We tried out the best free online therapy directories and compiled a list of the 11 best options for marketing your private practice for free. The best free directories are designed specifically for online therapy, while some utilize social media, and other options focus on local listings and search engine business profiles.
Our Top Free Therapist Directories
- Best Overall - Choosing Therapy Directory | Read review
- Runner-Up - TherapyDen | Read review
- Best Search Engine Profile - Google Business | Read review
- Runner-Up Search Engine Profile - Bing Places for Business | Read review
- Good Secondary Search Engine Profile - Yahoo Local | Read review
- Best Social Media Profile - Facebook | Read review
- Runner-Up Social Media Profile - LinkedIn | Read review
- Best User Review Website - Yelp | Read review
- Best Local Listing - YP.com | Read review
- Runner-Up Local Listing - Craigslist | Read review
- Honorable Mention - Your Professional Organization | Read review
Best Free Listings At a Glance
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Totally free, no payment information required -
Your free profile displays in search results
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No additional features
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Basic features available for free -
Premium features are very affordable
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Relatively small -
No other features
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Largest search engine in the world -
Popular go-to for business info
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Difficult to generate client leads -
Needs a bit of know-how to optimize
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Covers any non-Google users
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Difficult to generate client leads -
Not the only step to take
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A good tertiary search engine profile
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Difficult to generate client leads
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Message with prospective clients -
Good for creating an online following
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Can require a lot of time and effort -
Ad campaigns get costly
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Great for professional networking -
Groups for talking to other professionals
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Best features require subscription -
Not great for client leads
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Good for user reviews -
Clients can message you directly
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Takes time to grow
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Very detailed and customizable listing
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No messaging or review features -
Location-based only
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Easy to set up -
Good for densely populated areas
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Doesn't show up in search engines -
May not be popular in your location
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Usually offers CEUs -
Membership has many benefits
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May require fees
Why Trust Us
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Data Points AnalyzedChoosing Therapy’s reviews are fair, honest, thorough and based on firsthand experience. To date, we’ve reviewed mental health solutions offered by more than 300 companies. That has involved more than 2,350 hours of firsthand use and consideration of over 1,150 data points. Our editorial policies outline a rigorous review process, but they all boil down to this: produce reviews that our own friends and family can rely on. Learn more here.
Detailed Directory Reviews
Here are our top free therapist directories and marketing solutions.
Primary Features: Free directory listing; publication and PR opportunities through the parent website
Choosing Therapy offers a free therapist directory to licensed therapists. Directory listings allow you to provide in-depth information about your practice, and managing your profile is easy. There are also opportunities to write for the directory parent site, ChoosingTherapy.com, as well as PR opportunities to help you build your online expertise to better market your practice.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Totally free, no payment information required
- Continually draws therapy seekers from the parent sites online publications
- Opportunities for writing, publication, and PR
- Your free profile displays in search results, unlike with other free directory options
Cons - Lower volume than other directories
- No additional features such as a teletherapy platform or billing
Overview
After reviewing other free directory options available, it’s clear that Choosing Therapy’s directory is the best available for a completely free profile listing. Unlike TherapyDen, our free plan allows your profile to be equally visible across the site.
To find out how to join, visit Choosing Therapy’s directory.
Primary Features: Directory listing, a handful of offers/discounts from other platforms
TherapyDen offers free profiles, as well as premium profiles that start at $10 monthly, making it one of the most affordable options for therapist directories.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Basic features available for free
- Premium features are very affordable and the ultimate cost is a pay-what-you-can model
- An exceptionally inclusive set of therapist filters
- Great for small or growing practices
- Can integrate with SimplePractice calendar
Cons - Relatively small compared to other directories
- No other features available such as a telehealth platform or billing assistance.
- No data reporting or lead-tracking features
Overview
TherapyDen is a robust therapist directory with a focus on client inclusivity. A basic profile is available at no cost, and premium features are available on a “pay-what-you-can” basis with a minimum fee of $10 monthly.
While TherapyDen is a simpler and smaller directory than many of the bigger alternatives, it has a specific focus on accessibility and inclusivity in its filtering system.
To learn more and get started, visit our full TherapyDen review.
Primary Features: Free business listing in Google search results.
