By Jordan Baker, Founder of Fair Public Relations and former UK national journalist
A useful media kit for a therapist or counselling practice does not need to be an expensive brochure. It needs to help a journalist verify who you are, understand what you are genuinely qualified to discuss and obtain accurate, media-safe material quickly.
For a therapist, that usually means a compact collection of verified professional information: your exact name and title, qualifications, licence, registration or accreditation where relevant, a short media biography, a tightly defined topic list, a professional headshot, accurate practice details, trustworthy research sources, previous public media work and a clear press contact.
What it should not contain is just as important. A therapist's media kit should not become a folder of identifiable patient stories, screenshots of treatment records, vulnerable-client testimonials or exaggerated promises to cure mental-health conditions.
Fair's general guide to what businesses should include in a press kit explains the universal principles. This article is deliberately narrower. It deals with the professional, ethical and practical issues that make a therapist's media kit different.
Why is a therapist's media kit different from a normal business press kit?
A shop can give a journalist product photographs, prices, founder information, store locations, launch dates and company facts.
A therapist can provide ordinary business facts too, but the journalist often needs to verify something more fundamental:
Is this person an appropriate professional source for the subject?
That creates additional questions.
What is the practitioner's exact status?
Which professional body or licensing authority applies?
Does the title mean the same thing in the UK and the US?
Which topics fall within scope?
Are the claims evidence-informed?
Could any material reveal client information?
Does the therapist's website describe them consistently?
Is the person being presented as a psychologist when they are actually a counsellor, or vice versa?
The media kit therefore has two jobs.
First, it provides practical assets.
Second, it reduces verification friction.
A journalist on deadline should not have to send six emails to establish whether somebody is actually qualified to give the comment they have supplied.
Do you need a full press kit at all?
Not always.
I worked in journalism before I worked in PR, and I would much rather receive a plain, accurate email with a useful quote and a working headshot than an elaborate 40-page PDF that makes the important facts harder to find.
The right format depends on the practice.
Solo therapist
A one-page media profile plus a small shared folder can be enough.
Small practice with several specialists
A central media page or folder can contain practice facts, followed by one page per eligible spokesperson.
Larger clinic
A more structured press area may help when the organisation has several practitioners, research, spokespeople, previous coverage and regularly updated assets.
None of these needs to look like a glossy corporate annual report.
The purpose is usability.
One-page profile, shared folder or website press page?
There are three sensible formats, and they can coexist.
One-page therapist media profile
Best for an individual practitioner.
It can contain professional name and title, verification links, short biography, three to five topics, availability, website, press contact and links to approved photographs.
Shared media folder
Useful when there are several files.
A simple structure could be:
00 Start here
Current overview and contact details.
01 Verified credentials
Publicly shareable registration, accreditation and qualification information or links.
02 Bios
Short, medium and extended biographies.
03 Topic menu
Subjects each spokesperson can discuss.
04 Photos
Portrait and landscape versions with credits.
05 Public research
Links to sources regularly used in commentary.
06 Approved previous coverage
Public links only.
07 Media contact
Press email, telephone and availability details.
This should be a media folder, not the same Drive location used for client notes, referrals, appointment information or clinical files.
Website press or media page
Useful when you want journalists to verify public information without requesting access.
It can contain the most stable facts and downloadable assets.
Do not put something on a public media page merely because it is useful internally.
What should go on a therapist credentials fact sheet?
The first section should make the practitioner's professional status easy to verify.
Include, where genuinely applicable:
full professional name;
exact job title;
relevant degree or postgraduate training;
licence, registration, accreditation or professional membership, described accurately;
registration or licence jurisdiction;
specialist professional areas;
years of experience where the figure is defensible;
practice country or state;
links to public professional listings where available;
any material commercial conflict relevant to recurring commentary.
Avoid turning credentials into a wall of abbreviations.
A journalist should understand them.
BACP membership, HCPC registration and a US licence are not interchangeable
This point matters enough to state explicitly.
