Website for psychologists: what it needs to win patients

A psychologist’s website wins patients when each problem it deals with has its own page and the qualification of the person who sees patients can be checked. On top of that, booking a first session must not force anyone to share anything intimate. Below you will find what you can advertise with your qualification, the page map and a block-by-block template for an anxiety page. It ends with a 15-point checklist with the basis for each point.

The general rules on healthcare advertising are in healthcare advertising: what your clinic can say, with its table of dos and don’ts. Here we focus on what is specific to psychology. When something is our interpretation and not the text of a rule, we mark it as a cautious approach. When it is our own method, as our approach.

What you can advertise depends on your qualification and your authorisation

Health psychology is a regulated profession, and the website is the first place where that shows. Before you write, work out which of these 4 rows you are in:

A degree is not enough for a healthcare practice. Law 33/2011 is clear. A degree in Psychology “will not, by itself, qualify the holder to practise psychology in the healthcare sector”. To enter a psychology practice in the register of healthcare centres, the autonomous community requires the master’s or the specialist qualification (7th additional provision, section 5).

The general health psychologist has a limit. They can assess and intervene as long as the case does not require specialised care from other healthcare professionals (section 1). Cautious approach: say so on the website and explain who you refer patients to. The Code of Professional Conduct (Código Deontológico) asks you to ensure that link with other disciplines or to point the patient in the right direction (art. 20).

“Specialist” and “clinical” are protected terms. Only those who hold the official qualification may expressly use the title of specialist (Law 44/2003, art. 16.3). In psychology there is one: Clinical Psychology (Royal Decree 183/2008, annex I). And that title is reserved exclusively for those who hold the qualification (art. 3.3). There is no official specialty in child, couples or anxiety psychology. The Code considers it a serious breach of professional ethics to use “ambiguous designations and titles” that may mislead (art. 51).

Professional association accreditations are not qualifications. The General Council of Psychology (Consejo General de la Psicología) grants national accreditations, such as “Expert Psychologist in Clinical Neuropsychology”. Its commission makes clear that they “are not regulated by the public administration” (CNAP). You can show them with their exact name, saying who grants them. And if you practise under a pseudonym, the Code asks you to declare it to the General Council (art. 53).

A note on dates. As of 2 October 2026, the 1987 code applies, with its 2010, 2014 and 2015 amendments. On 21 February 2026 the Council’s Governing Board approved a draft new code, on which the competition authority (CNMC) reported on 1 July 2026. It is not final yet. Its article 66 asks for advertising that is “objective, prudent and truthful, without creating false expectations”: write to that standard now.

Your practice needs authorisation and a visible registration number

If you practise health psychology, your practice is a healthcare centre. In the Valencian Community it is authorised by the Regional Ministry of Health (Conselleria de Sanidad), which enters it automatically in its regional register (Decree 157/2014 (Decreto 157/2014), arts. 4 and 8).

Your website must follow 2 rules of Royal Decree 1277/2003 (art. 6.2): advertise only the authorised services and state the registration number. Cautious approach: put it in the footer of every page, as information. Do not use it as an endorsement, because Royal Decree 1907/1996 (Real Decreto 1907/1996) prohibits using healthcare authorisations as an endorsement in advertising (art. 4.5).

The unit you are authorised for also matters. The clinical psychology unit (U.70) is run by a specialist in Clinical Psychology (annex II of Royal Decree 1277/2003). That annex has no unit of its own for the general health psychologist. The Canary Islands, for example, registered it in 2014 as U.900P, “health psychology” (Canary Islands Health Service). Cautious approach: read your authorisation decision and make sure the website advertises nothing that is not in it.

Your patients can check your authorisation in the national register of healthcare centres (REGCESS). And your membership, in the official list of the Official Association of Psychologists of the Valencian Community (COPCV). Professional associations must publish that register with the membership number, official qualifications and practising status (Law 2/1974 (Ley 2/1974), art. 10.2.a).

One page per problem or service, not a catalogue of therapies

People looking for a psychologist do not type “psychology services”. They type “psychologist for anxiety in Valencia”, “couples therapy in Castellón” or “online psychologist”. A “Services” page with 15 icons does not answer those searches. Nor does it answer what the visitor wants to know: whether it is for them, what it will be like and who will see them.

Google says trust is the most important factor when it assesses content, and that it gives those signals even more weight on topics that can affect health. It also asks whether it is clear who created the content (Search Central). In psychology, trust is shown with qualifications the patient can check.

This is the map for a practice with one centre. The searches are examples of how people ask, not volume data.

