Marketing for psychologists means making your practice easy to find for people looking for care, within the Brazilian Psychologist’s Code of Professional Ethics. Article 20 of the code lets you advertise your service with your full name, CRP (Brazilian psychologist registration number) and the qualifications you hold, and prohibits using price as advertising, making categorical predictions of results and sensationalist promotion. What works in practice is a well-built Google Business Profile, a clear website and content that informs without promising a cure.
This guide does not replace reading the code or consulting your CRP, which is the body that guides and oversees psychologists.
What the Psychologist’s Code of Ethics says about advertising
The code currently in force on the Federal Council of Psychology website is CFP Resolution 010/05. Article 20 opens like this: “when publicly promoting their services, by any means.” In other words, it applies to the sign on your door, Instagram, your website and your Google ad.
| Art. 20 | What the code says | In practice |
|---|---|---|
| a | Provide full name, CRP and registration number | Your CRP appears on your website, profile and ad |
| b | Refer only to titles and qualifications you hold | Only write what you can prove |
| c | Promote only techniques and practices recognized or regulated by the profession | Approach based on psychology, not invented therapy |
| d | Don’t use the price of your service as advertising | No session fee, no promotion and no ad discount |
| e | Don’t make categorical predictions of results | No “overcome anxiety in five sessions” |
| f | Don’t promote yourself at the expense of other professionals | No “the best psychologist in town” |
| h | Don’t use sensationalist advertising | No drama, no fear as bait |
Two more articles weigh on anyone who advertises. Article 2, item q, prohibits making diagnoses, advertising procedures or presenting the results of psychological services in the media in a way that exposes people, groups or organizations. And Article 9 requires professional confidentiality, to protect the privacy of the people who come to you.
Promise of a cure, testimonials and price: the three risk points
All three show up in almost every piece of generic marketing material, and they are the ones that cause psychologists the most trouble.
Promise of a cure
Item e of Article 20 refers to “categorical prediction of results.” Psychotherapy depends on each person’s process, and the code asks you not to guarantee what you don’t control.
- Within the rules: “Psychological care for adults, in person and online. Cognitive-behavioral approach. First Last Name, CRP 00/00000.”
- Outside the rules: “Cure your anxiety in just a few sessions. Guaranteed results.”
Patient testimonials
The code doesn’t use the word testimonial. Still, there are two reasons to stay away from them. The first is the confidentiality required by Article 9, because a patient who appears in your material is no longer anonymous. The second is Article 20, item e, since a testimonial works as a promise of results for the next reader.
So the prudent recommendation is not to publish testimonials or screenshots of conversations, and to ask your CRP (Regional Psychology Council) before making any exception. The same care applies to Google reviews. If a patient leaves one, avoid thanking them in a way that confirms they are your patient, and use the guide to responding to reviews adapted to this rule.
Price
Item d of Article 20 says the price of the service can’t be used as advertising. On the most direct reading, that rules out price lists in ads and posts, as well as promotions like “first session at a discount.” You can discuss the fee with the patient at first contact, and your CRP can tell you where the line falls on your website.
Online care: what CFP Resolution 11/2018 requires
If you advertise online care, you need to know CFP Resolution 11/2018, which regulates psychological services provided through information and communication technology. The text includes points that change what you can say in your marketing:
- Psychological consultations and care through technology are authorized, as long as they don’t violate the code of ethics.
- In any format, the psychologist specifies which technological tools they use to ensure confidentiality and explains this to the client.
- The service depends on prior registration with the Regional Psychology Council. Confirm with your CRP how registration works today.
- Care for children and adolescents requires express consent from at least one legal guardian.
- Care for people in urgent situations and emergencies through these means is considered inadequate, and care for people in emergencies and disasters, or facing rights violations and violence, is prohibited.
In practice, an online care ad should not sell crisis care by video. The page explains the format, who provides the care and how confidentiality is protected. If you only see patients online, you can still have a Google profile, and the way to do it is in Google Business Profile without an address.
Marketing for psychologists: what works, channel by channel
Within these rules, marketing for psychologists rests on four fronts. Each one reaches a person at a different moment.
| Channel | Who it reaches | Main precaution |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | People searching for a psychologist nearby | No promises and no confirming who is a patient |
| Website with a page for each service | People comparing before booking | CRP visible, no price |
| Google ad | People searching urgently | Informative text and targeting limits |
| Instagram and content | People who haven’t yet decided to look for help | Inform without diagnosing |
Google Business Profile
The search “psychologist near me” shows the map before websites, and Google Business Profile is free. For a private practice, it is usually the channel that leads the most people to book.
