Building Authentic Connections

For clients, searching for a psychotherapist can be confusing and exhausting. Often, clients can find it challenging to articulate what they are looking for in a psychotherapist. This can make it difficult and overwhelming for clients to find a therapist period, let alone find one who is a good match.  

As a psychotherapist, the therapeutic relationship between you and your client starts before they sign up for an initial session.  When clients read about you on your online profile or view your headshot, they start to form ideas about who you are and what kind of therapist you’ll be.  

In this article, we’ll discuss strategies to initiate the foundational therapeutic connection and build trust with clients before the initial session.  If you want to learn how to use technology to attract clients who will be a good match for your psychotherapy practice, keep reading. 

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Why is the initial session in psychotherapy so important? 

The initial session in psychotherapy is crucial.  Psychotherapists have to build trust and form a connection with the client, allowing them to feel comfortable opening up and sharing their problems and concerns.  The initial session sets the foundation for the rest of the treatment. Additionally, a thorough initial session includes assessment, evaluation, and goal setting.  

Rapport building, assessment, evaluation, and goal setting are quite a lot to accomplish in one hour (or more if you’re lucky).  But this first session is also crucial because most people only have one session of therapy.  While it’s common for therapy to last 8-12 sessions, a few months, or even a few years, research shows that the modal number of sessions is one.  So, as a psychotherapist, you need to provide the client with something of value in the first session. 

Whether you’re giving the client resources, teaching coping skills, or helping them feel heard, the initial session might be your only opportunity to connect.  Therefore it’s important to find ways to start to build trust and connection before the initial session occurs.  

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Can trust and connection lead to a better initial session? 

When clients start to feel they can trust their psychotherapist, they are likely to feel confident in their psychotherapist, as if the psychotherapist can help them.  

Other factors like therapeutic approach, modality, and style play a role in whether a psychotherapist is a good match for the client.  However, the client’s ability to feel comfortable with the therapist is crucial.  A good connection and sense of comfortability can lead to an initial sense of a good fit or good match in therapy.  

If the client feels comfortable opening up during the initial session, they’re more likely to share what is bothering them, what problems they want help with, and how they’re feeling about therapy (and the psychotherapist).  This, in turn, helps the psychotherapist start to formulate a plan on how to help the client. 

Whether you’re a seasoned psychotherapist or still in training, you’ve probably had the experience of working with a client who is hesitant to open up in the initial session.  If a client is holding back, it can be hard to understand how to help.  In the first therapy session, various factors might cause a client to feel hesitant or uncertain. However, if the psychotherapist can establish a sense of comfort for them, it could make a significant difference.

Research shows that therapeutic alliance is a critical factor in determining client outcomes in therapy. At the same time, research also shows that a poor therapeutic alliance leads to dropout.  When clients don’t feel connected to, can’t trust, or don’t feel comfortable with their psychotherapist, they’re likely to stop therapy before reaching their goals.  Therefore, we want to prevent bad matches between clients and psychotherapists.  

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What happens when a client is not a good match? 

When a new client schedules an appointment you may be feeling excited about the opportunity to help this client feel better.  During the initial session, you’ll be working on developing rapport with the client, building trust and connection, and displaying empathy.  You’ll use active listening skills to learn and understand about the client.  

Evidence suggests that the relationship between a client and their therapist is one of the most critical factors in determining if therapy will be successful². If there’s not a good therapeutic alliance and the client is not a good match, the following might happen: 

• The client may not see improvement in their symptoms or concerns 
• The client may drop out of treatment prematurely
• The client may leave with a negative perception of therapy

While the impact on clients is evident if there’s not a good match, psychotherapists also deal with potential consequences.  If there isn’t a match, it could lead to: 

• A challenging termination conversation between the client and therapist
• Additional time and effort in finding quality referrals for the client 
• Loss of revenue for the therapist if the client drops out of treatment prematurely 
• A negative impact on the psychotherapist’s confidence
• Therapists questioning their abilities to succeed in the mental health field

When there’s not a good match, it can be challenging to develop a connection and build trust with the client.  If there’s not a good therapeutic connection, research suggests clients are likely to drop out of treatment³.  Both the psychotherapist and the client might face the negative consequences of a bad match. 

Therefore, it’s important to figure out how to identify and attract the ideal clients to your psychotherapy practice.  

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How can I get better client matches for my psychotherapy practice? 

When clients are searching for a psychotherapist, your profile is going to be the first thing they see.  Your practice profile will serve as the client’s first impression.  Clients will begin to form opinions about what you’re like as a therapist based on seeing your profile.  

Therefore, it’s important to have a high-quality professional practice profile.  Here are some tips for things to include in your profile: 

• A professional headshot with a neutral background 
• A description of your approach to therapy 
• Details about location, payment, and availability 
• Clear information about how to contact you 
• A blurb about your experience and education 
• A list of your specialties, populations, and treatment modalities
• An introductory profile video explaining your therapeutic approach 

Include all of these essentials on your practice profile. It’s also helpful to ensure that your profile is easy to navigate so clients know how to contact you. Be sure that any scheduling links are working, and keep your availability up to date.  

While these things are necessary to include in your practice profile, these things alone could lead to bad matches.  Psychotherapists don’t always know until therapy begins if a client is going to be a good fit, and it can be hard to figure out.  But bad matches between clients and psychotherapists don’t help anyone.  

