# Directory profiles

> **Write one canonical bio and derive every directory profile from it.** When your focus or fee changes, you edit one document and then the listings, instead of five versions drifting apart.

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## 1. Write the canonical bio

Keep it in one document you own:

- **Tagline:** one line. Who you help and what changes.
- **Short bio:** two or three sentences for cards, previews, and search snippets.
- **Full bio**, in three sections:
  - **About my clients:** the person *before* therapy, in the words they'd use (the language bank from [ideal client discovery](https://toolkit.marcusberley.com/ideal-client-discovery/)).
  - **My approach:** what actually happens in sessions, concretely.
  - **My background:** training, licenses, and years in practice. Short.
- **Fee note:** see below.

Write "About my clients" first and give it the most words: it's what a prospective client reads to decide whether you'd understand them.

## 2. Adapt per directory

| | Psychology Today | Zencare | TherapyDen |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Cost** | Monthly subscription | Membership fee; application and vetting | Free tier plus paid options |
| **Character** | Largest audience; most competition | Curated; video intro; skews toward clients willing to pay privately | Inclusive, values-forward |
| **Notes** | A free or incomplete listing may barely appear in search results, so fill every field | Record the intro video somewhere quiet with good light; keep it under 2 minutes | Good second listing |

Pricing changes, so check each directory's current rates. For each listing:

- Paste the canonical sections into the matching fields, trimmed to that directory's limits.
- **Choose specialties and issues deliberately.** Checking every box makes you invisible in each search. Pick the few that match the clients you do your best work with.
- **Photo:** a warm, well-lit, recent headshot. It's the first thing people see.
- **Review the live profile.** Some directories set identity or demographic fields from your application, and only their staff can change them.

## 3. Fee and insurance wording

Say it once, clearly, in every listing, to head off "do you take my insurance?" inquiries:

> **Fees:** $[individual fee] per [length]-minute session[; couples $X].
> **Insurance:** I'm out-of-network with all insurance plans. I provide superbills you can submit for possible out-of-network reimbursement. Check with your plan about your benefits.
> **Cancellation:** sessions canceled with less than [72] hours' notice are charged the full fee.

- Sliding scale: off, unless you actually offer one.
- Insurance field: "Out of network," not blank.

## 4. Track what each one produces

Log each listing's cost and renewal date, and tag every inquiry with its directory, in the [referral tracker](https://toolkit.marcusberley.com/referral-tracker/). At renewal you'll know whether it earned its fee.