Most practices hide their email. Many new clients would rather write than call
Only a small share of therapy practices list an email on Google. Here is why that loses quiet, ready-to-book clients, and the safe way to fix it this week.
A lot of people looking for a therapist will not pick up the phone. They have rehearsed what they want to say for weeks, and saying it out loud to a stranger's voicemail is the step they cannot take. So they look for a way to write instead, and on most Google profiles there is not one.
In our dataset of 171,610 therapy listings, only 28.7% show a public email. Everyone else offers a phone number and, if the person clicks through, a website. That is a real gap, and it is one you can close in an afternoon.
Why this number matters more for therapists than for most businesses
A plumber's customer has a leak and wants someone on the phone now. Your future client is often anxious, private, or calling from a workplace where they cannot be overheard. Writing lets them choose their words, send at midnight, and wait for a reply without having to talk first.
When the only option is a phone call, some of those people do nothing. They do not call another practice. They just close the tab and try again in a month, or never. You do not see these lost inquiries anywhere, which is why most practices do not know they are happening.
There is also a simple comparison effect. If a prospective client is looking at three practices and only one offers a way to write, that one gets the message.
The privacy problem, and how to handle it
The reason many clinicians avoid listing an email is a good one: ordinary email is not a secure place for clinical information, and you do not want someone describing a crisis or a diagnosis in an unencrypted message.
The fix is not to hide the channel. It is to shape it.
- Use a secure contact form on your website from a HIPAA-compliant provider that will sign a business associate agreement. Many practice management systems include one. Link to it from your Google profile.
- If you list a plain email, put a short line next to it on your site: "Please do not include health details in email. Share your name, a good time to reach you, and whether you prefer a call or a reply by email."
- Keep the first reply logistical. Availability, fees or insurance, and a link to book a consult. Clinical conversation starts once you are in a secure system.
That approach keeps you inside your professional obligations and still gives the quiet client a door they can walk through.
What to do this week
Day one: add the channel. In your Google Business Profile, add your website link pointing to a contact page that has the secure form near the top. If your profile allows it, list a practice email that is separate from your personal one. The Google Business Profile guide walks through where each field lives.
Day two: fix the contact page. Most therapist contact pages are a phone number and a paragraph. Rewrite yours so it offers three options in this order: book a free consult online, send a secure message, or call. State how fast you reply. "I reply to messages within one business day" is a promise people trust more than a wall of reassurance. The website essentials guide has more on what a contact page should do.
Day three: write two reply templates. One for when you have openings, one for when you do not. Here is a starting point for the first:
Hi [first name], thank you for reaching out. I have openings on [day] at [time] and [day] at [time]. A free 15-minute phone consult is the first step, and you can book it here: [link]. If neither time works, reply with what does and I will do my best. [Your name]
And for the second:
Hi [first name], thank you for writing. I do not have openings right now, and I would rather tell you that than keep you waiting. [Colleague or group] may have availability: [link]. If you would like to join my waitlist, reply "waitlist" and I will contact you as soon as a spot opens.
The second one matters. A kind, fast "no" earns referrals back later.
Day four: decide who checks the inbox. A message channel that sits unanswered for four days is worse than none. If you are solo, block ten minutes at lunch and ten at the end of the day. If you have an admin, make the secure inbox part of their opening routine.
Day five: test it as a stranger. From your phone, search your practice name, tap through to the contact option, send a test message, and time how long it takes you to get to "booked." If any step is confusing, fix it.
How this connects to the rest of your intake
Written inquiries should follow the same speed rules as calls. The missed calls and intake guide covers response time in detail, and the principle is the same for messages: the practice that replies first usually gets the consult.
It is worth tracking, too. For one month, tag every new inquiry by source: phone, form, or email. Many practices are surprised by how much of their new client volume comes in writing once they offer it. If you want to put a dollar value on the inquiries you might be missing, the calculator takes your fee and a rough number of lost contacts per month and does the math.
The benchmark report shows the rest of the profile numbers for practices like yours, including hours and reviews, if you want to see what else is easy to improve.
If you would like a hand setting up a secure contact path and reply templates, there is a free 14-day trial of any service, no card, text or call (385) 217-8216.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, therapists among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor