Someone reading your listing is deciding whether to contact you, often while they are stressed and comparing several names. The listing that gets the call is the one that answers their questions fastest. This applies to FrumHealth.org and to any other directory.
Photo
Use a clear, recent photo of your face, taken in good light, looking at the camera. A friendly headshot does better than a logo, a group photo or a landscape. People want to see who they will be talking to.
If you run a group practice, a photo of the clinician a client is most likely to see works better than the practice logo. You can add the logo on your own website.
The first sentence
The first sentence is the one most people read. Use it to say who you help and with what.
- Weak: "Welcome! I'm so glad you found your way here."
- Weak: "Therapy is a journey toward healing and growth."
- Clear: "I work with frum women dealing with anxiety, postpartum depression and the pressure of raising a large family."
- Clear: "I help teenage boys and their parents with anxiety, school refusal and ADHD."
Who you work with
Name the people you see most: adults, teens, children, couples, families, men, women. If you do not work with a group, such as young children, say so. It saves both sides a call.
List the two to four concerns you treat most often. A long list of every possible issue makes it harder for a reader to tell what you are good at.
- Weak: "I treat anxiety, depression, trauma, OCD, ADHD, eating disorders, addiction, grief, relationships, life transitions and more."
- Clear: "Most of my clients come for OCD and anxiety. I also see adults dealing with grief."
How you work, in plain words
Name your approach, then say what it looks like in a session. Most readers do not know what CBT or IFS means.
- Weak: "I use an integrative, client-centered, evidence-based approach."
- Clear: "I use CBT. We look at the thoughts that keep the anxiety going and practice new ways of responding, with small steps between sessions."
- Clear: "I use IFS, which means we work with the different parts of you that pull in different directions, such as the part that wants to rest and the part that says you can't."
If you work with frum clients regularly, say how. For example, that you respect clients' values and are comfortable consulting a client's rav when the client wants that.
Languages
List every language you can do a full session in. If you speak a language partly, say so, for example "conversational Hebrew". Language is one of the first filters many clients use.
Where and how you see clients
- Your town or neighborhood, and whether you have an office.
- Whether you see clients online.
- The states or countries you are licensed in. Clients need to know you can see them where they live.
Fees and insurance
Say whether you take insurance, which plans, or whether you give out-of-network receipts. If you have a fee or a sliding scale, list it. Many people will not call if they cannot tell whether they can afford it.
Availability
Say whether you are taking new clients, and which days or times you have. If you have a waitlist, say so. Update it when it changes.
Credentials
List your license and state, and any certifications that relate to what you treat, such as EMDR or Gottman training. If you are pre-licensed, say who your supervisor is. Clients and referral sources notice when this is clear.
Keep it current
An old photo, a phone number that no longer works, or "accepting new clients" when you have been full for a year all cost you trust. Look at your listing every few months, and whenever your hours, fees, location or availability change.
On FrumHealth.org
Your listing on FrumHealth.org has fields for each item above. Specialties and approaches are picked up from the words in your description, so writing plainly about who you help and how you work also helps you show up in the right searches. You can see your page as you build it before you send it in.