To increase the likelihood that your ideal clients will reach you, get ahead of the curve and include an introductory profile video on your practice profile.  Integrating technology into your practice is the future of therapy, and a profile video is an easy way to do that. 

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What are the benefits of having an introductory video on my profile? 

Most psychotherapists aren’t trained in marketing, website creation, or videography.  Therefore it can feel scary to think about learning and integrating new technologies into your practice.  Even though it might feel daunting as a psychotherapist to create a video, there are many benefits to including an introductory video on your psychotherapy practice profile.  

A profile video can help clients: 

• Learn more about the psychotherapist’s approach to therapy
• See what the psychotherapist looks like, hear how they talk, and get a sense of their demeanor, mannerisms, and body language
• Start to understand what the psychotherapist will be like in a session

All of this can help the client make better-informed decisions about selecting a psychotherapist who is a good fit. By watching a psychotherapist’s profile video a client can start to feel comfortable with, learn about, and start to feel connected to the psychotherapist. 

An introductory profile video also has benefits for psychotherapists.  Psychotherapists can hone the message in their videos to attract the specific types of clients they are looking to work with, those that the provider thinks will be an ideal match.  

Whether your practice approach includes one particular treatment modality (like CBT or DBT) or if your specialty includes treating specific mental health concerns (like panic attacks, postpartum depression, or chronic pain) or populations (like adolescents, LGBTQ+, veterans, or women) having a video can help.  Including an introductory profile video allows clients to learn about your practice from you in your own words. 

But first impressions matter, so ensuring your video looks and sounds professional and is of high quality is imperative to its ability to achieve the benefits discussed.  

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How do I make a high-quality video? 

While you could buy professional video equipment or hire a videographer, those could get pricey. Most psychotherapists may not have a budget set aside to create an expensive video. But using your smartphone alone will likely result in a video of poor quality.  

‍TakeOne is an AI-powered app that allows you to create a high-quality and professional video in just a few minutes.  With TakeOne guiding you through the process step by step, creating an introductory practice profile video is simple.  Psychotherapists don’t need extra lighting, sound, or video editing skills. TakeOne does it all for you!  

If you’re ready to enhance your psychotherapy practice and leverage technology to identify clients who are a better match and those who are ideal for your practice, check out TakeOne!

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Can having an introductory profile video make that much of a difference? 

Yes! Including an introductory video on your practice profile can lead to much better matches!  TakeOne conducted a study alongside Savvy Cooperative and found that when choosing a healthcare provider, 95% of clients think watching a brief introductory video of a provider is more beneficial than seeing a photo alone. 

Summary

Finding the right psychotherapist can be overwhelming for clients, who often struggle to understand or articulate their needs. As a therapist, building a connection begins with the client's first encounter with your online presence. Establishing trust and rapport before the initial session is crucial for effective therapy. The initial session sets the tone for the entire treatment, making it essential to create value and comfort for the client from the start.

Research shows that a strong therapeutic alliance significantly impacts client outcomes. Therefore, psychotherapists need to foster trust and comfort early on. However, mismatches between psychotherapists and clients can lead to premature termination of therapy, negatively impacting both parties.

To attract ideal clients, psychotherapists can optimize their practice profiles, including a professional headshot and detailed information about their approach and specialties. Incorporating an introductory profile video can further enhance the client's understanding and connection with the psychotherapist, leading to better matches.

Enhance your psychotherapy practice by leveraging technology to identify and attract ideal clients. Consider creating an introductory profile video using tools like TakeOne to showcase your approach and personality. Start building authentic connections with clients from the very beginning, and witness the transformative impact it can have on your practice.

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To learn more and discuss, feel free to reach out to at drlassen.com

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¹ Dryden, W. (2018). Single Session Therapy. In Windy Dryden (Ed.), The modal number of therapy sessions internationally is ‘one’, and the majority of people who attend for one session are satisfied.

²  Vail, A. K., Girard, J. M., Bylsma, L. M., Cohn, J. F., Fournier, J., Swartz, H. A., & Morency, L. P. (2022). Toward Causal Understanding of Therapist-Client Relationships: A Study of Language Modality and Social Entrainment. Proceedings of the ... ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction. ICMI (Conference), 2022, 487–494. https://doi.org/10.1145/3536221.3556616

³ Kullgard, N., Holmqvist, R., & Andersson, G. (2022). Premature Dropout From Psychotherapy: Prevalence, Perceived Reasons and Consequences as Rated by Clinicians. Clinical psychology in Europe, 4(2), e6695. https://doi.org/10.32872/cpe.6695

⁴ Vail, A. K., Girard, J. M., Bylsma, L. M., Cohn, J. F., Fournier, J., Swartz, H. A., & Morency, L. P. (2022). Toward Causal Understanding of Therapist-Client Relationships: A Study of Language Modality and Social Entrainment. Proceedings of the ... ACM International Conference on Multimodal Interaction. ICMI (Conference), 2022, 487–494. https://doi.org/10.1145/3536221.3556616

⁵ Kullgard, N., Holmqvist, R., & Andersson, G. (2022). Premature Dropout From Psychotherapy: Prevalence, Perceived Reasons and Consequences as Rated by Clinicians. Clinical psychology in Europe, 4(2), e6695. https://doi.org/10.32872/cpe.6695