Googling Psychotherapists: Can Online Information Make or Break Prospective Clients’ Decisions?

Abstract

Although empirical research on online searches by laypersons about psychotherapists has only a brief history, several findings have emerged: many clients conduct such searches, these searches yield both personal and professional information, and that information can have a noteworthy impact. To date, no study has explored the impact of the many specific pieces of psychotherapist information that an online search may yield. Such an exploration was the purpose of the current study, with a special focus on the possibility that certain pieces of information may function as “dealbreakers” or “dealmakers.” In other words, they may be especially powerful in increasing or decreasing prospective clients’ likelihood of contacting the psychotherapist. Participants (n = 215) responded to an original questionnaire including 118 discrete pieces of information about a psychotherapist that prospective clients might find via online search, spanning professional (e.g., specializations and expertise; education, experience, and credentials; ethical and legal problems), personal (e.g., religious beliefs and practices; political views; sexuality issues; appearance), logistical (e.g., office location; insurance acceptance), and other types of information. Results indicate that although a few professional and logistical items did have mildly or moderately high collective impact, clear-cut collective “dealbreakers” or “dealmakers” are rare. However, individual “dealbreakers” and “dealmakers” appear quite common, suggesting that each prospective client may be strongly influenced idiosyncratically by specific pieces of information. Implications for practitioners, including the acknowledgment of the high likelihood of online searches by prospective clients and the importance of monitoring and managing their own online presence, are discussed.

Full text

Googling Psychotherapists: Can Online Information Make or Break
Prospective Clients’Decisions?
Andrew M. Pomerantz and James M. Dever
Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Although empirical research on online searches by laypersons about psychotherapists has
only a brief history, several findings have emerged: many clients conduct such searches,
these searches yield both personal and professional information, and that information can
have a noteworthy impact. To date, no study has explored the impact of the many specific
pieces of psychotherapist information that an online search may yield. Such an exploration
was the purpose of the current study, with a special focus on the possibility that certain
pieces of information may function as “dealbreakers”or “dealmakers.”In other words, they
may be especially powerful in increasing or decreasing prospective clients’likelihood of
contacting the psychotherapist. Participants (n= 215) responded to an original questionnaire
including 118 discrete pieces of information about a psychotherapist that prospective clients
might find via online search, spanning professional (e.g., specializations and expertise;
education, experience, and credentials; ethical and legal problems), personal (e.g., religious
beliefs and practices; political views; sexuality issues; appearance), logistical (e.g., office
location; insurance acceptance), and other types of information. Results indicate that
although a few professional and logistical items did have mildly or moderately high
collective impact, clear-cut collective “dealbreakers”or “dealmakers”are rare. However,
individual “dealbreakers”and “dealmakers”appear quite common, suggesting that each
prospective client may be strongly influenced idiosyncratically by specificpiecesof
information. Implications for practitioners, including the acknowledgment of the high
likelihood of online searches by prospective clients and the importance of monitoring and
managing their own online presence, are discussed.
Clinical Impact Statement
Prospective clients are very likely to conduct an online search of a psychotherapist’s
name, and that search may yield both personal and professional information. Because
some pieces of information may have an especially powerful positive or negative
impact on a prospective client’s likelihood of contacting a particular psychotherapist, it
would be wise for psychotherapists to monitor and manage their own digital presence.
Keywords: psychotherapy, counseling, online, Internet, client
In the Internet era, clients are increasingly search-
ing the Internet for information about psychothera-
pists (Kaluzeviciute, 2020;Knox et al., 2020;Wilder
& Wilder, 2017;Zur, 2008). One 2016 survey in
Europe found that almost half of clients and former
clients had used the Internet to find information
about their psychotherapist (Eichenberg & Sawyer,
2016). Another survey conducted the same Year of
primarily American and British clients and former
clients found the number to be near 70% (Kolmes &
Taube, 2016). Both studies found that curiosity was
the main reason why clients searched, and that other
reasons included the desire to access both professio-
nal information (e.g., experience, recommendations
and criticisms in reviews) and personal information
This article was published Online First March 4, 2021.
Andrew M. Pomerantz https://orcid.org/0000-0002-
3324-1762
James M. Dever https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8593-3915
Correspondence concerning this article should be
addressed to Andrew M. Pomerantz, Department of Psycho-
logy, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Campus
Box 1121, Edwardsville, IL 62026, United States. Email:
apomera@siue.edu
149
Practice Innovations
©2021 American Psychological Association 2021, Vol. 6, No. 3, 149–158
ISSN: 2377-8903 https://doi.org/10.1037/pri0000145
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