A Google Business listing is essential for any business, not just therapy practices.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Completely free
- Google has the most users out of all search engines
- Most client’s go-to for finding information about location and business hours
Cons - Difficult to generate client leads with this method
- Not the only online marketing step that needs to be taken
- Needs a bit of know-how to optimize it
Overview
A Google Business listing is one of the most essential things to have for any business – especially an in-person one. It will allow potential clients to find your website, address, business hours, and contact information. This is the purest modernization of a phonebook listing.
The downside to a Google Business listing is it can only take you so far. It’s difficult to generate client leads from scratch with a Google listing alone, so you’ll need assistance from other services to round out your online marketing efforts.
If you run a business – especially an in-person one – listing it on Google is one of the most important steps you can take to boost your online presence.
To learn more about Google Business and to get started, visit the Google Business website.
Primary Features: Free business listing in Bing search results.
While it isn’t quite as popular as Google, Bing is still worth listing your practice on. Google certainly hosts the majority of internet searches, however, there are plenty of people who use Bing every day, so listing here covers all of your bases.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Completely free
- Covers most users that aren’t using Google
- Most client’s go-to for finding information about location and business hours
Cons - Difficult to generate client leads with this method
- Not the only online marketing step that needs to be taken
- Needs a bit of know-how to optimize it
Overview
If you have Bing, Yahoo, and Google business listings, then you’ve pretty well covered your bases when it comes to search engines. This will provide a good avenue for clients to find your practice by direct search. Having all three is essential for in-person practices.
Bing is owned by Microsoft and is a relatively popular search engine used worldwide to varying degrees of popularity. By creating a business listing with Bing, you will be able to appear in local Bing search results.
Listing your practice on Bing Places for Business is ideal for in-person practices but can also work for telehealth.
To learn more about Bing Places for Business, visit the Bing Places for Business website.
Primary Features: Free business listing in Yahoo search results.
Secondary to Google and Bing, but Yahoo is still used enough that it’s worth creating a quick listing. While it is less popular overall than Google and Bing, there are still some users who prefer it. A business listing with Yahoo ensures your practice will be visible to those people.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Completely free
- Covers most users that aren’t using Google or Bing
- Most client’s go-to for finding information about location and business hours
Cons - Difficult to generate client leads with this method
- Not the only online marketing step that needs to be taken
- Needs a bit of know-how to optimize it
Overview
If you have Yahoo, Google, and Bing business listings, then you’ve pretty well covered your bases when it comes to search engines. This will provide a good avenue for clients to find your practice by direct search. Having all three is essential for in-person practices.
Listing your practice on Yahoo Local is ideal for in-person practices, but could work for telehealth as well.
To learn more and get started, visit the Yahoo Local website.
Primary Features: Free profile for businesses, options for advertising campaigns
It’s difficult to discuss business social media profiles without bringing up Facebook. Presently, it’s one of the most important places you can have a social media profile for your practice.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Go-to social media profile for businesses
- Good for creating an online following, promoting writing, and building a brand
- Instant message with prospective clients
- Link your Instagram account to your Facebook account
Cons - Using it to its full potential requires a lot of time and effort
- Advertising campaigns can become expensive
Overview
For building your brand online and possibly gaining a few new client referrals, Facebook is a good place to start. You’ll likely use Facebook in conjunction with other tools to help build an online presence, and it’s a great place to start promoting a blog or other writing online. It’s also a good place to link to your website and provide contact information.
It’s worth noting that creating a social media business profile is quick and straightforward, but leveraging social media to its fullest potential requires a lot of time, effort, and knowledge. A fleshed-out and professional social media profile can help improve the appearance of professionalism for your practice.
Facebook offers a huge variety of options for marketing, including paid advertising campaigns and the ability to link to Instagram.
To learn more and get started, visit the Meta (Facebook) Business website.
Primary Features: Free profile for business networking, options for advertising campaigns, paid learning platform
More professional networking than new client leads, LinkedIn is the best place to get your name out amongst colleagues and form new connections.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Great professional networking for socializing with others in the industry
- Therapist-created groups for ongoing discussions around running a practice
- Instant message with prospective clients
Cons - In-depth features may require a subscription
- Not as useful as other platforms for generating client referrals
Overview
LinkedIn is a great platform for making new connections with other therapists or professionals in the industry. Member-created groups for therapists make a great place for holding discussions about managing a private practice. LinkedIn also has a learning platform for a variety of skills, but this requires a paid subscription.
LinkedIn isn’t as useful as other platforms for generating new client leads or referrals, but industry networking makes it worth the time to create a profile. Plus, it’s a fantastic platform for promoting a blog or other mental health content.
