Be a Human, Not a Credential
Is your About page drowning in alphabet soup?
Your professional credentials are important, of course, and they deserve a place on your therapy website.
But too much information about your degrees, certifications, and trainings makes clients feel like they’ve stumbled into an overgrown jungle of psychotherapy jargon.
There are two key reasons to avoid credentialing new clients to death:
Your credentials are confusing to most people. Most clients will see the words “licensed professional counselor” or “registered art therapist,” for example, and that’s all they need to see. Everything else is gibberish to the average person.
Credentials are not what clients are looking for. They’re looking for words and phrases that match their experience. For example, very few people are typing “CAC II certification” or even “certified addiction counselor” into a search bar. Instead, they’re using everyday language to describe what type of help they need, such as “therapist to help with addiction” or “specialist in substance abuse” or “therapy to stop drinking.”
Here’s how you can incorporate your credentials in a helpful, informative way without being too overwhelming.
1. Spell out anything that follows your name.
It’s okay to do this in a very simple, straightforward way: “I am a licensed clinical mental health counselor (LCMHC) in the state of North Carolina. I am also a registered play therapist (RPT) and a National Certified Counselor (NCC).”
2. Avoid long lists of certifications and advanced trainings.
Consider what you’re trying to convey, and just say that instead. For example, “I have 18 years of experience in clinical mental health, along with advanced training in trauma treatment and family counseling.” If it’s important for you to add detailed information about your experience or education, place it at the bottom of your About page with headings (Education, Specialized Trainings, etc.) so that the overwhelmed client can choose to focus instead on the generalities of how you can help them.
3. Highlight your primary modalities in a simple way.
For the 2–3 approaches that you use most often, create a featured list that’s displayed higher on the page. Use bullet points for ease of reading, and briefly explain each technique or approach in a couple of sentences. If a specific technique is not well known among non-therapists (such as EMDR or IFS), consider adding a link to an external website that explains the approach in detail.
Above all, remember this: The “voice” of your website (i.e., the overall effect of the words you choose to describe your offering to clients) serves as a proxy for your in-session therapeutic voice. Mention your credentials, but put the main spotlight on your own distinctive qualities—the elements that will ultimately lead clients to reach out to you.