’t need to hold any, and it’s safer when it doesn’t.
A few things can raise HIPAA concerns on a therapy website:
- Contact forms that invite health details. A box that says “Tell us what brings you in” can send private information through a generic form tool that hasn’t agreed to protect it the way HIPAA expects. Ask only for a name, an email and a short message, and keep intake in your booking or records system. We wrote more about whether your contact form is a HIPAA risk.
- Tracking tools and ad pixels. The federal health department has warned providers about tools that send visitor information to advertising companies. Rules in this area have been debated in court, so ask your compliance advisor before adding any.
- Using client stories. Even a “disguised” story can identify someone. Using client information in marketing generally needs the client’s written permission, and the ethics codes add their own limits.
We don’t give legal advice. If you’re unsure about any of these, check with your compliance advisor.
A one-page checklist
Read every page of your website and your directory profiles with these questions in mind:
- Is every clinician’s name, license type and licensed state shown correctly?
- Are associates and supervised clinicians clearly identified?
- Is every claim true, and could a client check it?
- Are there any “best”, “leading” or guaranteed results? Remove them.
- Did we ask any client for a testimonial or review? Stop, and check our code.
- Are fees, insurance plans and the Good Faith Estimate notice clear and current?
- Can someone with low vision read it and use it with a keyboard?
- Does any form ask for health details? Take that box out.
Check your state board and your ethics code
This guide gives you the shape of the rules, not the exact wording. Before you change your website, look up your state board’s current advertising rules and the public statements section of your ethics code. If you work across states, check each one.
Want a second pair of eyes? Our free website check flags common advertising and privacy issues, and every website we build is written to your board’s rules and your ethics code. For the other things clients look for, see the therapy website checklist.