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May 21, 2025 17 mins

In this conversation, I break down one of the most common (and costly) mistakes therapists make in their marketing: speaking from Point Z—the place of transformation—rather than meeting clients where they are at Point A. I walk you through how this disconnect shows up, why it happens (hint: it's not your fault), and how to realign your messaging so it resonates with the clients you actually want to attract.

You’ll walk away with a clear reframe and a practical next step to make sure your marketing is not just accurate, but truly effective.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode:

1️⃣ Why your clients aren’t recognizing themselves in your marketing—and how to fix that disconnect

2️⃣ The surprising way clinical accuracy can backfire in your copy

3️⃣ A simple exercise to re-anchor your messaging in what your clients already know and feel

Resources & Links Mentioned:


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About Marketing Therapy

Marketing Therapy is the podcast where therapists learn how to market their private practices without burnout, self-doubt, or sleazy tactics. Hosted by Anna Walker—marketing coach, strategist, and founder of Walker Strategy Co—each episode brings you clear, grounded advice to help you attract the right-fit, full-fee clients and grow a practice you feel proud of.

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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello, hello.

(00:00):
Welcome to Marketing Therapy episodetwo where we are exploring one of the
disconnects that I see so many therapistsnot realize they're creating, and
ultimately the clients it costs them.
This is a big one.
So let's set the stage here.
You have a solid niche, youknow who you love working with.

(00:22):
You're not trying to be allthings to all people anymore.
You've realized I am the righttherapist for the right kind of client.
So you've gotten clear,you've gotten more focused.
You've gotten more intentional.
Okay, that's where we're at right now.
So the big question, whyaren't the inquiries coming in?
Or if they are, why do somany of them still feel off?

(00:45):
That is what we're gonna talk about today.
Because sometimes it's notyour niche that's the problem.
It's the disconnect betweenwhere your clients are and
where you are marketing from.
In this episode, we're gonna diveinto this really common mistake
that I see even seasoned, thoughtfulstrategic therapists make in their

(01:06):
marketing and what to do instead.
We're gonna talk about the journeyyour client goes on, what this
disconnect actually looks like.
I'm gonna give you some exampleswhy this happens and why it's not
your fault, what your clients arereally actually listening for, and of
course how to actually change this.
Okay?
I'm gonna give you a few simplechanges to make your niche and your

(01:28):
marketing actually land with thoseclients you love to work with.
Alright, let's get into it.
So here's what I want youto remember as we dive in.
Every single client goes on a journeywhen they work with you, okay?
They start at point A.
Imagine a big, long spectrum, okay?
On one end is point A.
This is the moment that theyrealize something's wrong,

(01:50):
I've got to do something.
It might be that they're feelingoverwhelmed, they're stuck in a pattern
that they can't quite put words to.
They're disconnected from their partner.
They had a big blow up.
They're maybe just exhausted by theirown brain and living in their body.
That is the moment they reach out.
That is where they begin point A,and then over time, imagine that

(02:12):
that client moving along that journeythrough the work you do together,
they start making sense of things.
Right.
Isn't this one of the coolestparts of working with your clients?
They start to gain insight.
They start to connect the dots.
They have those light bulbmoments and breakthroughs.
They build skills, they heal, theygrow, they change, and eventually

(02:35):
they'll likely move on from therapy,whether that's six months from now or
years and years from now with a brandnew level of clarity that is point Z.
Okay, so your client came in at pointA and then they traveled along that
journey with your help to point Z.
But here's the problem.
I see so often therapists are writingtheir websites, their directory

(03:00):
profiles, their social mediacaptions, whatever they're doing
to market themselves from point Z.
They're leading with the ultimatetransformation with the diagnosis.
They're leading with the big insight.
They know their clients are going to reacheventually, and this is a good thing.

(03:20):
It's good to talk about that.
But when a potential client isstill sitting at point A, they
don't recognize themselves in thatyet, they're not ready for it.
And when someone doesn'tfeel seen, we know this.
They bounce, they click outand they look elsewhere.
So let's look at how this actuallyshows up in your marketing.

(03:41):
Because if you're anything like thethousands of therapists that I've
worked with, it's not necessarilyan issue of you being vague.
You know who you work with,you know the work you do well,
and you're not writing fluff.
You're actually doing the opposite.
You're trying to be very, very accurate.
You're naming the real clinicaldynamic that's at play here.

