Quick Answer
Psychology Today referrals have declined 77 to 94 percent for many therapists since 2023. The main causes are platform companies (Rula, Alma, Headway) managing thousands of profiles on PT, a post-pandemic increase in therapist listings, and clients shifting to Google search and AI tools like ChatGPT to find providers. PT is still worth keeping as one channel, but it should not be your only strategy.
You are not imagining it
If your Psychology Today inbox has gone quiet, you are not alone.
Across Reddit, Facebook groups, and supervision sessions, therapists are saying the same thing: the referrals stopped. The profile that used to bring 10 to 15 inquiries a month now brings one. Maybe two. Some months, nothing.
"Almost every therapist I've spoken to in 2025 has said either that Psychology Today has never worked for them, or it used to but doesn't anymore."
Therapist, professional community (2025)
"I thought it was just me" is the most common reaction. But this is happening across cities, specialties, and experience levels. Something structural changed.
The frustration is understandable. Psychology Today was the one marketing tool that most therapists trusted. You paid $30 a month, wrote your profile, and waited for the phone to ring. For years, that worked. It does not work the same way anymore.
Here is what the data shows, why it happened, and what to do about it.
The data: PT referrals dropped 77 to 94 percent
Psychology Today does not publish its own referral metrics. But therapists have been tracking their numbers. Here is what they report:
| Therapist | Before (2022) | After (2025) | Decline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urban, CBT focus | 15-20 inquiries/mo | 1-3 inquiries/mo | ~85% |
| Suburban, couples | 10-12 inquiries/mo | 1-2 inquiries/mo | ~86% |
| Urban, trauma specialist | 8-10 inquiries/mo | 0-2 inquiries/mo | ~83% |
| Rural, generalist | 6-8 inquiries/mo | 0-1 inquiries/mo | ~90% |
| Urban, anxiety focus | 20+ inquiries/mo | 2-5 inquiries/mo | ~80% |
Source: Self-reported data from therapist communities and forums (2024-2025). Individual results vary by location and specialty.
The pattern is consistent across specialties, locations, and practice sizes. Urban therapists, suburban therapists, specialists, and generalists are all reporting the same thing: PT referrals have dropped to a fraction of what they were.
"PT used to fill my caseload. Now I'm lucky to get one call a month from it."
Therapist, r/privatepractice
This is not therapists being bad at marketing. This is a platform-level shift.
Why this happened
Three things happened at the same time. Each one would have reduced PT referrals on its own. Together, they fundamentally changed the platform.
Platform companies flooded the listings
Rula, Alma, Headway, and Grow Therapy now manage thousands of therapist profiles on Psychology Today. These companies handle credentialing, billing, and marketing for their network of providers. Their PT profiles are polished, professionally written, and may receive preferred positioning in search results.
When a potential client searches for "anxiety therapist in Austin," they now see pages of Rula-affiliated profiles alongside independent practitioners. The competition increased dramatically, and independent therapists are not competing on a level playing field.
More therapists, same number of clients searching
The pandemic created a surge in demand for therapy, and graduate programs responded by increasing enrollment. The number of licensed therapists grew significantly between 2020 and 2025. Meanwhile, search volume for "find a therapist" on PT has plateaued.
More profiles competing for the same eyeballs means each individual profile gets seen less often. If your city had 200 therapists on PT in 2020 and has 500 now, your visibility dropped even if PT traffic stayed the same.
Clients stopped starting their search on PT
Five years ago, "go to Psychology Today and search by zip code" was the standard advice for anyone looking for a therapist. That behavior has shifted. Clients now start on Google ("therapist near me" gets 550,000 searches per month), ask their insurance company's portal, or increasingly, ask ChatGPT.
Psychology Today still gets traffic, but it is no longer the default starting point. When a platform loses its position as the first place people look, everyone listed on it feels the impact.
The combination matters. Any one of these factors would have reduced PT referrals. All three happening in the same two-year window is why therapists went from 15 inquiries a month to 1 or 2. It is not that your profile got worse. It is that the platform changed around you.
Is Psychology Today still worth $30 a month?
Quick Answer
Probably not. At $30 per month, Psychology Today is still worth keeping as a low-cost channel. Even one client per year from PT more than covers the $360 annual cost. But it should be one line item in your visibility strategy, not your entire plan. The therapists who are struggling most are the ones who relied solely on PT.
The honest answer: it depends on what else you are doing.