With a huge number of professionals using LinkedIn, it’s a great place to network with other therapists which could lead to referrals down the line. It’s even better for promoting mental health content and building your brand.
To learn more about getting started with LinkedIn, visit the LinkedIn Business homepage.
Primary Features: Free business listing, messaging features
Yelp comes to mind when you think of restaurant reviews, but the service is good for therapists and providers of all kinds, as well. It allows you to message potential clients about general topics and accumulate user reviews, as well as publish contact information and links to your website.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Great platform for generating user reviews
- Allows prospective clients to message you or ask questions
Cons - My take time (and encouragement of current clients) to generate a significant amount of reviews
- If you don’t have many reviews, a single bad one can lower your average significantly
Overview
Yelp allows businesses to list a profile for free and is an excellent platform for generating user reviews. However, it will likely take time and effort to generate a significant number of reviews.
Yelp allows potential clients to message you directly to answer questions. The Yelp listing allows you to list all of the details of your practice and provides another place for you to link back to your website, further solidifying your internet presence.
Yelp is a good place to gain user reviews, but it might take time to start gaining reviews.
Primary Features: Free business listing
The Yellow Pages used to be the first place a business would list. Even today, YP.com is a great resource for listing in-person, local businesses.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Very detailed and customizable listing
- Yellow Pages are well-known
Cons - No messaging or review features
- Location-based listings, so not great for telehealth practices
Overview
YP.com is a well-known general business directory that allows therapists and mental health practices to promote their businesses online. It lacks messaging and client review features and is based heavily on your geographic region, so it isn’t ideal for telehealth practices.
YP.com is easy to use and could offer a good boost for local traffic, depending on how popular it is where you live.
To get started and learn more, visit the YP.com marketing homepage.
Primary Features: Free classifieds listings
The original online classifieds website still holds up. Typically thought of when it’s time to buy a used car, Craigslist operates a solid classifieds section for businesses and services.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Easy to set up
- Good for in-person businesses
- Receive emails from potential clients
Cons - Doesn’t help you show up in online search results
- May not be a good option in your location
Overview
Craigslist is an online classifieds listing service that is free for anyone to use. Often thought of for buying and selling items, Craigslist also allows businesses to advertise their services. Whether or not this is effective for your practice comes down to how popular Craigslist is in your geographic area, but creating a listing is straightforward and free, so there’s not much risk involved.
Craigslist may or may not be a great choice for you depending on where you practice and how popular Craigslist is in your area. Since Craislist is not primarily a therapist directory, you can expect to find potential clients here that have exhausted other methods of finding a therapist.
To learn more and get started, visit your local Craigslist website.
Primary Features: Free therapist directory listing
Often overlooked, professional organizations such as the APA or ACA typically operate dedicated directories for you and anyone else affiliated with the organization. State licensing bodies may also have options.
Pros & Cons
Pros - Usually includes access to online learning platforms
- Membership to a professional organization improves your credibility
Cons - Not as popular among clients as a paid directory is
- Usually limited in extra features
Overview
Affiliating with your professional organization can offer a lot of benefits including access to educational resources, professional networking and events, and often, access to a directory listing for generating new clients.
Directories operated by professional organizations like the APA or ACA are a great choice, free for members, but may not be as popular among clients.
Paid Options to Consider
As you start to expand your online presence, you may find that you need more client referrals than you can generate through free platforms. While many free options are available for managing you practice’s marketing and online presence, they can’t quite compete with the effectiveness of the best therapist directories.
A few of the most popular therapist directories worth noting include:
- Psychology Today – a high-volume and popular paid therapist directory. Read more in our full Psychology Today review
- GoodTherapy – another high-volume paid directory with other benefits like CEUs. Read more in our full GoodTherapy review
- Zencare – an all-in-one practice management platform and marketing solution. Read more in our full Zencare review
- Zocdoc – A fully managed directory platform for all kinds of providers. Read more in our full Zocdoc review
Other Marketing Tools to Consider
Primary Features: Free basic website
Learn MoreShow less
Building a solid website is essential for online marketing. While you’ll always get better results with paid website builders, a free plan with Wix is a good place to get started.
For those on a very tight budget, it is possible to get a basic website set up for free with Wix, but you won’t be able to add a custom domain name, there will be ads on-page, and your features will be limited. But, it’s a good place to start, if you need to get a website off the ground.