(04:04):
You're talking about theroot cause of the issue.
And ultimately this is because you'resharing the work that you know makes
the difference and that my friendis actually exactly the problem.
Because in doing so, you arelikely describing the work through
a point Z lens when your clientis still sitting at point A.

(04:27):
So here's some common examples, andthese are real life ones from students.
I have supported my favorite and Ithink one of the most universal ones.
Right now is this ideaof relational trauma.
So if you're someone who enjoys relationaltrauma, complex trauma, C-P-T-S-D, chances
are your clients don't know that term yet.
They might even be averseto the term trauma.

(04:49):
All they're wondering about is why theykeep ending up in unhealthy relationships
or why they feel anxious and unseen inevery close connection in their life.
Why they continue to bendover backwards and overextend
themselves struggling to say no.
They don't know that it's relationaltrauma, or maybe I've seen this.
You help people with OCD, but yourpotential clients, they don't know

(05:15):
that the intrusive thoughts or therepetitive behaviors are OCD, yet they
don't think it's quote unquote that bad.
All they know is they feel stuckand obsessive and overwhelmed
living in their own head.
Here's another one.
Maybe you work with adult childrenof emotionally immature parents.
Maybe that is really, reallywhere you find that you shine.
But your clients, they don't knowthat about their parents yet.

(05:38):
They just know they feelguilt and confusion.
Or a sense that they're toomuch when they set boundaries.
I recently dove into a project witha client who offers couples therapy,
and she was marketing to things likeattachment ruptures or value mismatches.
Her couples aren't Googling that.

(06:00):
They're saying things like, I don'tfeel close to my partner anymore, or
He hurt me, and I don't know if we canget over it or we can't stop fighting.
Can you see what's happening here?
So when these clients land on your websiteor your site today profile, or your
social media, whatever it is, and theysee this kind of elevated language or the
deep clinical insight that you're tryingto portray, they're not rejecting you.

(06:25):
They just don't realizethat you're talking to them.
They don't see themselves in it.
And so what do they do?
They move on.
Now let's look at why this happens.
Why do so many smart, insightful,thoughtful clinicians default
to point Z in their marketing?

(06:47):
You wanna know why?
It's because you're really, really goodat what you do, because your brain is
trained to spot patterns, to identifythe root cause to get under the surface.
You meet with someone once andyou probably already have a pretty
clear idea of what's going on andthat clarity, it's a strength.
No doubt it's a strength in theroom, but in your marketing, it can

(07:13):
actually become a blind spot becausewhen you know what's really going
on, it's hard not to jump ahead.
You don't mean to talkover your client's head.
But you end up speaking fromyour perspective, not theirs.
And marketing is about joiningyour clients where they are.

(07:33):
But some of the resistance I getwhen I share this with my students
is that that feels uncomfortable.
It feels like they're simplifying.
You might feel like, I don't wanna soundvague or I don't wanna sound watered down.
Maybe you really, really enjoy deepwork and you don't wanna lose the depth.
Of that work by marketing to somethingso quote unquote surface level.

(07:56):
And you certainly don't wanna feellike you're dumbing down the quality
of your work or the depth of yourwork for marketing's sake, right?
But here's what I wantyou to remember here.
Your marketing isn't a treatment plan.
You're not having to conceptualizethe entire client relationship here.

(08:17):
Your marketing is the firstsentence of the conversation.
It's what happens in intake, not whathappens six or 12 months from now.
So in order for someone to step into thework with you, trusting that you're the
right fit for them, they have to feellike you see them right now, not just

(08:41):
who they're gonna be three months in.
So there is a way to keep yourclinical depth, to keep your nuance,
but we have to start with what yourclients already know about themselves.
That is how we earn theirtrust, and that's how they
ultimately take the first step.
So let's explore a little bit moreabout what clients really need to

(09:04):
hear when they land on your website.
What are they actually looking for?
Because they're not.
Evaluating your credentials closely.
They may or may not be looking at yourtheoretical orientation, but most likely
not, and that chances are, it's not thefirst thing, and they're also, as much
as you might feel this way, not readingyour copy with a red pen in their hand,

(09:27):
you know, kind of judging every singleword and circling what doesn't feel right.
They're doing something a lot moreraw and a lot more vulnerable.
They're asking themselves questions.
Does this therapist getwhat I'm going through?
Do I feel safe here?
Do I think this personcan actually help me?

(09:49):
That's it.
At point A, your client isn'tready for your modality.
They're not trying to learn about traumaor emotionally immature parents or ERP.
They're trying to figure out why theyfeel the way they feel, and whether
there's someone out there who gets it.

