# Therapist social media: calm, ethical posts that help [Canonical HTML page](https://gradiently.design/guide/therapist-social-media) A prospective client often reads your posts for weeks before they feel ready to get in touch. Here is how to make what they find calm, useful and safely within your professional limits. ## The short version - Therapist social media works best as psychoeducation and practical information, posted in a calm, consistent look that matches the feeling of your practice. - Never share client stories, never offer individual advice in comments or messages, and point people to crisis services rather than responding yourself. - Many professional codes restrict testimonials from therapy clients, so check your own body's code before using any. - Gentle palettes still need strong contrast for text, because some readers will be tired, anxious or reading on a dim screen. - A pinned post with who you work with, how sessions run and how to book answers most of the questions that stop people reaching out. Good **therapist social media** does three quiet jobs: it explains common struggles in plain language, it shows people how you work before they meet you, and it makes booking feel simple. The posts that do this best are calm psychoeducation carousels and clear practical posts, in a gentle but readable palette, within firm ethical limits on confidentiality and advice. You are not trying to go viral. You are trying to be the practice someone trusts enough to email when they are ready. ## Ethics and boundaries before you post Social media blurs lines that therapy depends on, so decide your rules first and write them in your bio or a pinned post. Your professional body's guidance always comes before anything here, and many publish specific guidance on social media. ### Avoid - Client stories, even disguised or composite - Answering personal questions in comments or messages - Following or engaging with current clients' accounts - Diagnostic quizzes that suggest a label - Testimonials, unless your code clearly allows them ### Do - General education drawn from published, well established ideas - A standard reply that directs people to book or seek support - A clear statement that posts are not therapy - Signposting to crisis services in your bio - Your registration body and number where clients can find it > **Crisis messages** Some people will message you in distress. Prepare a short, kind reply that gives your local emergency number and crisis line, and keep it saved. Social media is not a safe channel for crisis care, and saying so clearly is part of looking after people. On testimonials specifically: many professional codes, including the American Psychological Association's, prohibit soliciting testimonials from current therapy clients because of the pressure it puts on them. Check your own code before you consider any. ## Gentle palettes that still read Most therapists want their feed to feel like the room: soft, warm, unhurried. Muted greens, clay, sand and dusk blues do that well. The trap is pale text on pale backgrounds. Your readers may be anxious, tired or reading late at night on a dimmed phone, so contrast matters more here than almost anywhere. - Sand: #f4efe6 - Oat: #d9cbb4 - Sage: #8fa89b - Moss shadow: #4b5d58 - Soft ink: #2b2a28 A calm palette with a real dark. Soft ink on sand passes contrast comfortably; sage on oat would not. - Sand to sage: `linear-gradient(170deg, #f4efe6 0%, #d9cbb4 60%, #8fa89b 100%)` - Morning to dusk blue: `linear-gradient(170deg, #eef2f7 0%, #b8c6d9 60%, #5b6b85 100%)` - Linen to clay: `linear-gradient(170deg, #f7ede6 0%, #e3b9a0 60%, #9c5b45 100%)` Three soft backgrounds. Each ends in a deeper tone, which gives you somewhere for light text or a calm corner for dark text. Check your text against [colour contrast and accessibility](https://gradiently.design/guide/color-contrast-accessibility) guidelines, and see [pastel color palettes](https://gradiently.design/guide/pastel-color-palettes) for more soft combinations. Avoid fast or flashing motion entirely; if you animate anything, keep it slow and subtle, as in [reduced motion](https://gradiently.design/guide/reduced-motion). ## Psychoeducation carousels Carousels suit therapy content because they let one idea unfold slowly, a page at a time. Each page is a portrait 1080×1350 frame. Keep to one idea per carousel and one thought per page. 1. **Name the experience** Start with words people actually use: "Why do I feel worse on Sunday evenings?" rather than a clinical term. 2. **Normalise it** One page that says this is common and understandable, without minimising it. 3. **Explain gently** Two or three pages on what may be happening, drawn from established, widely published ideas. 4. **Offer one small thing** A grounding exercise or a question to reflect on. Keep it general, never prescriptive. 5. **Close with care** "If this is a lot right now, talking to someone can help", with how to reach you or a support line. A carousel cover asking Why do Sundays feel so heavy, on a soft sand and sage background The first page names the feeling in everyday words. A carousel page with a grounding exercise: name five things you can see, four you can touch, three you can hear One small, general exercise near the end. Nothing that reads as a treatment plan. [Tips carousel](https://gradiently.design/guide/tips-carousel) and [Instagram carousel design](https://gradiently.design/guide/instagram-carousel-design) cover page layout, cover hooks and how many pages to use. ### Carousel ideas for a month - What actually happens in a first session, page by page. - The difference between counselling, psychotherapy and coaching, in plain words. - Why rest can feel uncomfortable when you are used to being busy. - Small ways to prepare for a difficult family gathering. - How to tell a GP or doctor that you are struggling, with a few opening lines. - What to look for when choosing a therapist, including registration. Each of these teaches something general and shows your tone, which is what helps a reader decide if you are the right person for them. ## Booking and practical posts Practical posts often do more than any explainer, because uncertainty is what stops people getting in touch. Who do you see, where, online or in person, how long is a session and what happens first? Answer those once in a pinned post and repeat them every few weeks. | Post | Size | Where | | --- | --- | --- | | Now accepting clients | 1080×1350 px | Instagram, Facebook, Threads | | How a first session works | 1080×1350 px carousel | Instagram, LinkedIn | | Availability update | 1080×1920 px | Stories | | Practice update | 1200×900 px | Google Business Profile | | Talk or workshop | 1200×1200 px | LinkedIn, Facebook | Google Business posts are often what someone sees first when they search for a therapist nearby. A post reading Now accepting new clients, counselling for adults, online and in person in Leeds Who, where, how and the first step, in calm type with plenty of space. If you have little time for design, a fixed set of layouts is kinder to you than starting fresh. In Gradiently, a Mark's calmest region moves behind your words and Auto ink picks light or dark type per line, so a soft background never swallows the text. [Healthcare marketing design](https://gradiently.design/guide/healthcare-marketing-design) covers the wider practice side, from leaflets to waiting room screens. ## FAQ ### What should therapists post on social media? General psychoeducation, how your sessions work, who you see, availability and how to book. Avoid client stories and individual advice. ### Can therapists use client testimonials? Often not. Many professional codes, including the APA's, prohibit soliciting testimonials from current clients. Check your own professional body's code first. ### How should I reply to people who message me in crisis? Use a prepared, kind reply that gives your local emergency number and a crisis line, and explain that messages are not monitored for urgent support. ### What colours suit a therapy practice? Muted, warm colours such as sand, sage, clay and dusk blue, paired with a deep tone for text so everything stays readable. ### What size should a therapy carousel be? Use 1080×1350 pixels per page, the portrait format that fills the most space in the Instagram feed.