TherapyDen is now FREE. Sign up. Get new clients. Move the industry forward.

Jeff Guenther, LPC on Sep 15, 2019

It is now free for therapists to create a TherapyDen profile and I couldn’t be happier about it. Really, it’s liberating. TherapyDen was created so that we could provide an alternative to the directories that are out there today. Directories that are not evolving and changing with the times. Our number one goal was to create a therapist directory that was inclusive to all. Charging therapists for a profile on TherapyDen was getting in the way of that.

Even though our mission to create a modern and progressive directory resonates with therapists, they still want to get a good return on their monthly payment. Which means getting a steady stream of client referrals. And while TherapyDen was doing well at achieving this in our bigger markets (San Francisco, Portland and Austin), we weren’t able to generate as many referrals as we’d like in smaller markets. TherapyDen was attracting more clients in the bigger markets because more therapists signed up for profiles in those places. The more therapists that sign up in an area, the higher TherapyDen will rank in Google searches, which will create more client referrals.

And while TherapyDen experienced growth every month, we were having a difficult time growing in towns that we didn’t already have a strong connection with. The data was clearly telling us that TherapyDen could be successful in places like San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle, but may never get off the ground in places that are smaller or would take longer for us to build up enough therapists to rank well in online search. And that didn’t sit well with us. If we are only going to be popular in bigger markets, that doesn’t feel very inclusive at all. We decided the best way to get everyone across the country involved was to make it free. Now the only thing that’s holding therapists back from joining a modern and progressive therapist directory is finding a little time to fill out the profile.

Another factor in our decision is that paying $20 a month is kind of expensive for a therapist just starting out. I remember starting my practice 15 years ago. I had to pinch every penny I had in order to make it work. And during the first year of my practice I was only able to scrape by. So if TherapyDen wants to be inclusive to all therapists at every level of their practice, we need to make it easy for everyone to sign up, no matter what their income level is. The same is especially true for therapists serving lower income clients with a sliding scale. It is critically important that potential clients from all walks of life have access to the mental health services they need and we especially want to support therapists serving diverse or underserved communities.

We want to disrupt the therapist directory industry

Excuse the silicon valley talk, but TherapyDen wants to disrupt the mental health industry by creating a platform that is different then all the rest. And the best way to do that is to go 100% grassroots and build a following with minimal barriers to entry. Paying for a subscription created a barrier that was too high for some. We hope that by taking away the main barrier we can really get the ball rolling.

What about the therapists that have already paid for a profile?

TherapyDen was free for the first year. In June 2019, we started charging therapists. On September 15, we stopped charging therapists and don’t plan to ever charge therapists for their profile. Which means that there was a group of therapists who were charged for 4 months. Because of those charges, TherapyDen was able to save up some money. That money will be used to fund the site into the future. TherapyDen is big. And it’s growing every day. It costs money to pay for all the costs of maintaining a site like this. The money that we generated is not going into our pockets. In fact, a chunk of it is being donated to Planned Parenthood, The Trevor Project, the ACLU, Mercy Corps and Life After Hate.

Without the four months of charges that we collected, we might have had to shut down the site. I want to thank the therapists who have paid some money to TherapyDen. Your contribution will allow us keep the site alive and keep funding the directory as we grow. All that being said, I know there might be some therapists who feel upset about paying for their profile and then finding out that it could have been free if they waited a few months. If you feel like it’s unfair and you don’t want your contribution to fund the future of TherapyDen, then you can contact me at [email protected] and we’ll make sure you’re taken care of. It was never our plan to charge some therapists and not others. Trust me, that would have been a bizarre plan to come up with.

TherapyDen is a labor of love for our small team. We all have full time jobs in the mental health and tech industries. Eventually we want to quit our day jobs and work on TherapyDen full time. That’s the dream! Which brings me to my next point.

Will TherapyDen ever charge therapists?

Yes and no. No, we do not plan to charge therapists for a therapist profile. That is free of charge and will remain so. However, we do need to figure out how to make money in order to keep it all going. And that’s what’s most exciting to me. If you know me at all, you know I love coming up with new business and product ideas. I have a bunch of income generating ideas and I can’t wait to start launching them through TherapyDen. Unfortunately, they are all top secret. However, I can guarantee you that the new services will match our mission to fight racism, homophobia, transphobia and all other forms of discrimination. So stay tuned and sign up for our weekly newsletter to get an early glimpse into what we are creating. I can’t wait to show you!

