Therapy marketing predictions for 2026
2025 was the year of AI in marketing.
What will the big thing be next year?
Here are my very unscientific therapy marketing predictions for 2026.
More people will use ChatGPT to find a therapist
Anecdotally, I’ve already started to hear from therapists that clients are finding them on ChatGPT. Alex Penrod told me, “the story I often hear is the person comes to a critical insight about themselves, ChatGPT educates that it can’t provide therapy, they ask what kind of therapy would be helpful for this issue.” I expect this behavior to increase next year.
Community-based marketing will be critical
The therapists who consistently get referrals are the ones who have a strong community presence. According to Gabrielle Juliano-Villani, this looks like hosting and attending networking events in your community, presenting on panels and doing speaking engagements, and building strong relationships with other local therapists and providers (e.g. doctors, acupuncturists) and businesses.
Google Business will be valuable
Google Business Profiles are still underutilized by therapists. According to Kristie Plantinga, “if you can make headway on Google Business, you can absolutely have a thriving practice today. Reviews are also becoming more important—on Google Maps and for AI. Reviews are obviously difficult for therapists to get, which makes them even MORE valuable!” I wrote about how to ethically ask for reviews here.
Google Ads will be less effective
If you search for therapists in your area on Google, the sponsored results are probably from companies like Headway, Zocdoc, and BetterHelp. According to Allison Puryear, “We just can’t rely solely on the same tactics VC is using— they’ll out spend us every time.” Instead, invest in relationships and networking.
Mental health tech companies will consolidate
There’s less venture capital being invested in mental health tech companies as there was two or three years ago. Because of this, I predict we’re going to see a merger (similar to Hazel Health and Little Otter) between companies like Rula, Headway, Alma, and Grow Therapy who all offer similar services.
What did I miss? Reach out and let me know.