In our review of Wix, we found a lot of benefits in its free plan. If you lack a website, it’s a great place to start.
Primary Features: Full paid EHR with marketing and web design features
Learn MoreShow less
SimplePractice offers a supremely convenient suite of software for managing every aspect of running a therapy practice. Everything from scheduling to marketing is covered, but premium features can come with premium price tags. Its robust feature set makes SimplePractice one of the least relatively affordable offerings on the market.
SimplePractice base prices range from $29 to $99 monthly for a solo practice. SimplePractice pricing is split into a few different subscription plans, with some optional add-ons as well.
Review pricing details in our review of SimplePractice.
Things to Consider Before Listing Your Practice
When you’re considering joining a therapist directory, there are a few important factors worth considering:
- The number of people in your specific geographic area that are likely to be searching for practitioners
- The degree of competition you’ll be facing among other therapists in your area on any given directory
- The time and energy you are able and willing to commit toward a strategy for improving your marketing
- Whether you’re interested in bolstering your online presence by writing blog posts or articles
- Whether you’re looking for a main source of client referrals, or you’re simply looking for a secondary or supplemental source.
What Do I Include in My Listing?
In your therapist directory listing, it’s important to focus on a few aspects:
- Approachability – clients should immediately gain the impression that you are warm, approachable, and welcoming to them regardless of what they may be going through
- Depth – ensure your listing captures details of your approach. Be specific here; it will ensure that your clients are well-matched to your particular style.
- Specificity of Expertise – your listing needs to express what specialties are really your specialties and explain thoroughly why you are an expert in them.
- Call to Action – toward the end of your listing (or at multiple points) your listing should directly ask potential clients to take an action such as visiting your website, scheduling an appointment, or contacting you.
- Visual Elements – Secondary to the content but almost as important is how you are representing yourself visually. Ideally, your listing should include recent, high-quality photos and videos.
Final Verdict
Overall, if you’re looking to expand the online marketing for your practice, there are several options available at no cost. Ultimately, you will likely elect to use more than one of the above methods for expanding your practice’s marketing. A combination of directories, social media, and business listings is ideal – for example, you might choose to focus on a Facebook profile, a Google Business listing that directs to your website, and a free Choosing Therapy profile.
Regardless of what specific platforms you choose, it’s important to be consistent with them to reap the most benefit. In general, free directory and marketing platforms require more effort to implement effectively than paid options, so it’s important to be mindful of the time you are spending with each platform to maximize your reach.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do Therapist Directories Work?
Therapist directories allow you to list yourself or your practice to a public search tool that allows potential clients to sort and find the therapists in their area. Directories usually charge a monthly fee to maintain their profile. Clients find your profile and contact you for scheduling, or schedule directly, depending on how the platform is designed.
Is a Therapist Directory Listing Worth It?
Whether a therapist directory listing is worth it to you and your practice is entirely dependent on a wide range of factors including your practice’s current dynamic, its financial situation, your goals, and where you are located. Most important, perhaps, is your therapeutic niche. Generalists will have an easier time being listed but will have a lot of competition to overcome, whereas practitioners with a defined niche will appear to clients much more readily.
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Additional Resources
To help our readers take the next step in their mental health journey, Choosing Therapy has partnered with leaders in mental health and wellness. Choosing Therapy is compensated for marketing by the companies included below.
Accept Insurance & Get Client Referrals
With Grow Therapy, you can get paneled for free with the major payors in your state so you can start seeing insurance clients. Don’t worry about unpaid claims! Any insurance claims that you submit are guaranteed. Schedule a Call to Learn More
EHR For Therapists
SimplePractice has everything you need to run your practice—from booking and scheduling to insurance and client billing. 7-day Free Trial and 40% Off For 6 Months! Free Trial
Practice Website
TherapySites – Websites For Therapists Made Simple. Choose from a selection of high-end, mobile-friendly website designs created just for therapists. Attracting new clients is easy with a professional online presence. The first two months of website hosting services are Free. Learn More
Therapist Newsletter
Sign up for Choosing Therapy’s free Therapist Newsletter. Receive encouragement, info, and tips on building your private practice. Twice-weekly newsletter.
Free Therapist Directory from ChoosingTherapy.com
More than 30 million people visit ChoosingTherapy.com each year. Join our therapist directory for free to make sure potential clients can find you. No credit card required, and you can remove your profile at any time. Join For Free
For Further Reading
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