Why Your Therapy Website Doesn't Sound Like You (And How to Fix It With AI)
You spent years learning how to listen deeply, hold space, and find exactly the right words in a session.
And then you sat down to write your About page, and everything you know about language disappeared.
If your current website sounds like a combination of your grad school syllabus and every other therapist's website you've ever read — "I provide a safe, non-judgmental space for individuals to explore their authentic selves" — you're not alone, and you're not bad at writing.
You're trained to listen. Not to market.
This is the gap that stops talented, skilled therapists from showing up online in a way that actually reflects who they are. And it's the gap that AI — used thoughtfully, as a writing assistant — can finally close.
The Real Reason Therapy Websites All Sound the Same
Here's what happens. You sit down to write your website. You feel vaguely like you should sound "professional." You Google a few other therapy websites for reference. And then, consciously or not, you absorb the template:
"I believe healing is possible."
"I take a holistic, client-centered approach."
"My goal is to help you live your most authentic life."
None of these things are wrong. They're just not you. They don't tell a potential client why they should choose you over the seventeen other therapists listed in the same zip code on Psychology Today. They don't speak to the specific pain your ideal client is carrying. They don't sound like the warm, direct, real person who shows up every Tuesday at 2pm with the exact right question.
The problem isn't your voice. The problem is that nobody taught you how to translate your clinical voice into website copy — because that wasn't the point of your training.
Why AI Isn't Replacing Therapists — It's Replacing the Blank Page
Before we go further, let's name something directly: there's a lot of anxiety right now about AI in the mental health space. That anxiety makes sense. The idea of AI doing therapy is genuinely concerning — and worth scrutinizing.
But using AI to help write your homepage headline is not AI doing therapy.
Think about the tools you already use without a second thought: Grammarly to proofread a referral letter. Canva to design a group therapy flyer. SimplePractice to manage your scheduling. A template to format your intake paperwork.
These tools don't replace your clinical judgment. They handle the administrative and logistical work so you can focus on what you actually trained to do.
AI writing tools are the same thing — for your website copy. You bring the clinical expertise, the lived experience, the genuine care, the specific story of why you do this work. The AI helps you get that out of your head and onto the page. The final words are still yours. You still edit everything. It still sounds like you — just faster.
What Therapists Actually Struggle to Write (And How AI Helps Each One)
The About Page
This is the one almost every therapist dreads. You know you're not supposed to just list your credentials — but the moment you try to write something personal, it either feels like oversharing or like a carefully-worded LinkedIn post.
A well-crafted AI prompt can help you structure an About page that starts with why you do this work (not your degree), briefly mentions your credentials, offers a human glimpse of who you are outside the therapy room, and ends with a genuine invitation — all in your voice.
The Services Page
The instinct is to list your modalities: I offer EMDR, IFS, somatic therapy, and CBT. But your potential clients aren't searching for "IFS therapist" — they're searching for "therapist for people who always feel like they're failing" or "therapy for anxiety that actually helps."
AI prompts can help you translate each service into language that speaks to the problem your client is actually experiencing — not the name of the treatment framework you use to address it.
The SEO Problem Nobody Told You About
Your ideal clients are searching Google right now. They're typing things like "therapist for highly sensitive people NYC" or "online therapy for burnout" or "EMDR therapist Brooklyn." If your website doesn't use those words — naturally, in context, on the right pages — they won't find you.
Most therapists know SEO matters but have no idea where to start. AI prompts can help you identify the keywords your ideal clients are actually using, weave them into your copy naturally, write optimized meta descriptions and page titles, and improve your Psychology Today and Google Business Profile so you show up in local search results.
The Directory Profile
Psychology Today profiles are where most private practice clients start their search. The average profile reads like a legal disclosure. Yours doesn't have to.
With the right prompt, you can write a profile that sounds like you, speaks directly to who you most want to work with, and makes someone stop scrolling and think this is the person I want to call.
The Honest Truth About Using AI for Your Website
Let's be clear about what AI won't do:
It won't know your clients. It won't understand the specific way you sit with someone's grief or the particular lens you bring to working with first-generation immigrants navigating cultural shame. It won't have your clinical judgment, your training, or your story.
What it will do is give you a strong first draft to react to — which is much easier than staring at a blank page. You'll edit everything. You'll read it aloud and fix what doesn't sound right. You'll add the detail and nuance that only you can add.