If PT is your only online presence, the $30 is probably still worth it because it is the only way clients can find you. But that is the real problem. If PT is all you have, you are invisible to Google Maps, invisible to AI search engines, and invisible to anyone who does not specifically browse that one directory.
Keep PT if:
You get even 1-2 clients per year from it
You have other channels actively working
You have time to optimize your profile quarterly
$30/month is not a meaningful expense for you
Reconsider PT if:
You have not gotten a single inquiry in 6+ months
It is your only marketing channel
$30/month is meaningful in your current budget
You could redirect that time to building a website
The math
The average therapy client generates $3,000 to $8,000 in annual revenue (based on $150 to $200 per session, seen weekly for 20 to 40 sessions). At $360 per year, PT needs to bring you just one client to be a positive ROI.
But compare that to your other options. A well-optimized Google Business Profile is free and reaches more people. A real website costs $50 to $200 per year in hosting and reaches people PT never will. The question is not whether PT is worth $30 on its own. It is whether that $30 (and your time optimizing the profile) could do more somewhere else.
Where clients are searching instead of Psychology Today
The clients did not disappear. They moved. Here is where they went:
Google search (still #1)
"Therapist near me" gets 550,000 searches per month. Add in specialty variations and the total is over 1 million monthly searches. But 65% of Google searches now end without a click, thanks to AI Overviews and featured snippets. Your Google Business Profile and website structure matter more than ever.
AI search engines (fastest growing)
ChatGPT has 800 million weekly active users. When someone asks "recommend a therapist for OCD in Toronto," it gives 3 to 4 specific names. It does not show a directory. It makes a recommendation. This is fundamentally different from how directories work, and most therapists are not visible to AI tools.
Insurance platforms (Alma, Headway, Rula)
For insurance-based practices, these platforms have become major referral sources. They handle credentialing and billing, and clients search directly through their portals. For private-pay therapists, they are less relevant.
Alternative directories (TherapyDen, GoodTherapy)
TherapyDen is growing, especially among LGBTQ+ affirming and social justice-oriented practices. It has a smaller user base than PT but higher engagement. GoodTherapy and Open Path Collective serve niche audiences.
The key shift: Clients used to browse directories. Now they search with intent. "Find me a therapist for postpartum anxiety in Brooklyn who takes Aetna" is the kind of query ChatGPT answers directly. A directory listing does not match that experience.
Free: 2026 Practice Visibility Checklist
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What to do now (5 steps you can start this weekend)
You do not need to become a marketing expert. You do not need to hire an agency. These five steps are specific, doable, and address the channels where clients are actually looking.
Claim your Google Business Profile (free)
If you have not done this, do it today. It is free and it is the single highest-impact action you can take for local visibility. When someone searches "therapist near me," Google Business Profile results appear before any website or directory.
Complete every field: practice name, address, phone, hours, specialties, insurance accepted, and a detailed description. Add photos of your office. Post updates monthly.
Time: 30 to 60 minutes
Get 5 Google reviews
Google reviews now carry more weight than Psychology Today reviews for both search rankings and AI recommendations. Five reviews is the minimum to appear credible. Ten or more puts you ahead of most therapists in your area.
Ask at an appropriate point in treatment: "If you found our work together helpful, a Google review helps other people find us." Most clients are glad to help.
Time: Ongoing (aim for 1 new review per month)
Build a real website (not a one-pager)
A one-page Wix site with your photo and a paragraph is not enough in 2026. Google and AI tools need content to understand what you do and who you help. That means:
A dedicated page for each specialty (anxiety, depression, couples)
An about page with your credentials, approach, and who you work best with
An FAQ page answering the questions clients actually ask
A contact page with your full address, phone, and hours
Content written in your own voice, not a template
Time: 1 to 2 days (or hire this out)
List on TherapyDen (growing alternative)
TherapyDen is the fastest-growing PT alternative, especially for therapists who work with LGBTQ+, BIPOC, or social justice-focused populations. It has a smaller user base than PT but better engagement and less competition from platform companies.
Listing is free for a basic profile. Even if it brings one or two inquiries per month, that may match what PT brings you now.
Time: 30 minutes to set up
Make your website readable by AI
This is the step most therapists skip because it sounds technical. It is not. It means writing your website in a way that ChatGPT and other AI tools can parse and recommend:
Use FAQ sections with clear questions as headings and direct answers
Write in complete sentences (AI struggles with bullet-only pages)
Keep your name, address, and phone consistent across all listings
Write 500+ words on each specialty page (AI needs substance to cite)
Time: 2 to 4 hours
These steps compound. A Google Business Profile with 10 reviews, a well-structured website, and consistent directory listings create a visibility flywheel. Each one makes the others more effective. Psychology Today is a flat $30 that gives you the same return whether you have a website or not. These channels grow together.