3 rules for using the table:

• Only what you are authorised for and know how to do. Your advertising must be limited to the authorised services (Royal Decree 1277/2003, art. 6.2). And the Code asks you to recognise “the limits of their competence” (art. 17). A page on eating disorders or addictions, only if you genuinely work on them.
• Start with what brings you the most patients. Better to have 4 complete pages than 20 half-finished ones. The rest can live on a general page until it gets its own.
• One page per real practice, not per neighbourhood. Google considers it doorway abuse to have several pages targeting cities that funnel users to one page. If you see patients online all over Spain, say so on the online page.

Insomnia is a special case. Royal Decree 1907/1996 lists it among the cases in which it prohibits advertising methods with alleged health purposes (art. 4.1). How far that reaches for an authorised practice is debatable. Cautious approach: if you have that page, explain the assessment and the treatment without presenting a method as the solution.

This map is approved before the design: it is the basis of a web design built to win patients. If your current website already ranks, do not change its addresses without following the plan for a redesign without losing rankings.

Template: the anxiety page, block by block

A service page answers 6 questions: is it for me?, what will it be like?, who will see me?, what happens to what I say?, how much does it cost? and what do I do now? The template has 10 blocks.

Let’s say a practice in Valencia with 2 general health psychologists wants more patients with anxiety. The texts marked Example are illustrative. Whatever is in square brackets is filled in by each practice, and the responsible psychologist reviews every text before it is published.

Block 1. First screen: the problem, the city and what happens when you click

What you see without scrolling says what you do, where and what happens when you press the button. No “overcome anxiety in 8 sessions”, “guaranteed results” or “100% effective therapy”.

Royal Decree 1907/1996 controls the advertising of methods presented as useful for changing the “physical or psychological state” (art. 1.1). And it prohibits giving assurances of relief or certain cure (art. 4.4). The Code asks you not to create false expectations (art. 32).

Example

Title (H1): Psychologists for anxiety in Valencia

Subtitle: If anxiety keeps you awake or holds you back at work, in the first session we assess what is going on and propose a plan. At our practice in [neighbourhood] or by video call.

Key details on view: First session: [final price] · [Street], Valencia · We reply within [X] working days

Buttons: “Book a first session”, which goes to the form, and “Call [phone number]”

Block 2. Who it is for, and when it is not

Describe situations in the patient’s words, not diagnoses. And say when you are not the first step: it is honest and respects the limit of the general health psychologist.

Example

This may be for you if:

• You have been feeling nervous or worried for weeks and it will not go away.
• You have had a panic attack and fear it will happen again.
• You avoid places or situations for fear of feeling unwell.

When we are not the first step. If you need a medical assessment or medication, we will tell you who to see. With your permission, we can coordinate with your doctor.

Coordination only with permission: the Code requires the patient’s express authorisation to share information with third parties (art. 41).

Block 3. How we work, in phases and with no fixed number of sessions

The Code asks you to explain the objectives, the method and the nature of the relationship at the start (art. 25). It also asks you to end the intervention when the objectives have been met or when there is no progress (art. 26).

Example

1. First session. We talk about what is going on and what you expect from therapy.
2. Assessment. [1 or 2] more sessions to understand your case. It may include questionnaires.
3. Plan. We explain the objectives, the approach and how often the sessions will be.
4. Sessions. Lasting [length], usually [weekly] at the start.
5. Review. Every [number] sessions we review your progress together. If you are not making progress, we consider alternatives.
6. Discharge. When the objectives are met, we space out the sessions until we finish.

Name the approach, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, and explain in one sentence what it means. The Code does not accept procedures that have not been sufficiently tested (art. 18). And it considers it serious to encourage public credulity about techniques of doubtful effectiveness (art. 51).

Block 4. Who will see you

Patients have the right to know the name, qualification and specialty of the person treating them (Law 44/2003, art. 5.1.e). Name, real photo, exact qualification, association and number.

Example

You will be seen by [full name], general health psychologist. Master’s in General Health Psychology from the University of [X], [year]. Member no. [number] of the Official Association of Psychologists of the Valencian Community (Col·legi Oficial de Psicologia de la Comunitat Valenciana): you can check this in its official list. [Specific training in anxiety: course, institution, hours and year.]

Block 5. What happens in the first session

Describe the first session as a service: length, price, who sees the patient and what they leave with. The Code asks you to state the amount of the fees in advance (art. 55).

Example

The first session lasts [length] and costs [final price]. You will be seen by the psychologist who will handle your case. Before we start, we explain how we work and how we protect what you tell us. You leave knowing whether we can help you and what the plan would be.