The Psychology Today factor

It is my personal goal for TherapyDen to outrank and be more widely used than Psychology Today. Trust me, it’s possible. The Psychology Today therapist directory has been around for years and years. Their website is huge and they have a monopoly on the therapist directory industry. That doesn’t have to be the the case. The only way to outrank them is to get tens of thousands of therapists to sign up for a TherapyDen profile. And while we have experienced growth every month, we weren’t experiencing the rapid growth that we’d need to really challenge the status quo.

I’m not asking any therapist to cancel their Psychology Today profile. I understand how useful it can be to some therapists. Keep your Psychology Today profile up as long as you’d like. What I am asking is for you to create a TherapyDen profile as well so that Psychology Today can experience some real competition and people looking for therapists can enjoy a true alternative.

And with TherapyDen’s main goal of creating a therapist directory that is truly inclusive we have already had a major impact on Psychology Today by getting them to add non-binary as a third gender option when searching for a therapist. So even if we aren’t more popular than Psychology Today, we are still influencing them to make positive changes and serve everyone, no matter what their gender is.

Yes, GoodTherapy.org is an alternative to Psychology Today’s directory but that directory is practically a clone with minimal differences.

TherapyDen

Psychology Today

GoodTherapy

Cost per month

FREE

$30

$29.95

Filter by zip code

Filter based on language

Filter based on faith

Filter for therapist that are non-binary

Filter for online therapist

Filter for therapist offices that are ADA accessible

Filter for therapists that are in the LGBTQ community

Filter by therapist’s ethnicity

Filter based on out of pocket fee/sliding scale

Filter for therapists that believe in Health at Every Size

Filter for therapists that specialize in racial justice

Filter for therapist that are sex positive

Filter for therapists that are queer and trans competent

Filter for therapists that specialize in poly and open relationships

Filter for therapists that offer psychedelic integration therapy

Filter for therapists with gender neutral bathrooms

Do you have questions?

I know this news might come as a shock to you. I know that some of you may have some questions for me. First, might I suggest a visit to our updated FAQ page? If you have a question that is not addressed in the FAQs, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected]. I’ll do my best to get back to you quickly, but please understand that I’m just one guy and I might get flooded with emails this week.

Please spread the word!

The number one way TherapyDen will grow is by word of mouth. We are counting on you to encourage your colleagues to sign up and support an inclusive and progressive therapist directory for all. If more therapists create profiles in your city, the higher TherapyDen will rank in online searches and the more client referrals we'll be able to generate for you. Here a couple things we'd love for you to do.

  • Share TherapyDen with the private therapist groups that you're a part of. Whether it's a Facebook group, a Slack channel or a good old fashioned list serve, if you share your profile page or our benefits page and a little bit about why you signed up and how it's free then more counselors will sign up. You’ll also be doing your part in making sure diverse populations are able to find a therapist that is truly a good match.
  • Share TherapyDen on a social media platform. Facebook and Twitter work well. Feel free to make edits to the suggested copy:
    • Facebook: I just created a FREE profile on TherapyDen, an inclusive and progressive therapist directory. By creating a profile I'll attract new clients and increase my web presence. TherapyDen fights racism, homophobia, transphobia and all other forms of hate. I'm excited to move the mental health industry forward. I think it's important that we support companies who create platforms that cater to the diverse communities we serve. I hope you'll join me and create a free profile. Learn more at https://www.therapyden.com/ben...
    • Twitter: I just created a FREE profile on TherapyDen, an inclusive therapist directory. TherapyDen fights racism, homophobia and all other forms of hate. I support companies who create platforms that cater to the diverse communities we serve. Join me! Learn more at https://www.therapyden.com/benefits
  • You can also share this new video I made about why people should create a Therapyden profile by sharing this link https://youtu.be/e2Bo88GJKP0

Jeff Guenther, LPC, is a therapist in Portland, OR. He has been in private practice since 2005. Jeff is the creator and owner of Portland Therapy Center, a highly ranked therapist directory. Jeff, and his team, have launched a new progressive therapist directory, TherapyDen.

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