Podcast Summary: Private Practice Startup Podcast

Episode 170: 3 Ways Your Content Can Ease the Stigma of Therapy

Hosts: Dr. Kate Campbell & Katie Lemieux
Guest: Beth Alfred (Alfred Creative)
Date: January 25, 2020

Episode Overview

In this insightful episode, Kate and Katie are joined by marketing and communications expert Beth Alfred to dive into how therapists can use content marketing to ease the stigma surrounding therapy. The conversation focuses on actionable ways practitioners can create connection through content, normalize mental health conversations, and ultimately help more people feel comfortable seeking support. Throughout the episode, the trio addresses therapists’ own hesitancies around marketing, reframes it as an opportunity for authentic connection, and offers practical strategies for impactful content creation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Dual Stigma: Therapy and Marketing

• Many clients feel embarrassed or ashamed to seek therapy, with 29% of Americans stating they're too embarrassed to talk about mental health issues (Beth, 08:40).
• Therapists themselves often feel a stigma around marketing, associating it with being “salesy” or “sleazy.” The hosts and Beth emphasize a needed mindset shift: marketing as genuine connection.
  • Quote: "Marketing still has that yucky feeling... But to be able to connect it to a real mission, like this idea of stigma, has helped." (Beth, 10:02)
  • Quote: "New school marketing... is more about just communicating and building relationships with people." (Kate, 11:00)

2. Content as Connection, Not Just Promotion

• Reframing “marketing” for therapists:
  • It's about bringing hope, clarity, and support into the world—not just self-promotion (Beth, 13:30).
  • The act of sharing helpful content can itself be an intervention for those too anxious or ashamed to take the first step into a therapy office.
• Therapists already possess the core skills for effective content marketing: reflecting, validating, empathizing, and talking about pain points and desires.
  • Quote: "Do you summarize and reflect and validate and empathize with them and talk about their pain and their goals? ...That's marketing." (Katie, 17:28)

3. Three Core Ways Content Can Ease Therapy’s Stigma

a. Normalize through Storytelling

• Sharing relatable stories—whether anonymized client progress, composite cases, or the therapist’s personal/professional journey—helps potential clients feel less alone.
• Normalize common struggles and show that seeking help is a sign of courage, not weakness.
  • Quote: "Stories of how others have, you know, that offers hope that people aren't alone, right? That's a huge part of it." (Beth, 18:42)

b. Dispel Myths with Educational Content

• Create lead magnets (e.g., downloads, checklists) around common misconceptions about therapy or mental health.
• Use landing pages or blog posts to address, “I should be able to handle this on my own,” or “Therapy is for people who are really broken.”
  • Quote: "Dispelling myths make great lead magnets... because the myths are the things—if we’re talking specifically about stigma—creating a lead magnet that hits that myth and says, nope, that’s not really the way it is." (Beth, 19:23)

c. Build Trust with Consistent and Targeted Content

• People typically need 4-5 touchpoints with your content before they reach out—potentially more when stigma is high (Beth, 13:30).
• Content should be tailored directly to the pain points your clients are actually searching for (“I’m depressed, what do I do?” vs. broad search terms).
• Consistency is key: consider drip email campaigns, social content, and a variety of blog topics on relevant issues.
  • Quote: "Be sure you’ve got a drip campaign with more content around that same topic... The idea is the person clicked on that content because they are in need of help around that area." (Beth, 23:32)

Practical Tips & Ninja Strategies

• Leverage Relatability: Use storytelling and case highlights (with client details changed for anonymity) to show transformation and hope (25:00).
• Maximize Content Use: Repurpose videos by transcribing them for blogs, maximizing reach and SEO (24:00).
• Speak to Local Audiences: Therapists can rank surprisingly well for local search terms if content is tailored (13:50).
  • Use Google tools to research specific keywords in your area for targeted content creation.
• Optimize Your Website: Make websites easily navigable and designed for quick decision-making, as users make up their minds in 7-15 seconds (22:18).

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On the Double Stigma
  "There's a stigma on both sides... And so many therapists have this negative relationship to marketing. They feel like it's sleazy or salesy or icky or imposing." (Kate, 11:00)

• On Therapists as Natural Marketers
  "Therapists are primed really to be amazing marketers… Do you have conversations every day with your clients? ... Okay, great. That's marketing." (Katie, 17:28)

• On Overcoming Hesitancy
  "Starting your business already took a lot of risk—it takes courage and guts every day. This is a little bit different kind of courage and guts, but it's just so worth it." (Beth, 15:19)

• On Stories as Catalysts
  "Stories are just. Just, you know, the biggest piece. I feel like you've got all your channels... There are some little things you can do to make it easier." (Beth, 23:32)

• On Being Authentic
  "Just do one thing at a time and just be authentic. That's what the world's crying out for, is authenticity." (Beth, 25:50)

  • [Cowbell rings for “authenticity,” an in-joke from the podcast, at 26:12]

• On Email Lists and Lead Magnets
  "Newsletter? No, people aren't signing up for newsletters. That's the most unused thing on your website." (Beth, 27:06)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [08:40] – Beth shares statistics on mental health stigma in the US
• [11:00] – The hosts and Beth discuss therapists’ aversion to marketing
• [13:30] – How reframing marketing as connection leads to page rank and impact
• [15:19] – Beth on therapists’ natural skillset for marketing and the importance of taking risks
• [17:28] – The hosts explain why therapists are natural marketers
• [18:42] – Beth introduces the first tip: normalize through storytelling
• [19:23] – Beth explains dispelling myths as a content and lead magnet strategy
• [22:18] – User behavior online and why website layout and keywords matter
• [23:32] – The role of case studies and drip campaigns in building trust
• [24:00] – Repurposing content: from video to blog to social
• [25:50] – Emphasizing authenticity in all marketing efforts
• [27:06] – Email newsletters vs. lead magnets and effective email list-building

Episode Takeaways

• Therapists should view content creation as both service and outreach, not just “marketing.”
• Utilize stories, myth-busting materials, and ongoing, targeted content to break down mental health stigma.
• Consistency, relatability, and authenticity are far more important than perfection or high production value.
• Localized, well-researched content can help private practitioners reach those who are quietly searching for help.

Free Resource

Beth’s Giveaway:
A free worksheet guiding therapists step-by-step on creating their own content funnel—described as "just a system to get people to make them be aware of you."
Download at offercreative.com/offer ([30:00])

This episode offers empowering, actionable guidance for therapists seeking to make genuine impact—one piece of stigma-busting content at a time.