Social media marketing for a therapist is a few plain posts drawn from what your practice website already says, published once or twice a week on one or two channels, with each one read before it goes out.
The posts explain who you work with, how you work, what a first session is like, what it costs, and where you see clients.
No client stories, no testimonials you asked for, no clinical advice in the comments, and no following clients back.
You can hand the writing to a person or to software, and your ethics code keeps you responsible for what publishes under your name.
If you run a medical clinic rather than a therapy practice, the best social media service for medical practices page is the one for you.
Why a therapy practice's feed is different
Most businesses sell with stories about their customers, and you cannot.
The people you help are the one subject your feed never touches: not their stories, not their words, not the fact that they are your clients.
That leaves some therapists deciding social media is not for them, and others posting with a steady sense that it is self-promotion.
Neither is required.
A person looking for a therapist wants to know whether you work with people like them, what the first session is like, whether they can afford it, and whether you are licensed where they live.
Those are facts, they are already on your website, and posting them is closer to answering the phone than to selling.
If your caseload is full, the real question is how to keep a quiet, steady presence without hours you do not have, and the second half of this page answers it.
What the codes say, in their own words
Three national codes cover psychologists, counselors and social workers: the APA code (American Psychological Association, as amended 2016), the 2014 ACA code (American Counseling Association), and the NASW code (National Association of Social Workers, revised 2021).
Each standard below was read from the code itself on September 23, 2026.
Your state board's rules sit on top of these and differ by state, so check your board.
Testimonials
- APA 5.05: "Psychologists do not solicit testimonials from current therapy clients/patients or other persons who because of their particular circumstances are vulnerable to undue influence."
- ACA C.3.b: "Counselors who use testimonials do not solicit them from current clients, former clients, or any other persons who may be vulnerable to undue influence. Counselors discuss with clients the implications of and obtain permission for the use of any testimonial."
- NASW 4.07(b): "Social workers should not engage in solicitation of testimonial endorsements (including solicitation of consent to use a client's prior statement as a testimonial endorsement) from current clients or from other people who, because of their particular circumstances, are vulnerable to undue influence."
ACA adds former clients and permission for any testimonial; NASW counts asking consent to reuse something a client already said.
Asking a client for a review is the kind of request all three address, so read yours before you ask, and before you repost a review a client left on their own.
Confidentiality in public
- APA 4.07 says psychologists do not disclose confidential, personally identifiable client information in public media unless the person is reasonably disguised, has consented in writing, or the law authorizes it.
- NASW 1.07(r): "Social workers should avoid posting any identifying or confidential information about clients on professional Web sites or other forms of social media."
- ACA H.6.d: "Counselors take precautions to avoid disclosing confidential information through public social media."
APA allows a disguise in some conditions, but a marketing feed is the wrong place to test one; the plain rule is no client material at all, composites included.
Following, friending and searching
- ACA A.5.e prohibits counselors from "engaging in a personal virtual relationship with individuals with whom they have a current counseling relationship (e.g., through social and other media)," and H.6.c asks them to respect the privacy of clients' social media presence unless the client consents to their viewing it.
- NASW 1.06(e) says to avoid communicating with clients through social networking sites and other technology for personal or non-work-related purposes.
- APA's code does not name social media; its multiple-relationships standard, 3.05, applies in any setting.
A public practice page that anyone may follow is not the problem.
Following a client back, liking a client's post, or replying in a way that shows you know each other is.
ACA H.6.b asks counselors to cover social media in informed consent, and saying there that you do not connect with clients online answers the question before it comes up.
Answering in the comments
- APA 5.04 asks psychologists giving public advice over the Internet to take precautions so their statements "do not indicate that a professional relationship has been established with the recipient."
- ACA C.6.c asks the same of counselors: that recipients "are not encouraged to infer that a professional counseling relationship has been established."
General education in a caption sits inside those lines.
A reply that assesses one person's situation or tells them what to do does not; the steady answer is an invitation to book a consultation, or no reply at all.
When someone else writes for you
- APA 5.02(a): "Psychologists who engage others to create or place public statements that promote their professional practice, products, or activities retain professional responsibility for such statements."
- ACA C.3.c: "When feasible, counselors make reasonable efforts to ensure that statements made by others about them or about the counseling profession are accurate."
You can give away the writing.
You cannot give away the responsibility, so whoever writes, you decide who reads each post before it publishes.
HIPAA, your board, and a revision on the way
HIPAA governs protected health information.
A general post about your specialties or your fees contains none; for anything beyond that, ask whoever advises your practice on HIPAA.
ACA's ethics page says its 2014 code is being revised, with final revisions expected to be adopted by its board in September 2026.
APA is also revising its code.
Check which edition is current when you read this.
Marriage and family therapists have their own association code, not quoted here.
What to post: your website is already the source
Everything a prospective client needs before booking is on a good practice website.
Software like Boomp reads those pages, and a person writing by hand would read the same ones.
Every post in this table is an illustration written for a hypothetical solo practice's website, not a post from a Boomp customer.
| Page on the practice website | What a post from it says (illustration, hypothetical practice) |
|---|---|
| Specialties | "I work with adults whose anxiety shows up at work: the Sunday dread, the email reread five times, the meeting replayed all evening." |
| Approach and modalities | "CBT, in plain terms: we look at the thoughts that arrive in a hard moment and practice answering them differently." |
| What a first session is like | "The first session is mostly questions, and you do not need to know how to explain it yet." |
| Fees, insurance and sliding scale | "I am out of network, I can give you a superbill for your insurer, and a few sliding-scale spots open each year." |
| Telehealth | "Video sessions are open to adults living in the states where I am licensed, listed on my website." |
| FAQs | "Can I switch therapists if it is not a fit? Yes, and I will help you find someone who fits better." |
One as a full post, from the same hypothetical practice.
