Honest comparison
Almost every solo therapist starts with a Psychology Today profile. It's cheap, fast, and where many clients begin searching. The question isn't whether it works — it's what it can't do: sound like you, answer real questions, or belong to you.
This is an honest comparison from Ground8, a service that builds complete websites for solo therapists from a 15-minute briefing. We'll say plainly where the directory wins — and where your own site earns its keep.
Keep the directory listing for discovery, but build your own website for trust. A profile converts strangers poorly; a site that sounds like you converts them well — and you own it outright.
| Criterion | Psychology Today | Ground8 |
|---|---|---|
| First impression | Same template as 30,000 other profiles; a photo, a paragraph, a list of issues. | A site built around your words, your approach, and the clients you actually want. |
| Depth | Character limits and fixed fields — enough to be found, rarely enough to be chosen. | Full pages for your specialties, fees, first-session expectations, and FAQs. |
| Ownership | Rented space: algorithm changes, fee hikes, and delisting risk are out of your hands. | Your files, downloadable anytime. No lock-in, no platform risk. |
| Local SEO | The directory ranks — your profile rides along, indistinguishable from neighbors. | Your own pages can rank for your specialty + city, reviewed by a human for local SEO. |
| Cost and effort | Low monthly fee, ~30 minutes to set up. Genuinely the fastest start. | $57/mo all-inclusive, no setup, files downloadable anytime, cancel anytime. 15 minutes of your time in a briefing; we handle the rest. |
| Ethics and wording | You're on your own with directory-compliant wording. | A QA expert reviews every line for professional ethics codes before launch. |
New practices that need discovery this week should keep the directory. Practices ready to be chosen — not just found — need their own site too. Most thriving solo therapists run both.
You can start there, but profiles convert weakly: visitors compare you in a grid of identical listings. Your own site is where comparison becomes connection — most clients check for one before booking.
For your name, yes, quickly. For specialty + city terms, a well-built site with human-reviewed local SEO can compete — directories dominate broad terms, but your site can own your specific niche locally.
About 15 minutes of your time answering a briefing in your own words. We draft the site from your answers, a human QA expert refines it, and you approve before anything goes live.
$57/mo all-inclusive with your files downloadable anytime. The directory is a smaller monthly fee for rented space; Ground8 is ownership of your own home on the internet.
Answer a 15-minute briefing in your own words. Our AI drafts your site, a human QA expert refines every line for warmth and ethics compliance, and you approve before launch. $57/mo all-inclusive, no setup — your files downloadable anytime.