What Clients Are Searching for Right Now and How Your Practice Can Show Up
Winter is a busy season for therapy searches and a time for intentional decision-making. Research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that mental health–related searches consistently peak during the winter months, with a roughly 14% increase in search volume in the U.S. compared to summer lows.
Clients aren’t just thinking about starting therapy, they’re actively searching, comparing, and choosing providers who feel like the right fit.
The question is: will they find you?
How Clients Typically Search for Therapy Online
Most therapy searches follow a few predictable patterns, especially right now in winter when motivation is high and patience is low.
Clients commonly search using combinations like:
Service type + location
“Therapist near me”
“Anxiety therapist Minneapolis”
Service type + specialty
“Trauma therapist for adults”
“Couples counseling for communication”
Service type + specialty + city or zip code
“ADHD therapist in St. Paul”
“Teen therapist 55401”
Very few people search for practice names unless they already know you and the name of your practice. That means your visibility depends on how clearly your website and profiles describe what you do, who you help, and where you’re located.
If your site mostly talks about you instead of your services, search engines and clients may struggle to connect the dots.
What's Driving January Searches
In January, and winter in general, searches often reflect:
New goals or fresh starts
Stress from finances, relationships, or work
Follow-through on long-delayed care
Insurance changes or deductible resets
How to Reflect This in Your Content
Based on these motivations, here are themes worth emphasizing on your website, blog, and directory profiles:
Anxiety, burnout, and stress management
Depression and motivation
Relationship and couples support
Trauma-informed care
Life transitions and identity work
Family, parenting, and teen mental health
You don’t need to create a new page for every keyword that you want to rank for. Instead, make sure your core service pages clearly explain:
Who the service is for
What problems it helps with
What a client can expect
Where you offer care (city, state, telehealth availability)
Clarity beats cleverness every time.
Use a Private Browser to See What Clients Actually See
One of the simplest and most overlooked steps practice owners can take is to search for their own practice the way a new client would.
Here’s how:
Open an incognito or private browser window
Search for:
Your practice name
“Therapist near me”
Your main service + city or zip code
Take note of:
What shows up first
Which directories appear
Whether your information is accurate and where it needs to be updated
Which photos, reviews, or descriptions are visible
This removes personalization from your results and gives you a more realistic view of the client experience and how people see you organically in search results.
If outdated listings, old phone numbers, or incomplete profiles show up, that’s a signal to update them.
Don’t Overlook Your Google Business Profile and Directories
In January, many clients never even make it to a practice website. They choose from:
Google Business Profiles
Psychology Today
Therapy directories tied to their insurance
Local search results and maps
Make sure your key listings are:
Claimed and verified
Updated with accurate hours, services, and contact info
Using consistent language across platforms
Aligned with your current specialties and availability
Even small updates (like rewriting your description to match what clients are searching for) can improve visibility and trust.
Why Reviews Matter More Than You Think
When clients are choosing between multiple practices with similar services and locations, reviews often become the deciding factor, especially in January, when many people are reaching out for the first time.
Reviews help potential clients:
Build trust before making contact
Feel reassured that others have had positive experiencesBetter understand what it’s like to work with your practice
From a visibility standpoint, reviews can also influence how your practice appears in local search and map listings. They support your local SEO by helping to:
Signal trust and credibility to both clients and search engines
Show that your practice is active and engaged
Best practices to keep in mind:
Make it easy for satisfied clients to leave a review where appropriate and ethically allowed
Respond professionally when possible, and avoid sharing any information that could confirm a client relationship
Monitor your review platforms regularly so nothing goes unnoticed
You don’t need a perfect five-star profile. A steady presence of recent, thoughtful reviews can go a long way in helping clients feel confident reaching out.
A Quick Word on AI and Search Results
Search is changing, and AI is increasingly influencing what people see first.
AI-powered summaries and search tools tend to favor and pull info from websites that contain:
Clear, well-structured content
Plain language explanations
Specific service descriptions
Consistent information across the web
Best practices you can follow now:
Write for humans first, not keywords
Use clear headings and service descriptions
Avoid vague or overly clinical language
Keep your website and directory profiles aligned, ensuring your name, address, phone number and URL are correct and consistent across the web
You don’t need to “optimize for AI” separately. Practices that explain their services clearly and consistently are already positioned well for where search is headed.
A January Visibility Checklist for Practice Owners
If you want to stay focused without feeling overwhelmed, break it into manageable steps:
Do Today (15 minutes)
Search for your practice in a private or incognito browser
Search for your main service + city or “near me”
Note what listings, directories, and information appear first
Do This Week
Review your main service pages for clarity and relevance
Make sure your specialties and locations are clearly stated
Update your Google Business Profile with accurate services, hours, and contact information
Check and refresh your top directory listings
Ongoing
Confirm your contact and scheduling information stays current
Test your website on a phone, since many January searches happen on mobile
Check that pages load quickly
Make sure contact information is easy to find without scrolling
Confirm scheduling links work smoothly with a single tap
Revisit search results periodically as services, availability, or locations change
Small, intentional updates can make a meaningful difference during the busiest search month of the year.
Showing Up Matters — Especially in Winter!
Clients searching for therapy in Winter are often ready to take action. The practices they find and feel confident reaching out to are the ones that communicate clearly, appear consistently, and reflect the services clients are actually seeking.
You don’t need a full website overhaul to show up better. You just need to meet clients where they are, using the language they’re already searching for.
And that’s something every practice can do.
More visibility means more inquiries, but more to manage.
As your practice shows up in more searches, having the right operational systems in place matters. BreezyBilling helps practices stay on top of billing, workflows, and growth so increased demand doesn’t lead to burnout.
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