Google Reviews for Therapists: What's Ethical, What's Not, and What to Do Instead

Quick answer: Google reviews for therapists work differently from reviews for any other local business: if you're a licensed therapist, your ethics code almost certainly bars you from asking current clients for Google reviews, and some codes bar asking former clients too. A Google review is a public testimonial, so the testimonials rules apply. What you can do is make your Google Business Profile complete and active, make it easy for the public to find, and handle the reviews that arrive on their own without confirming anyone is your client.

The 30-second version:

• Don't solicit reviews from current clients. APA, ACA, AAMFT and NASW all say so.
• Don't target former clients either. The ACA Code names them explicitly; the other codes turn on undue influence, and a former client can still be vulnerable to it.
• Never confirm someone is a client in a review reply. That is a HIPAA disclosure, and OCR has fined a psychiatric practice for it.
• Keep the link passive. A "Find us on Google" link on your site and in your signature is fine. Sending it to clients is a request.
• Put your effort into the profile itself: categories, services, photos, posts and Q&A.

This post used to say the opposite. Earlier versions of it offered a "playbook" for asking clients at termination or after a breakthrough session. We got that wrong, and we've rewritten it so the advice matches the codes our clients practice under.

Every major mental health code has a testimonials rule, and all of them use the same idea: a person who is in your care, or who is otherwise vulnerable to your influence, can't freely say no to you. A request from their therapist is never just a request.

A few things follow from those words:

• The medium doesn't matter. An email, a QR card in the waiting room, a mention at the end of a video session and a message in your client portal are all solicitation when they're aimed at your clients.
• Timing doesn't fix it. Asking at termination, after a breakthrough or when a client thanks you is still asking a current client, and gratitude is exactly the moment undue influence is strongest.
• "Former" isn't a safe harbor. Counselors can't ask former clients at all. For everyone else, a former client who might come back to treatment, or who is still in a hard place, can be vulnerable to undue influence. None of these codes sets a waiting period after which asking becomes fine.
• State rules sit on top. Your licensing board may have its own advertising and testimonial rules, and some states write their professional code into regulation. Where your board and your association differ, follow the stricter one.

Rules differ by license, so read the standard that governs yours. The links are in the sources at the end of this post.

A therapy review request system is software that asks your clients for reviews for you, usually a text or email sent after an appointment with a link to your Google profile. Vendors also call it review generation, a review request platform or a review request solution. Whatever the name, the job is the same: it sends a request for a public testimonial to the people on your caseload.

That is the solicitation the codes above describe. Automating it doesn't change who receives the message or why, and a request that arrives from your scheduling or billing system still comes from you. For most licensed therapists, a review request system aimed at clients is off the table.

Before you buy one, check three things:

• Who does it message? If the answer is "your clients after a session," it's a solicitation tool, however the copy is worded.
• Where does it get the list? A system that reads your appointment calendar or client list to send review requests is using client information for marketing, which raises the HIPAA question on top of the ethics one.
• Does it filter? Some tools send happy clients to Google and unhappy ones to a private form. Google's content policy doesn't allow businesses to "discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews."

What a therapy practice can automate is everything that doesn't touch clients: alerts when a new review appears, a generic reply drafted for you to approve, Google Business Profile posts, and accurate profile details. That's the ethical version of review software, and it's what the rest of this guide covers.

Even when a review arrives on its own, replying to it is where most therapists get into trouble. A reply that says "I'm glad our sessions helped" or "As I explained in your intake" confirms the reviewer is your client. Under HIPAA, the fact that someone is your patient is itself protected health information.

This isn't hypothetical. In June 2023 the HHS Office for Civil Rights announced a settlement with Manasa Health Center, a New Jersey psychiatric practice, which had disclosed patients' diagnosis and treatment information in replies to negative Google reviews. The practice paid $30,000, agreed to a two-year corrective action plan, and had to send breach notices to the patients involved.

How to reply safely:

• Never confirm or deny a relationship. No "our sessions," "your treatment," "when you came in," or "I remember you."
• Use one generic reply. For example: "Thank you for taking the time to share this. Our practice welcomes feedback and anyone is welcome to contact the office directly." It works for a glowing review, a harsh one, and a review from someone who was never a client.
• Don't argue the details. Even when a review is unfair, correcting it means discussing care, which you can't do in public.
• Not replying is fine. Many therapists don't reply to reviews at all, and prospective clients don't hold it against them.
• Flag what breaks Google's rules. Fake reviews, reviews about a different business, harassment and reviews from people with a conflict of interest can be reported from your Business Profile. Reporting is a better answer to a false review than replying.

