What to Write on Your Therapist Website (And What to Avoid)
How to write clear, ethical, client-centered website copy — without sounding salesy or generic.
Most therapists I know aren't bad at design. They're not even bad at writing. They're just completely stuck the moment someone says, "Now write the copy for your website."
You pick a template. You find a color palette that doesn't make people anxious. You upload a photo where you look approachable but also professional but also human but also credentialed. And then you sit down to actually write something and — nothing.
Blank page.
Blinking cursor.
Maybe you go make a snack.
Here's why it's hard: your website lives in this weird tension between being professional and real, clear and ethical, helpful and not... salesy? It's a lot of competing voices in your head.
So let's untangle it a little.
First, let's talk about what your website isn't
It's not your CV.
It's not a chance to impress your supervisor or your grad school cohort. It's not a place to explain somatic-informed relational attachment theory (even if that's genuinely what you do).
Here's what it actually is: a decision-making space for someone who is overwhelmed and trying to figure out if you might be the right person to help them.
That's it. That's the whole job.
And if your copy makes that decision harder instead of easier? You've already lost them.
What to Write on Your Website— let's go page by page
Start with who, not what
I know, you want to lead with your training. You worked hard for those credentials. But here's the thing — the person on your website isn't thinking about your credentials yet. They're thinking about themselves.
So start there.
Instead of: "I work with individuals experiencing a range of mental health concerns."
Try: "I work with individuals who are exhausted, anxious, and quietly wondering if this is just... their life now."
Notice how the second one feels? Like you already get it. That's the magic of specific language — it makes people feel seen before they've even met you.
Name the problem the way they'd say it at 2am
Your clients aren't Googling "integrative somatic therapy." They're Googling "why do I feel anxious all the time" or "why can't I just relax" or "why do I cry in my car after work."
Your website should sound like you understand that. Use their words, not your textbook's words.
When someone reads your site and thinks "that's exactly it, how does she/he know?" — that's the whole goal. That's the moment they start to trust you.
Explain how you actually help — and keep it simple
You don't need to list every modality. Nobody outside the field knows what half of them mean anyway.
What people really want to know is: what will be different after working with you?
Something like: "Together, we’ll work on understanding your anxiety patterns, building emotional regulation skills, and creating a way of living that doesn’t feel constantly on edge."
Clear. Grounded. Human. That's what makes someone book a call.
Be honest about money
This one's uncomfortable, I know. But if someone has to email you just to find out your fee, most of them won't. They'll just quietly leave.
You can be warm and transparent. Those two things are not in conflict. Clarity is actually a form of care.
Tell them what to do next
Don't assume they'll figure it out. They're already overwhelmed, remember?
"Schedule a free 15-minute call." "Book a consultation." "Start here."
A clear next step is the difference between someone taking action and someone closing the tab.
Now here’s something most therapists miss:
What you say matters — but where you place it matters just as much.
Your headline, your opening paragraph, your call-to-action placement — those aren’t random decisions. They shape how someone experiences your entire website.
If you’re not sure how all of this copy actually fits into a homepage layout, I break that down step-by-step in How Therapists Should Structure a Homepage on Squarespace.
Because writing strong copy and placing it strategically are two different skills — and both affect whether someone reaches out.
The stuff that's quietly hurting you
Vague language. "Safe space." "Holistic healing." "Evidence-based approach." These aren't wrong, they're just... everywhere. If it could be on any therapist's website in your city, it's not helping yours stand out.
Leading with your training. Credentials matter — but people hire you because they feel like you get them. Lead with that. Let the credentials be the supporting cast.
Writing for Google instead of humans. SEO matters, but awkward keyword-stuffing reads as robotic. Just be specific and natural. "Anxiety therapy for busy parents in Denver who haven't slept well in years" — that's both good SEO and something a human would actually say.
A simple place to start if you're stuck
Answer these five questions like you're talking to a friend:
Who do I actually love working with?
What are they exhausted by, or afraid of?
What does our work actually look like together?
What's different for them after six months?
What's the one thing I want them to do when they land on my site?
Write it messy first. Then clean it up. Then cut half of it.
Clarity always wins over cleverness.
If You’re Staring at a Blank Page
Let’s be honest.
Knowing what to say and knowing how to say it are different skills.
You might understand your ideal client deeply.
You might know exactly what shifts in therapy.
But translating that into website language?
That’s a different muscle.
That’s exactly why I created Boho Bot.
It’s not a generic AI writer.
It’s a guided prompt system designed specifically for therapists building their websites.
It walks you through:
Defining who you help
Clarifying your positioning
Turning clinical language into client-centered language
Writing homepage sections without sounding robotic
It doesn’t replace your voice.
It helps you access it.
If writing your website feels heavier than it should, Boho Bot was built for that exact moment.
One more honest thing
Sometimes you're stuck not because you can't write — but because you're too close to your own work.
You minimize what makes you different. You soften everything. You're so scared of sounding like a used car salesman that you overcorrect into being invisible.
That's not a writing problem. That's a proximity problem. And it's incredibly common.
A good template, or some outside perspective, can help you see your work the way a potential client would — which is often very different from how you see it.
The real goal
Your website doesn't have to speak to everyone. It just has to genuinely speak to your people.
When someone reads it and feels that little internal click of "this person gets it" — that's not marketing. That's just honest communication. And it's what actually fills practices.
So if your website currently sounds a bit generic, a bit vague, a bit "could be anyone" — that's fixable. It just starts with being a little more honest about who you are and who you're really here to help.
That's usually enough.