Think of it as having a very fast copywriter on call who knows a lot about therapy websites but needs you to tell them everything specific about yours. The more you give it, the better the output. The less you give it, the more generic the result.
The prompts matter enormously. A vague prompt gets vague copy. A specific, well-structured prompt — one that tells the AI your modalities, your ideal client, your tone, your values — gets copy that actually sounds like someone wrote it with intention.
How to Use ChatGPT Prompts for Your Therapy Website
If you've never used an AI writing tool, here's the basic workflow:
Choose a free tool — ChatGPT (free tier works fine to start), Claude, or Google Gemini
Open a new conversation
Paste in your prompt — fill in any bracketed fields with your specific information
Review the output — read it aloud, note what works and what doesn't
Iterate — ask it to adjust the tone, shorten it, make it warmer, remove jargon, try again
Edit the final draft — add your voice back in, cut anything that feels off, make it yours
The quality of what you get out is directly proportional to the specificity of what you put in. Don't just paste a generic prompt and expect magic. Tell the AI who you are, who you serve, what your approach feels like, and what you want the reader to do.
The Sections of Your Website That Need Attention First
If your whole website needs work and you don't know where to start, here's a prioritized order:
1. Homepage headline — This is the first thing a visitor reads. If it doesn't immediately tell them who you help and what you help with, they leave. Fix this first.
2. About page — This is usually the most-visited page on a therapy website after the homepage. If it reads like a CV, you're losing people.
3. Services page — Your services page needs to speak to problems, not modalities. "I offer EMDR" is less compelling than "For people who feel stuck in the same painful loop no matter how hard they try to move forward."
4. Psychology Today profile — This is often where your clients first find you. It should sound like you, not like a form you filled out.
5. SEO basics — Page titles, meta descriptions, and a few strategically placed keywords can meaningfully increase how often you show up in local searches.
What "Good" Therapy Website Copy Actually Looks Like
Good therapy website copy does a few specific things:
Speaks to the client's internal experience — not their diagnosis, not their demographic, but how they feel day-to-day
Sounds like a real person wrote it — warm, direct, specific, not vague or corporate
Answers the questions every potential client has — Can this person actually help me? Do they understand what I'm going through? What happens if I reach out?
Makes the next step obvious and low-pressure — a clear, gentle call to action that doesn't feel pushy
Uses the words your clients actually use — not "navigating the complexities of interpersonal dynamics" but "struggling in your relationships"
None of this requires being a professional copywriter. It requires knowing your clients, knowing yourself, and having a process for translating that into words. That's exactly what well-crafted AI prompts provide.
Ready to Write Your Website Copy — Without Starting From Scratch?
If you've been putting off updating your website because staring at a blank page feels impossible, I built something specifically for this.
ChatGPT Prompts for Therapists: 60 Templates to Write Your Private Practice Website is a 60-prompt PDF guide organized around every section of your therapy practice website — homepage, services, About page, SEO, directory profiles, blog strategy, and more.
Each prompt is copy-and-paste ready. You fill in the brackets with your specific information, paste it into any AI tool, and get a strong first draft to work from. Every prompt is designed specifically for therapists — not generic business owners — and built around the specific ethics, language, and client relationships of mental health practice.
It's $37. Instant download. Yours to use and reuse forever.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI make my website sound generic?
Only if you give it generic input. The more specific information you give the AI about your practice, your clients, and your voice, the more specific and personal the output will be. These prompts are designed to pull out your specifics — not generate boilerplate.
Do I need to know how to use AI already?
No. If you can type into a search bar, you can use these prompts. Each one is designed to be copied, pasted, and filled in — no technical skills required.
Is this only for therapists who don't have a website yet?
Not at all. Many of the most useful prompts are designed for therapists who already have a website but know it's not quite right — auditing existing copy, removing jargon, rewriting specific pages, improving SEO.
Is using AI for my website ethically okay?
Yes. This guide is for your business writing — website copy, bios, directory profiles, blog posts — not clinical documentation or anything client-related. Using AI to help draft your homepage is no different from using a template or asking a colleague to review your copy.
Irene Maropakis is a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist and somatic art therapy practitioner in Brooklyn, New York. She works with highly sensitive people, LGBTQ+ individuals, and first-generation Americans navigating anxiety, depression, and identity. Learn more about Enodia Therapies →