Block 6. Confidentiality, in plain language

Deal with it before the patient asks. Everything the patient says is subject to professional secrecy, and the current Code only allows their express consent to release you from it (art. 40). The draft new code asks you to explain its limits at the start, such as a very serious risk or a legal or court order (art. 25 of the draft).

Example

What you tell us stays between you and your psychologist. We do not discuss your case with anyone without your express authorisation. There are exceptions, such as a serious risk to you or to others: we explain them in the first session.

Block 7. Price, cancellations and session packs

The current code does not prohibit publishing prices. If you publish them, give the final price, including taxes (Consumer Law (Ley de Consumidores), art. 20.1.c).

Care provided by psychologists to individuals to diagnose, prevent or treat illnesses is exempt from VAT (VAT Law (Ley del IVA), art. 20.Uno.3.º). A workshop or a personal development service may not be: check with your tax adviser.

Example

• Individual session: €[amount], final price. VAT exempt.
• Cancellations: free of charge with [hours] hours’ notice.
• Pack of [number] sessions: €[amount]. If you finish early, we refund the sessions you have not used.

Refunding the sessions is a cautious approach: a pack should not push anyone to prolong a therapy that the Code asks you to end in good time (art. 26). And if you advertise the first session as free, it must really be free. Describing as free something that ends up being paid for is misleading (Unfair Competition Law (Ley de Competencia Desleal), art. 22.5).

Block 8. Cases: typical situations, never patients

Cases presented for educational purposes must not allow the person to be identified. If the medium does allow it, their prior explicit consent is required (art. 45 of the Code). Cautious approach: on the website, no testimonials and no real cases. Describe a typical situation, marked as such.

Example (typical situation, not a real case)

A person starts avoiding the metro after a panic attack. In the assessment we look at when the anxiety appears and what keeps it going. The plan combines understanding what is happening with facing what they avoid little by little, at their own pace.

Block 9. Frequently asked questions

The ones you are asked on the phone every week, with answers that make sense on their own.

Example

Do I need a referral from my doctor? No. You can book directly. If we think you need a medical assessment, we will tell you.

How many sessions will I need? It depends on each case. After the assessment we will give you an estimate and review it with you.

Block 10. The next step, and the emergency notice

A single action and the phone number repeated. And a visible notice: a private practice is not an emergency service.

Example

Want to know whether we can help you? Book your first session and we will call you within [X] working days.

If it is an emergency, call 112. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call 024: it is free, confidential and available 24 hours a day.

The Ministry of Health’s 024 line helps people with suicidal thoughts and those close to them, and refers to 112 if there is an emergency. It is free, confidential and runs 24 hours a day, according to its January 2026 report. Cautious approach: put this notice in the footer of every page.

Online therapy needs its own page, with the same practice behind it

We have not found any national or Valencian rule specific to online therapy. What there is is the General Council of Psychology’s Guide to the practice of telepsychology, from 2017. It is a guide, not a law, but it says what the patient should know before starting.

The online page should explain 6 things:

• What you need. A device, a stable connection and a place where nobody can hear you.
• How identity is checked. The guide recommends verifying the identity of the patient and of the professional at the start, and where each of them is (section 4.1.1).
• Where you can do it from. The law of the place where the patient is may require the psychologist to be accredited there (section 3.1.8). Say whether you see people who live outside Spain.
• Which platform you use. The guide recommends end-to-end encryption (section 4.2.4). Name the tool and how it protects the session.
• Who it is not for. The guide asks you to assess whether video consultation is suitable for each patient and to agree how emergencies will be handled (sections 4.1.1 and 4.1.2).
• Price and payment. As at the practice, with the final price.

The draft new code, not yet approved, makes this a rule: those who provide care remotely will have to adapt consent, security, privacy and identification (art. 59 of the draft).

Cautious approach: offer online therapy from your authorised practice, with the same registration number in the footer. And do not invent an address for your Google Business Profile: a virtual office where you do not operate cannot have a Business Profile.

The form asks for contact details and times; the problem is discussed in the first session

The fact that someone is looking for a psychologist already says something about their health. The GDPR defines health data as data relating to the “physical or mental health” of a person (art. 4.15). It protects them as a special category (art. 9) and requires data “limited to what is necessary” (art. 5.1.c). The Code takes the same line: collect only the information that is strictly necessary (art. 39).

Example

1. Who is the appointment for? For me, for my son or daughter, for my partner and me.
2. How would you prefer your sessions? At the practice, online, either.
3. When suits you best? Mornings, afternoons, either.
4. How would you like us to contact you? Call, email or WhatsApp. Can we leave you a voicemail?
5. How did you hear about us? Google, Google Maps, someone recommended you, other.
6. Contact: name and phone number or email.

