How mental health professionals can grow their business with digital strategy
Kait Richmond is a writer, producer and contributor to the M.T. Deco Blog
There is a lot of talk about mental health on social media, and that means the need for professional, ethical voices is greater than ever before.
“Therapy” feels like it has become a buzz word since 2020, when the pandemic forced so many of us to reckon with our day-to-day mental health. That was a huge opportunity for people in the industry to share their purpose and expertise beyond their clients.
If you’re a mental health professional and have been thinking about investing more time in your own digital strategy, it’s not too late! There is space for everyone, especially since conversations about how our mental and physical health impact each other are only increasing. But just like so many others we hear from, psychologists and therapists are busy, and it can be hard to prioritize content creation when your job consumes so much of your energy.
We are here to help. Let’s talk about why you might want to build your brand, how to get started, and what to watch out for while you do it. As always, we’ll include a few people to follow for inspiration as you start mapping out your own journey.
First things first, you need to identify your North Star, the reason why you’re doing this. A lot of therapy creators talk about the way social media has democratized therapy and broken down many of the stigmas. For a long time, therapy was thought of as only accessible to the rich, only needed in moments of crisis, and only for people who were not “mentally tough.” A lot of the conversation has made it clear that therapy can be, and should be, for everyone.
“We’re all depressed, we’re all having a really hard time,” Jeff Guenther, known to millions as @therapyjeff, told Wired. “This is the best way that they can get therapy.”
As is the case with so many other things online, this is a double-edged sword. There can be people talking about it who shouldn’t be, peddling false information. There can be abuse in the comments. There can be well-meaning advice in a video that doesn’t apply to everyone and gets misconstrued. [Check out this great Vox story about therapists-turned-creators!]
So if you’re in the mental health space and reluctant to join the online conversation, we get it. But for all the reasons we listed above, responsible voices are needed. Some other benefits include:
Connecting with potential new clients
Finding new streams of revenue
Getting offered speaking and writing opportunities
When you are ready to get started, we have a ton of resources here on the M.T. Deco blog. Here’s a quick and dirty roadmap:
Decide which platform(s) to use
Start publishing and engage
A special call-out for people in the mental health space is to post disclaimers alongside your videos to let people know that what you’re saying is not a replacement for therapy. Additionally, be careful not to specifically reference a certain patient’s session. [And you may want to consider a social media consent form - learn more about that from the Washington Post.]
You have the tools you need, so we’ll leave you with a few creators who are superstars in this space. We suggest following them and paying close attention to what, how, and when they post. Start a note in your phone with what you like, what you don’t like, and how you’d put your own spin on it.
Dr. Julie Smith is one of the most well-known mental health content creators, and it’s easy to see why. The U.K.-based psychologist has been making content across platforms since 2019, so was well-positioned to become a top voice when the pandemic happened.
In an interview with The Guardian, Dr. Julie explained that she wanted patients to understand that therapy wasn’t just about talking through one’s problems, but also understanding how the mind actually works.
“People found that educational aspect so empowering that there was a shift in their ability to manage their mental health day to day,” she said. “So I would come home and harp on to my husband about how this stuff should be more available, that people shouldn’t have to come to me to find out the basics, and he said: ‘Well, go on then, make it available. Put it on YouTube or something.’”
Dr. Julie has since amassed more than 7 million followers across her platforms, and that has led to book deals and partnerships with companies like Calm, as well as many TV appearances. While she’s a strong model for mental health creators, we think she’s a great follow for any influencers looking for inspiration, because she gets really creative in her videos. Most have a prop, a visual way of explaining things that are often complicated. Plus, her videos are all bright, and attention-grabbing; the color pops are another great way to stop someone in their scroll.
Jacqueline Garcia is a bilingual Spanish-speaking Licensed Clinical Social Worker who is focused on breaking the stigmas around therapy in the Latinx community. She’s been making content since 2020, when she wanted to create a platform for her community to feel seen as bigger, more general conversations about mental health were happening.
When she was 12, Jacqueline’s family moved from Mexico to California, and she understandably struggled with the change. She credits her dad with getting her into therapy when she was 14, and has been in it ever since. [Read more of her story here.]
Leaning into her own community, as well as highlighting that she is a therapist in therapy, has helped Jacqueline accumulate more than 70,000 followers on each of her two main platforms, Instagram and TikTok. In addition to making videos on topics like the signs of depression, she posts collabs with friends (like fellow mental health creator @theshaniproject) and uses trending sounds to help her get picked up by the algorithm and seen by more people.
Jacqueline has also been making content for her fellow therapists, and it’s clear that it’s making it to the right people. On this recent post for “30 plus creators”, the comments are filled with people who see themselves in her. “Hola! I'm not a therapist yet but a Case Manager in SoCAL,” one follower wrote, “your content inspires me to look into becoming a therapist❤️”
Laney Wallace is a holistic therapist who saw her Instagram followers grow by tens of thousands after this video went viral. She had been posting consistently for a couple of years, and it paid off when the algorithm put her video in front of the right people - which happened to be people who could relate to Laney’s POV on dealing with functional freeze.
Many of Laney’s posts have a personal lens, and feel less about general therapy and more about the experience of someone who has been through something similar. She’s tapping into a niche community; one that people may not always identify with by name, but in the age of social media, is common.
Since going viral, Laney has been using her platform to bring her new followers to her own platforms, offering to share a free resource with people who comment “freeze” on her posts and hosting her first virtual workshop. She always uses her Stories to let people get to know her a little better, sharing a peek into her day-to-day life.
Laney’s videos are primarily text-based, and use the captions to do a lot of explaining, proving that not everyone needs to speak directly to camera to be successful.