None of this means giving up on Google. Most of what makes a Business Profile work is in your hands and needs nothing from your clients.

Completeness and accuracy are signals you fully control. Claim and verify your profile at business.google.com, then fill in everything:

• Primary category that matches your license ("Psychologist," "Marriage & Family Therapist," "Counselor"), plus relevant secondary categories
• Services, one per specialty, each with a short plain-language description
• Hours, with telehealth availability stated clearly
• A description (750 characters) naming your specialties, the populations you see, your city and whether you're accepting new clients
• Real photos: a current headshot, your office entrance and the room clients sit in. Photos of the actual place help a nervous first-time client more than any star rating.
• Website, phone and booking link that all work

Our guide to Google Business Profile for AI search goes through each field in detail.

Google Business Profile posts show on your listing and tell both Google and searchers that the practice is active. A post a week is plenty: a new group, an opening for new clients, a talk you're giving, a new article on your site.

Questions and answers on your profile are public and anyone can answer them, so check them. Add the questions prospective clients actually ask you on consult calls (Do you take my insurance? Do you see teenagers? Is telehealth available in my state?) and answer them accurately from the practice account.

There's a real difference between being findable and asking. A plain link to your Google Business Profile in your website footer or your email signature is a public listing, like your address. It isn't aimed at any client, and nobody has to act on it.

Keep it passive:

• Label it "Find us on Google," not "Leave us a review."
• Don't send it to clients by email, text or the client portal, and don't add it to intake packets, treatment-completion summaries or appointment reminders. Those turn a public link into a request.
• Don't put review cards or QR codes in your waiting room or hand them out at sessions.
• Never offer anything for a review. Google prohibits incentives, and so do the ethics codes.

It's tempting to ask the psychiatrist you refer to, or a colleague who knows your work, to leave a review. Don't do it on Google. Google's Maps content policy prohibits content "based on a conflict of interest," which it defines to include "professional or personal affiliations," and says contributions "should reflect a genuine experience at a place or business." A referral partner who has never been your client fits that description exactly.

Peer endorsements are valuable; they just belong somewhere else. A short quote from a colleague on your own website (with their written permission and their name and credentials) or a recommendation on LinkedIn tells prospective clients that other professionals trust your work. Your referral relationships themselves are also worth more than any review: a colleague who sends you the right clients is the best marketing a therapy practice has.

Reviews will still arrive. Some clients and former clients choose to write one on their own, and that is their right. What matters is what you do next:

• Turn on new-review notifications in your Business Profile so nothing sits unseen for weeks.
• Reply with your generic template, or don't reply. Never confirm the reviewer is a client.
• Report reviews that break Google's rules (fake, abusive, about another business) rather than arguing with them.
• Don't copy client reviews onto your website as testimonials. Re-publishing them is using a client's statement as a testimonial, which raises the same consent questions the codes address (NASW 4.07(b) covers asking a client's consent to use something they already said). Link to your Google profile instead.

Reviews are one signal among many, for Google's map results and for AI assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity that recommend local therapists. They're also the one signal a therapist can't ethically chase. The good news is that the others are larger and fully yours: a complete and active Business Profile, consistent listings across directories, and a website with clear pages for each specialty you treat and the places you serve.

Prospective therapy clients also read reviews differently from restaurant diners. Many people in therapy will never review their therapist publicly, and other therapy seekers know it. A practice with a handful of reviews and a detailed, current profile, clear specialty pages and real photos reads as trustworthy. A practice with dozens of glowing reviews can make a careful reader wonder how they got there.

For the wider picture of how AI tools choose which therapists to name, see how ChatGPT recommends therapists and our guide to AI discoverability. For the rest of your online reputation, from directory listings to HIPAA-safe replies, see our reputation management guide.

Want help keeping up with your Google profile? WebsiteTherapy's assistant drafts Business Profile posts and generic, HIPAA-safe review replies for you to approve, and never contacts your clients. See pricing or book a free 30-minute consultation.

All sources checked October 5, 2026.

• American Psychological Association — Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, Standard 5.05 "Testimonials."
• American Counseling Association — 2014 ACA Code of Ethics (PDF), C.3.b "Testimonials."
• American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy — AAMFT Code of Ethics (PDF, effective January 1, 2026), Standard 9.2 "Promotional Materials."
• National Association of Social Workers — NASW Code of Ethics, 4.07(b) "Solicitations."
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights — HHS Office for Civil Rights Reaches Agreement with Health Care Provider in New Jersey That Disclosed Patient Information in Response to Negative Online Reviews (June 5, 2023).
• Google — Prohibited & restricted content, Maps user-generated content policy (conflict of interest; fake engagement).