Psychology Today alternatives for therapists and group practices

Prices below are the ones each company publishes or that independent reviews report. Directories change their plans often, so confirm the current price on each signup page before you commit.

• Psychology Today has the best known name in the US, a strong search presence, an included teletherapy platform, a protected phone number and call tracking. In busy cities a listing can return hundreds of profiles, so a new clinician can sit far down the page.
• GoodTherapy is a long running directory whose articles draw readers, and profiles are reviewed before they go live. Its patient audience is smaller than Psychology Today's in most cities.
• Zencare runs a vetting interview and adds an intro video to each profile, which builds trust with patients. It costs more and onboarding takes longer.
• TherapyDen is low cost and has inclusive filters. Its audience is small outside a few cities.
• Mental Health Match uses a questionnaire to send patients who fit your specialties. Fewer people search it in most markets.
• Headway and Grow Therapy fill a caseload with insured clients and handle claims for you. In return you accept the platform's insurance rates and rules.
• Alma pairs insurance credentialing with a referral directory and a clinician community. The membership fee comes on top of insurance rates.
• NearbyTherapy already holds your profile from the NPI registry, checks your license against NPPES and your state board, and releases inquiries only after the patient confirms their email. It is newer and less known than Psychology Today.

The reasons are usually practical rather than about the price. At 29.95 USD a month, one new weekly client covers a year of the listing many times over. The question is whether the listing brings that client.

• In large cities a search for therapists can return hundreds of profiles, and patients rarely scroll past the first screens.
• Inquiries can be uneven. Some clinicians report steady messages, others go months with none and cannot tell why.
• Clinicians who already fill their caseload through insurance panels may only need a listing that sends private pay or specialty inquiries.
• Group practices want one place to manage every clinician, route inquiries to the right person and pay one invoice.

A second listing is cheap insurance against a quiet month. Most directories cost less per month than a single session fee.

NearbyTherapy starts from the federal NPPES NPI registry, so every licensed behavioral health provider in the US already has a basic listing. Patients can find you before you sign up. When you claim it, your profile moves into the concern, insurance and price filters, which match claimed profiles only.

• License verified badge after we compare your NPI, license number and state with NPPES and your state board lookup.
• Patient inquiries delivered by email, released only after the patient confirms their address, which cuts out spam.
• No reviews or ratings on any profile, so nothing puts you at odds with the testimonial rules in your ethics code.
• On the Featured plan, priority placement in your city and up to 5 nearby ZIP codes, plus up to 3 city and concern pages you choose.
• Flat pricing with no per client fee and no share of your session fees.

The full verification process is on the therapist license verification page.

• Search for your name or NPI on the claim your therapist profile page. Your registry listing appears in a few seconds.
• Claim it and confirm your license number and state. We check them against NPPES and your state board.
• Copy your statement, specialties, insurance and fees from your existing directory profile so patients see the same details everywhere.
• Pick a plan. You can keep Psychology Today running for a few months and compare where your inquiries come from before you decide what to keep.

Every plan is a flat subscription. Yearly billing saves 50 percent.

Group practices that want one page for every clinician can read about the group practice directory listing. Every detail of each plan is on the therapist directory listing page.

Start with the clients you want to reach. If you take insurance and want a full caseload fast, an insurance network such as Headway or Grow Therapy may fill hours sooner than any directory. If you are private pay, a directory where patients compare fees and specialties matters more.

Then look at the market. Search your own city and specialty on each directory the way a patient would and count how many profiles appear before yours would. A smaller directory where you appear on the first screen can send more inquiries than a large one where you sit on page nine.

Finally, track the source of every inquiry for three months. Ask new clients where they found you and keep the listings that pay for themselves. Our guide to marketing for therapists covers what patients check on a profile before they reach out.