Should therapists ask for Google reviews?

Asking clients for Google reviews feels uncomfortable.

It feels like you’re putting something on the relationship. Like you’re treating the end of therapy as a marketing opportunity. Like it’s not quite in keeping with who you are and how you work.

I understand that discomfort. I’ve sat with it myself.

But I’ve also had to be honest about something else.

The way people find therapists has changed. It hasn’t changed a little. It has changed a lot.

People are comparing websites. Reading profiles. Checking directories. Googling your name and reading whatever comes up. They are trying to make a decision about whether to trust you with something very personal, and they are doing that from a laptop at 11 pm, knowing almost nothing about you.

A thoughtful Google review can do something your website copy can’t quite do.

It can make a prospective client feel less alone in that decision.

So, should therapists ask for Google reviews?

I think the honest answer is: carefully, yes — if you do it in the right way, at the right moment, with the right understanding of what you’re asking.

Paid subscribers - Continue reading - How you actually phrase the ask. What to say when someone leaves a review and you need to respond publicly without crossing a line. And what to do professionally, carefully when the review is negative and you can’t defend yourself the way any other business owner could.

That’s what’s waiting for you on the other side.