Illustration: from a hypothetical practice's "What to expect" page.
The first session is mostly questions, and most of them are mine.
What brings you in, what you have tried, and what you want to be different.
You do not need to know how to explain it yet.
You can also ask me anything, including whether I am the right fit, and if I am not, I will help you find someone who is.
Notice what is missing: no client, no outcome claim.
For comparison, here is a real post Boomp wrote for a paying customer in a different trade, a listing agent on the West Michigan lakeshore, shown without her name.
It names a feeling and makes no promise, which a therapist's feed does too.
West Michigan just has more micro-neighborhoods than people realize."
Excerpt, the first two sentences of the post.
Published August 9, 2026.
Published through Boomp from the agent’s own website.
Shown without the agent’s name.
A cadence you can hold at capacity
Once or twice a week on one or two channels is enough for a solo practice.
A Google Business Profile, the listing Google can show in local results, also takes posts.
Its reviews fall under the review rules above, and a reply must never confirm that the reviewer is your client.
Choose the number you can keep in your fullest month, because a feed busy in January and silent since reads as a practice that has closed.
If you are full, say so: "My caseload is full, and my waitlist opens in spring" is honest and keeps referral sources current.
What never goes on the feed
- Client stories, in any form. Not a composite, not a disguised case, not "a client once told me." If a draft reads like a story about someone you saw, decline it, whoever wrote it.
- Anything that implies someone is your client. Tagging, thanking, or a reply that shows you know the person.
- Testimonials you asked for, or reviews you have not checked against your code.
- Clinical advice to one person, in a caption or a reply.
- Outcome promises or loose credentials. "Feel like yourself again in eight sessions" is a claim about results; APA 5.01(b) and NASW 4.06(c) both address the accuracy of claims about results and credentials, and ACA C.3.a the accuracy of credentials.
- A comment section left to act as a crisis line. Say in your bio that messages are not monitored for emergencies, and name where to go instead.
Four ways to get it done
Who does the work is the axis that matters; price follows.
Ranges below for people are typical ranges, not a survey; get quotes.
| Who does the work | Monthly cost | Who writes | Who reads before publishing | What tends to go wrong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You | Your evenings, typically two to four hours a week | You | You | The feed stops the month your caseload fills |
| An assistant or virtual assistant | Part of their hours, plus a scheduler (Buffer has a free plan, read September 16, 2026; Metricool is $25 month to month, read July 29, 2026) | The assistant, from your website | You, if you set the rule | Drafts wait on you, or start publishing without your read |
| A marketing agency for therapists | Typically several hundred to a few thousand dollars a month | The agency's writers | The agency's process, with your sign-off if the agreement says so | Paying for ads and search work you did not need in order to get the posts |
| Software from your website (Boomp) | $9 to $275 | The software, from your public pages and FAQs | You, each post, in the app or by email link; on done-for-you, Boomp's founder | Approving without reading; the read is the ethics part, on every plan |
- You write the most accurate posts and have the least time for them.
- An assistant can write from your website, once two rules are written down: nothing publishes without your read, and nothing on the list above ever goes out.
- An agency earns its fee when you need ads, search and reporting run together; if you need only the posts, it buys more than you will use (see the guide to outsourcing social media).
Software from your website.
Boomp is software.
It reads your practice's public website, from specialties and approach to fees and FAQs.
It writes from your public site and anything you choose to tell Boomp, so keep client details out of both.
It also reads reviews shown on the site, so if your site shows testimonials, read any post that draws on one against your code before you approve it.
No plan runs ads, replies to comments or messages, shoots photos or holds strategy calls, so the comments stay with you, which for a therapist is where they belong.
What stays with you
Whoever writes the posts, these stay with the clinician.
- Your code and your board's rules, read this year.
- The read before anything publishes. On Packs and Core, that is you, every post. On done-for-you, Boomp's founder approves each post. The done-for-you page says anything legal or medical stays your call and gets checked with you before it publishes. Your code still holds you responsible, so use the setup call to give her your list from "What never goes on the feed", and read your published feed each week.
- Crisis language and resources: what your bio says about emergencies, and where it sends people. In the US, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline takes calls, texts and chats around the clock (988lifeline.org, read September 23, 2026).
- Every reply to a comment, message or review, with no clinical advice in any of them.
- Decisions about testimonials and reviews, and who you follow or like online.
- Perishable facts: fees, insurance, telehealth states, and whether you are taking new clients.
No software, assistant or agency takes those off your plate, and one that claims to has not read your code.
The three doors at Boomp
Every Boomp plan starts the same way: the software reads your practice website and writes posts about the practice.
The price follows how much of the work you keep in your own hands.
- Packs, $9 a month. Ten finished posts with images, by email link. You read them and post the ones you choose. Nothing to connect.
- Core, $39 a month. Twenty posts, one carousel and one video, published to your connected channels after you approve each one in the app. Usually about ten minutes a week of approving.
- Done for you, $275 a month. The same content, with Boomp's founder approving every post before it publishes. You never open the app. It is not an agency: no ads, no replies, no photo shoots, no strategy calls.
No contract on any of the three.
Before any of them, the free door: enter your website and email, and the link to ten finished posts made from your practice website, with images, a carousel and a short video, arrives by email, with no account or card, so you can read them against your code like any other draft.