(10:09):
That's why your copy and yourmarketing, especially early on in
their experience with you, has toreflect your client's lived experience.
Not just anxiety, but the particularflavor of anxiety they're sitting with.
You likely know that clientswith relational trauma

(10:30):
present a very particular way.
That's the type of flavor I'mtalking about, not just trauma.
But the patterns that they're seeingshow up in their relationships
are in their inner voice.
Not just relationship stressors, but thequiet fear that maybe they're the problem.
The deep in their bones, exhaustionfrom trying and seemingly failing

(10:55):
to connect to their partner.
Those are the types of things they'relooking for because when someone reads
something and they think, wait, that's me.
You've already done 80%of the heavy lifting.
That is the moment they stop scrolling.
That's the moment they look for.

(11:15):
They schedule free consultationbutton on your website and click it.
That's when that connection begins.
It's about helping them stopand pause and see themselves
in what you've displayed there.
Now, if you're realizing as wego through this conversation that
you've been marketing too far ahead,I want you to know this doesn't

(11:38):
mean we have to burn it all down.
It doesn't mean you have toscrap your niche or start over.
It's not that you're actually doinganything wrong, it just means we
need to shift the entry point.
To your marketing.
So here's the very firstthing I want you to do.
This is the exercise.
I want you to leave thisepisode and complete.

(11:58):
I want you to revisit your intake forms.
I want you to go back to theclients you have loved working with.
You know which ones I'm talking about?
The ones that if you could clone, youwould the ones who made incredible
progress, open up their intakes, pullup that paperwork, and then read what
they wrote on that very first form.

(12:21):
What were they struggling with then?
How did they describe it?
Then what language did they use?
Then.
That is your point A.
That is where yourmarketing should be focused.
That is where it startsbecause you already know what
point Z looks like, right?

(12:41):
You live there, hopefully, butyour clients are still trying to
figure out what's even going on.
So whenever you sit down to market yourpractice to write your website, whatever
it is that you're doing, start there.
Talk about what it feels like beforethey understand the pattern, before

(13:04):
they've realized their parents weren'twhat they perhaps always imagined before
they know what kind of therapy they need.
Let them see themselves in thevery first sentence, because once
they're in, and once you start tocultivate that connection, then you

(13:25):
can lead them into the deeper work.
Right.
Then you can cast a visionfor what's possible.
Then you can introduce the real rootof what's going on because point
Z, like I said, it still matters.
Your clients still need to seethe potential transformation
they can experience as aresult of working with you.
They need to know thatthere's a way forward.

(13:45):
So it's not that we're only marketingand talking about today's problems.
We want to cast vision about what'sgonna happen further down the line.
But here's the key.
You cannot market to problems yourclients don't know they have, or
outcomes they don't know they want yet.
Let me say that again.

(14:06):
You cannot market to problems yourclients don't know they have, or
outcomes they don't know they want yet.
So you still need to speak totransformation, but you have to
first start with recognition.
With what your clientswould see themselves in.
So if you're listening to this andyour niche feels right, you know

(14:29):
the work you love to do, but theinquiries still aren't, then this
disconnect might be that missing piece.
And it doesn't mean changingthe kind of work you do.
Not at all.
It doesn't mean watering anything down,but it does mean that you need to meet
your clients where they are, becausebefore your clients can trust you with the

(14:50):
breakthrough, they need to trust that yousee them in their right now, in the moment
they find themselves in today, as theydecide if you're the therapist for them.
This shift from point Z to pointA is hands down one of the most
powerful mindset and strategy tweaksthat you can make in your marketing.

(15:13):
It is legitimately the differencebetween this therapist seems
qualified and this therapist gets me.
And in this market, youwant to be the latter.
If you're interested in exploringthis even more deeply, that's
exactly what we do in my magneticniche method mini course.
But whether or not you dive in there, andI'll include the, the link in the show

(15:36):
notes, I hope today gave you somethingvery, very concrete to work with.
Like I said, leave this episodeand revisit those intake forms.
Look at your client's point a.
And know that you can still do the deepand powerful work that you love, but
your marketing has to start with whatyour client knows, not what you know,

(15:59):
because that's how you're gonna buildtrust, and that's how you're gonna start
bringing in those RightFit clients soyou can lead more and more folks to
the incredible outcomes at point Z.
Thanks for tuning in today.
I'll see you in the next episode.
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