You’re seeing ads for therapy from practices in your area, or the large telehealth providers, and you’re wondering why can’t I do that?
Maybe you’ve tried it yourself, spent $1,500 on boosted posts and got a bunch of likes but zero clients.
Maybe you hired someone who promised “targeted leads” but sent you people looking for free resources or online therapy apps.
Maybe you’re wondering if Facebook ads even work for private practice, or if it’s just a waste of money.
This isn’t Google. People aren’t searching for you. This is awareness. Education. Trust-building. And when it’s done right, it’s one of the most powerful tools you have.
Facebook Ads (which also run on Instagram, since Meta owns both platforms) are paid advertisements that appear in people’s feeds, stories, and sidebars while they’re scrolling social media. Unlike Google Ads, where people are actively searching for a therapist, Facebook Ads reach people who aren’t looking for therapy yet.
Your ad interrupts their scroll with a message that makes them stop and think
Facebook’s targeting is absurdly good. You can target by location, age, gender, interests, behavior and life events. Want to reach women aged 30-40 in Denver who have become new moms? You can do that.
Most people don’t wake up one day and immediately book therapy. They think about it for weeks. Months. Sometimes years. Facebook Ads let you stay in front of them during that entire journey, so when they’re finally ready, you’re the obvious choice.
Therapy is deeply emotional. Facebook is a visual, story-driven platform. You can use images, videos, and storytelling to connect with people in ways that Google text ads just can’t.
Depending on your market, Facebook Ads tend to have a lower cost-per-click than Google Ads. You can reach more people for less money, especially if you’re focused on awareness and education rather than immediate conversions.
We’ve seen it over and over.
A therapist decides to try Facebook ads. They either:
Boost a few posts and wonder why no one booked
Hire a generic agency that treats therapy like any other business
Run ads themselves without understanding the platform
Then they conclude “Facebook ads don’t work for therapists.”
Boosting a post is not the same as running a strategic ad campaign.
When you hit “boost,” Facebook optimizes for engagement (likes, comments, shares), not for reaching your ideal client or getting them to contact you.
What works: Running actual ad campaigns through Ads Manager with custom audiences, conversion tracking, and strategic objectives.
Google: "I need a therapist right now." Facebook: "I'm scrolling Instagram looking at dog videos." These require completely different strategies.
If your Facebook ad says “Book your first session today,” you’re asking for too much too soon.
What works: Offering something educational, relatable, or helpful first, then nurturing them toward booking.
If your ad looks like every other therapist ad (calm woman sitting in a chair, generic headline like "Feeling anxious? We can help"), it's invisible.
Most therapists put up an image of a person seated in a chair in front of a therapist with a link to their website. That’s a conversion nightmare.
What works: Real imagery, personal voice, specific messaging that speaks to one person’s exact struggle.
Most people won't book the first time they see your ad or visit your site.
If you’re not retargeting them, you’re leaving 80% of potential clients on the table.
What works: Retargeting campaigns that remind people you exist and give them a reason to come back.
You spent some money, but you don't even know what's coming out of it, all you know is that there are no new calls or emails.
If you don’t know which ads are bringing in consult requests, you’re flying blind.
What works: Conversion tracking set up through Meta Pixel so you know exactly which campaigns are working.
Facebook ads are a long game.
If you run ads for two weeks and don’t get 10 clients, that doesn’t mean it’s not working. It means the algorithm is learning who is most applicable to your ads.
What works: Consistent, strategic campaigns that build awareness over time and convert people when they’re ready.
That’s why we do what we do.
You can do all of this yourself, but what if you could have someone do it for you? Someone who works specifically with therapists? Hint hint: It’s us…
Therapy is a high-trust, high-emotion decision. You can’t treat it like a product that people can just impulse buy. They’re choosing someone to share their deepest pain with. Your ads, landing pages, and intake process need to reflect that.
Generic marketing agencies write ads like
“Top-Rated Therapist | Book Now | 20 Years Experience”
That’s not how people choose a therapist. Effective therapy ads sound like…
The decision they make is emotion-based, and people need to feel heard. Your ads need to account for that. Your follow-up needs to be warm, human, and patient.
The answer: it depends.
Costs are generally lower than Google Ads, with flexible budgeting to match your practice size and goals. But don’t spend $100/month and expect consistent results. Facebook needs volume to optimize.
Don’t run ads inconsistently (on for a month, off for two months). Consistency is what builds momentum.
From $500 – $1,000/month
$1,000 – $3,000/month
$3,000–$7,000/month
Keep in mind: your market location, niche, goals, and how fast you want to grow affect your budget. Allocate one that can be sustained for months.
Competing in NYC or LA costs more than competing in smaller markets.
The more specific your target audience, the more expensive your ads will be.
If you need clients now vs. building up momentum for long-term growth and brand.
They ask about your niche, your ideal client, your pricing, your capacity, your intake process, your geographic area. They don’t start running ads until they understand your practice.
They write ad copy that sounds like you and speaks to your specific ideal client. Not templates.
They run multiple campaigns with different objectives: awareness, engagement, retargeting, conversion.
You get monthly reports that show exactly what’s working, what’s not, and what they’re doing about it.
They test different images, headlines, audiences, and placements. They kill what’s not working and scale what is.
They know the ethics. They know the client journey. They know what makes a good therapy ad vs. a generic one.
We’ve been doing this for years. Exclusively for therapists.
We’re not a general agency that “also does therapists.”
We’ve run thousands of Facebook campaigns for therapy practices. We know what works. We know what wastes money. We understand the client journey, the ethics, and the nuances that make therapy marketing different.
Before we spend a dollar, we make sure your foundation is solid.
Is your niche clear?
Is your messaging resonant?
Is your intake process working?
If not, ads won’t help. We’ll tell you that upfront.
We’ll even build you a custom landing page. No templates. No copy-paste.
We build campaigns around your specialty, your location, your ideal client, and your capacity.
We’re in your account every week, testing new audiences, refining messaging, adjusting budgets, and improving your cost-per-lead.
We know how many leads you’re getting.
We know where they came from.
We know what it cost.
And we report it clearly every month so you always know what’s working.
If Facebook ads aren’t the right move for you right now, we’ll tell you.
If your budget is too small to compete, we’ll tell you.
If your messaging isn’t clear enough yet, we’ll tell you.
If your niche is too broad or your intake process is broken, we’ll tell you.
We’ve helped hundreds of therapists fill their practices, scale their groups, and stop wasting money on marketing that doesn’t work.
You'll typically see your first leads within 2–4 weeks. However, it takes 1–2 months of consistent optimization to build a predictable pipeline.
We recommend at least $500/month for solo therapists. Anything less won't give you enough data to optimize effectively.
Yes. You can target by location, age, gender, interests, behaviors, and life events. For example: women aged 28–40 in Portland interested in parenting and anxiety support.
Video performs best, but it's not required. You can run successful campaigns with static images and strong copy. That said, showing your face builds trust faster.
With proper tracking set up, you'll know exactly how many leads you're getting, what they cost, and which campaigns are performing best. We provide detailed monthly reports.
Competitive markets require more specific targeting and stronger creative. The key is niching down and speaking to a specific person's specific struggle, not trying to be everything to everyone.
No ethical agency can guarantee specific results. We can tell you what's realistic based on your market, budget, and specialty, but anyone promising guarantees is lying.
We work exclusively with therapists. We understand the ethics, compliance, and nuances that make therapy marketing different. And we've been doing this for years, we know what works.
Absolutely. In fact, we recommend it. Google fills your practice now. Facebook builds your pipeline for later. Together, they create a complete growth engine.