If you keep Psychology Today, optimize it
If you decide to keep your PT profile (most therapists should), make it work as hard as possible. Most PT profiles are underoptimized. Here is what actually moves the needle:
Write your bio in first person, in your own voice
Most therapist bios sound the same because they use the same template language. Write like you talk in a first session. Clients pick the therapist who sounds like a human they want to talk to.
Select fewer, more specific specialties
Checking every box dilutes your profile. A client searching for a trauma therapist wants someone who lists trauma as a primary focus, not someone who checked 30 boxes including trauma.
Use a real, recent photo
A professional headshot where you look approachable. Not a stock photo, not a photo from 10 years ago, not a group photo. Clients are choosing someone to be vulnerable with. They want to see your face.
Update your profile every quarter
PT may favor recently-updated profiles in search results. Even small changes (adding a sentence to your bio, updating insurance info) signal that the profile is active.
Include a clear next step
End your bio with a specific call to action. "Call for a free 15-minute phone consultation" converts better than leaving the reader to figure out what to do next.
Set realistic expectations. Even an optimized PT profile in 2026 is unlikely to match the 10 to 20 monthly referrals therapists got in 2020. The platform dynamics have changed permanently. Optimization helps, but it will not reverse the structural decline.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Psychology Today not working for therapists?
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Psychology Today referrals have declined 77 to 94 percent for many therapists since 2023. The main causes are platform companies (Rula, Alma, Headway) managing thousands of profiles, more therapists competing for the same clients, and clients shifting to Google search and AI tools to find providers.
Should I cancel my Psychology Today profile?
+
Probably not. At $30 per month, PT is still worth keeping as one channel among several. Even one client per year covers the cost. But if it is your only marketing channel and you have not gotten an inquiry in 6+ months, consider redirecting that time to building a real website or optimizing your Google Business Profile.
What are the best alternatives to Psychology Today?
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The most effective alternatives in 2026 are Google Business Profile (free, high impact), your own website optimized for search, TherapyDen (growing alternative directory), insurance platforms like Alma and Headway, and AI search optimization. Most successful therapists use 3 to 4 channels rather than relying on any single one.
Why did my PT referrals drop so suddenly?
+
Three factors combined: platform companies flooded PT with managed profiles, the total number of therapists on PT grew significantly post-pandemic, and clients shifted to Google and AI tools instead of browsing directories. Each factor would have reduced referrals. Together, they caused the sharp decline most therapists are experiencing.
How can I get more referrals from Psychology Today?
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Write your bio in first person using your own voice. Select fewer, more specific specialties. Use a professional headshot. Update your profile quarterly. Include a clear call to action. These steps help, but even an optimized profile is unlikely to match pre-2023 referral volumes due to structural changes on the platform.
Is Psychology Today worth $30 a month in 2026?
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If it brings you even one client per year, the $360 annual cost is worthwhile given the average therapy client generates $3,000 to $8,000 per year. But it is no longer the high-ROI channel it once was. Think of it as one small line item, not your primary strategy.
Are Rula and Alma hurting Psychology Today?
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Yes. Platform companies like Rula, Alma, Headway, and Grow Therapy manage thousands of therapist profiles on PT with polished, professionally written listings. This has significantly increased competition and reduced visibility for independent practitioners.
How do clients find therapists in 2026?
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Through five main channels: Google search (550K+ monthly searches), AI tools like ChatGPT (800M weekly users), insurance platforms, directories (PT declining, TherapyDen growing), and word-of-mouth referrals. The fastest-growing channel is AI search.
Can ChatGPT recommend my therapy practice?
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Yes. ChatGPT recommends specific practices when asked for therapist suggestions. It reads your website, Google reviews, and directory listings. Therapists with well-structured websites and consistent online presence are the ones getting recommended. It does not read your Psychology Today profile.
What should I do instead of relying on Psychology Today?
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Claim your Google Business Profile (free), build a real website with dedicated specialty pages and FAQ sections, get 5+ Google reviews, list on TherapyDen, and make your site readable by AI tools. These steps take a weekend to start and compound over time.
Related guides
Guide
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