- Main category chosen from Google’s list, such as psychologist. The Google Business Profile category guide shows how to decide.
- Services listed with a short description and no promises, for example individual care for adults.
- Address, hours and phone number matching your website.
- Photos of the office and waiting room, with no patients in them.
- Name and CRP in the description, per item a of Article 20.
The full setup is in the complete Google Business Profile guide.
Website with one page per type of care
One page per service, such as individual online psychotherapy or in-person care for adults, works better than a single page with everything. Visitors want to know who you are, what the first session is like and how to book.
The page opens with the answer and includes your training, your approach, the format of care and your CRP. The booking button stays visible on mobile. There is no session fee, no testimonial and no sentence promising an end to suffering.
Google ad for psychologists
A psychologist ad on Google Ads appears to people who searched for the service. Someone who types “psychologist for anxiety in Curitiba” has already decided to look for help, and the ad simply lets them know a professional is there.
A few precautions:
- Informative text, with training, format and CRP, no price and no promises.
- Negative keywords from the start, so you don’t pay for clicks from people looking for courses, job openings or free care. The list is in negative keywords in Google Ads.
- A dedicated landing page for the ad, never the home page.
- Pay attention to targeting. Google’s page on personalized advertising restricted targeting lists Health among the restricted categories, so check what each one limits before building audiences.
You can run the campaign yourself or hire Google Ads management. Either way, the account needs to count the contact, not just the click.
Instagram and content
In marketing for psychologists, informative content fits with article 19, which asks professionals who appear in the media to spread knowledge about the duties, scientific basis and social role of the profession, without exposing anyone. Explaining what happens in a first session or how therapy works is a good topic, because it eases the fear of people who have never gone.
What stays out is remote diagnosis. Commenting “what you describe sounds like this disorder” in a post or story goes against article 2, item q. The basics of how to organize your material are in content marketing for small businesses.
How to promote a psychology practice in the first 90 days
If you are just starting with marketing for psychologists, order matters more than volume. A simple plan:
- Check your full name, CRP number and online service registration with your CRP (Brazil’s regional psychology council).
- Create or fix your Business Profile, with the right category and photos of your office.
- Publish a services page on your website, with your training, approach and how to book.
- Set a content routine you can keep up, at one post per week.
- Only then, consider a search ad with a small, fixed budget.
Each step also helps the next one. The profile and the website feed the ad, and content feeds organic search. The article on local SEO shows what affects your Maps ranking.
How to measure without invading privacy
In marketing for psychologists, measure the contact and never its content. Count clicks on the booking button and contact form submissions, and use UTM links in bios and ads. Do not send the text a person wrote, or any data that reveals their complaint, to measurement tools. To find out where those who booked came from, ask “how did you find me?” during intake and record only that.
Other regulated niches face similar dilemmas, and you can compare them in medical marketing and marketing for dentists.
Frequently asked questions
Can a psychologist run ads on Google? Yes. Article 20 of the code applies to any medium and requires your full name, CRP number and only qualifications you actually hold. The ad must have no price and no promise of results.
Can a psychologist advertise the session price? The code says the price of the service cannot be used as advertising. Prices in posts, ads or promotions are out, and your CRP guides what applies to your website.
Can I publish patient testimonials? The code does not mention testimonials by name, but the confidentiality in article 9 and the ban on categorical promises of results make the risk high. The recommendation is not to publish them and to consult your CRP.
Do I need to register to offer online sessions? CFP Resolution 11/2018 makes services delivered by technological means conditional on prior registration with the Regional Psychology Council. Confirm with your CRP how it works today.
Which marketing channel brings psychologists the most patients? For those who see patients locally, the Google Business Profile is usually the first. Your website and content support the decision, and ads come later.
Can I reply to Google reviews? Yes, with care. Avoid confirming that the person is a patient and do not comment on the treatment.
Where to start
To start marketing for psychologists with the cheapest channel, use the free Google Business Profile audit, where you see your practice’s profile compared with three local competitors. If your practice already runs ads, the free Google Ads audit shows what the account is doing today.