Leave out: the “tell us what is going on” field, diagnoses, medication, reports and ID card number (DNI). If someone writes their story in a free-text field, your inbox stores health data you did not need. The voicemail question is our approach: someone who lives with other people may not want a message from a psychology practice.

Next to the button goes the information required by article 13 of the GDPR: who processes the data, for what purpose and how to exercise your rights. To provide care, the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) explains that consent is not usually needed, but that information is (guide for the healthcare sector). Confirm the legal basis with whoever handles your data protection. How to write those texts: legal notice, privacy and cookies.

The same guide gives 2 guidelines for after the form. When confirming or changing an appointment, the minimum information: day, time and centre, with no symptoms or treatments. And if you use WhatsApp, always offer another channel.

Reviews and Google Business Profile: professional secrecy outweighs the stars

Google allows you to ask all patients for reviews, without incentives. The method and the messages are in how to get Google reviews. Since Law 10/2025 (Ley 10/2025), reviews must refer to services used in the 30 calendar days before the review (Consumer Law, art. 20.4).

In mental health, 3 cautious approaches:

• Do not send requests one by one. A text message from your practice on a locked screen already reveals that the person sees a psychologist. Leave a QR code in the waiting room, for whoever wants to use it. The text for the healthcare sector is in the review message generator.
• When you reply, do not confirm that the reviewer is a patient. Professional secrecy covers everything you know through your work (art. 40 of the Code) and does not end with the patient’s death (art. 49). Use the model reply for clinics in the reviews guide.
• On the website, no testimonials and no copied reviews. Link to your profile. Royal Decree 1907/1996 prohibits using patient testimonials to encourage consumption (art. 4.7), although its reach over an authorised practice is debated.

Your profile and your website must say the same thing. According to the Business Profile guidelines:

• Real name, no keywords. Do not add “anxiety” or “Valencia” to the practice’s name.
• One profile for the practice and, if you want, one per psychologist. Google considers a practitioner to be someone who deals with the public and usually has their own client base. If you share a centre, each psychologist’s profile carries only their name. If you are the only psychologist practising at that address and the practice has a brand, Google recommends a single profile in the format “[brand]: [your name]”.
• The category says what you are. Google asks that it complete the sentence “this business is”, not “this business has”. Choose the most specific one and leave the problems you treat for services and description.

The full review of a profile is in how to optimise your Google Business Profile: it was written for law firms, but the method works just as well. Something similar happens with AI assistants, in our experience: a page that says what you treat, where and who does it is what they can cite. How to check: does ChatGPT recommend your business?.

In structured data, schema.org has no type for psychologists. Google asks for the most specific LocalBusiness subtype possible. Cautious approach: use MedicalBusiness and not Psychiatric, which corresponds to psychiatry.

Measure, but without tracking anyone

What matters is how many first sessions each page and each channel brings in. The method is in how to measure your website’s enquiries. In a psychology practice, add 3 rules:

• Analytics waits for consent. It is only activated when the visitor accepts cookies (LSSI, art. 22.2).
• No form answers are sent to analytics. Cautious approach: measure that the form was submitted, not what each person answered.
• No advertising pixels on problem pages. Google includes mental health services, such as anxiety or depression, among sensitive content. In those campaigns you cannot use audiences you choose, such as your patient lists or remarketing (Health in personalised advertising). Cautious approach: do not put social media pixels on those pages either, because the visit may reveal health data.

The question “How did you hear about us?” also measures people who reject cookies. If you are going to invest in ads, how much to invest in Google Ads explains how to work it out.

Checklist: 15 points to review your practice’s website

What to do on Monday

1. Put your qualification and your authorisation decision next to the menu. Remove anything that is not authorised or that you cannot prove.
2. Search your website for “specialist”, “clinical”, “child”, “guaranteed”, “overcome” and “sessions”. Rewrite every sentence that makes a promise or cannot be checked. You can paste the text into the advertising claims checker.
3. Add to the footer the healthcare registration number and the notice with 112 and 024.
4. Cut the form down to 6 questions and delete the free-text field.
5. Write the page for your main service with the template. If you offer online therapy, write its page next.
6. Remove social media pixels from problem pages and check that analytics waits for consent.
7. Stop sending review requests and put a QR code in the waiting room.

If you would rather do it with someone, at NOR studio we start from this map and this template: we draft the texts with the rules in front of us and your practice approves them. We explain how in websites and search visibility for clinics.