As a therapist, you’re no stranger to the emotional and mental energy required to support your clients day in and day out. With so much focus on your clinical work, finding the time and motivation to create engaging content for your blog can feel like one more item on your never-ending “to-do” list. To help, here are five practical tips to make content writing for your therapy blog easier and more manageable.
Finding the time for content writing
Holding space for clients to process trauma, life stressors and crises is sacred work. After a long week, it’s only natural to want to disconnect for a while and engage in activities that bring you peace and joy. Yet in today’s digital age, the need to be “connected” is now more important than ever.
If you don’t already have a blog, many experts would agree that you’re missing out on one of the best marketing strategies. But after back-to-back sessions and a list of notes to complete, who has the time and brain space to sit and write a 1,000+ word article? Even more than that, figuring out what to write about is often the hardest part. If you’re a clinician who wants to maintain a digital presence with client-centered content yet finds yourself struggling to come up with topics, here are 5 strategies to create your next blog post.
5 Tips for Client-Centered Content Writing
1. Discuss your niche as a therapist
One of the easiest places to start is to focus on what you love talking about! Focusing on creating content centered around the work that brings you joy can help in establishing authority and positioning yourself as an expert in your field. Grab a piece of paper and create an avatar of your ideal client. What concerns do they present with? What kind of support are they looking for? What kind of clients do you get excited to work with? From there, dissect a few ideas that spark your interest and start writing.
2. Answer your clients’ questions
Think back on the last week or two in your practice and see if you can remember any questions that your client’s may have asked. “I heard about this thing called Internal Family Systems, can you tell me about it?” Or maybe, “Can we revisit some tips for setting boundaries with my family?” Perhaps there’s a question that you hear often and repeated amongst your clients, too. When users are turning to the internet, they’re often searching for help in the form of a question like, “how do I manage my anxiety?” Proving answers to your client’s questions is a great way to build trust before they even step foot in your office.
3. Consult with AI for some content writing ideas
As a content writer that values the humanistic value of content writing, it’s not often I recommend AI. But if you’re looking for clever blog content ideas, AI is a great way to get your creative juices flowing. I hopped onto ChatGPT and gave it the following prompt:
I’m a therapist who works with adolescents. My primary focus is managing symptoms related to ADHD. Can you provide me with some content ideas to use on my blog?
Here are some of the results it provided:
- ADHD: Key Symptoms and Common Misconceptions
- Practical Strategies for Parents: Managing ADHD at Home
- Supporting Adolescents with ADHD in School: Tips for Success
- Building Executive Functioning Skills: ADHD and Organization
- Managing Screen Time: Balancing ADHD and Technology Use
Not too shabby, huh? From there, choose headlines and topics that catch your eye and speak to what you’re passionate about.
4. Explore recent mental health trends and news
In a field that is always evolving, there’s always new research, new approaches, new tools and new resources. Perhaps you focus heavily on DBT in your clinical work and want to discuss a new study that highlights the positive impacts of mindfulness. Or maybe you’d like to discuss a new app you learned about that provides clients with a library of guided meditations for managing symptoms of anxiety. Highlighting trends that would benefit your ideal clients is another great way to continue building trust.
5. Review a book or podcast episode
Our work with clients seldom ends inside the office. They’re often looking for ways to continue learning outside of their 1 hour of therapy each week. The next time you listen to a great mental health podcast episode or read a book that your ideal clients may enjoy – tell them about it! Whether it’s reviewing a recent book that assisted in exploring strategies or a podcast that offered validation, talking about these types of tools is a great resource to offer clients.
Conclusion
Progress over perfection
If you’re like me and often get all of your “great ideas” at the most inconvenient times, make sure you have a way to record your thoughts. Jot them down in a notebook if it’s handy or even in the notepad app of your phone. That way when you’re mapping out your content calendar, you’re already a few steps ahead of yourself with great ideas.
Most importantly, have fun with your writing. It’s fine if it’s messy, fragmented, and all over the place. Give yourself some time to come up with a draft then spend some time going back through it and making edits as you see fit.
Want to take content writing off your plate?
The work that you do is life-changing, challenging, draining, beautiful, inspiring and truly changes lives. If you’re looking to shift your focus solely on your clinical work and outsource all of your blog content writing, I’m happy to help! Feel free to reach out via my contact page.