BACP is a professional association for counselling and psychotherapy, with membership and accreditation categories governed by its own standards. Its current 2026 Ethical Framework applies to members from 3rd November 2026.
The Health and Care Professions Council is a statutory regulator for specified professions in the UK, including protected practitioner psychologist titles. HCPC registrants must meet its standards of conduct, performance and ethics, including obligations around scope, confidentiality and responsible communication.
A psychologist in the US will normally be subject to the relevant state licensing regime. The APA's current media guidance for psychologists is a professional guidance source, but APA membership itself is not a substitute for the applicable state licence.
A media kit should therefore say what the professional status is, rather than imply that every badge of membership has the same legal or regulatory meaning.
Two illustrative credentials examples
Fictional UK counsellor
Name: Aisha Rahman
Professional title: Accredited relationship counsellor
Professional status: BACP-accredited practitioner, with link to current public directory entry
Location: Birmingham, UK
Experience: 12 years working with adult individuals and couples
Media subjects: relationship communication, conflict patterns, boundaries and relationship transitions
Not presented as: psychologist, psychiatrist or medical doctor
Fictional US psychologist
Name: Dr Elena Martinez, PhD
Professional title: Licensed psychologist
Licence: State of California, licence number linked to the relevant public verification system
Location: California, US
Professional focus: adult anxiety, workplace stress and adjustment
Media subjects: evidence-informed explanations within those areas
Not presented as: licensed in every US state or qualified to give individual treatment recommendations to readers
Both examples are fictional.
What makes them useful is that a journalist can see the professional boundary immediately.
Write three versions of the media biography
A therapist should not need to write a biography from scratch every time a journalist asks.
Prepare three lengths.
Use the same core facts, but change the depth.
45-word biography
SAMPLE: Aisha Rahman is a BACP-accredited relationship counsellor based in Birmingham, with 12 years' experience working with adult individuals and couples. Her professional areas include communication, conflict, boundaries and relationship transitions. She is available for general media commentary within those areas.
Approximately 100-word biography
SAMPLE: Aisha Rahman is a BACP-accredited relationship counsellor based in Birmingham, UK, with 12 years' experience supporting adult individuals and couples. Her work focuses on relationship communication, recurring conflict patterns, boundaries and major relationship transitions. For media, Aisha can provide general professional commentary on why communication breaks down, how stress can affect relationships and common misconceptions about healthy conflict. She does not diagnose individuals through the media or comment on psychiatric medication. Her current professional status can be verified through her public professional directory listing.
Approximately 200-word biography
SAMPLE: Aisha Rahman is a BACP-accredited relationship counsellor based in Birmingham, UK, with 12 years' professional experience working with adults and couples. Her clinical work has given her particular experience of relationship communication, repeated conflict patterns, boundaries, life transitions and the ways external pressures can affect intimate relationships.
For journalists, Aisha can explain general relationship and communication concepts in accessible language, discuss common misconceptions and contribute evidence-informed professional context to appropriate lifestyle, relationships and wellbeing stories. She is comfortable providing concise written comment and participating in pre-arranged telephone, video, radio and podcast interviews where the subject falls within her professional scope.
Aisha does not diagnose readers or public figures, provide individual therapy through media articles or comment on psychiatric medication. Her professional status and current practice information are available through her public website and professional directory listing. Supporting media materials include an approved headshot, short biography, topic list and public research sources relevant to her commentary.
The examples are deliberately restrained.
Phrases such as “world-leading relationship expert”, “celebrity therapist to the stars” or “Britain's number-one counsellor” should not appear unless they are genuinely supportable and relevant. A clear fact is more useful than a grandiose adjective.
Our separate guide to what makes someone a credible media expert explains why the underlying credentials matter more than inflated positioning.
Build a journalist-friendly topic menu
A media kit should not simply say:
“Aisha can discuss all mental-health topics.”
That makes the journalist do the work of deciding what she actually knows.
Instead, create a short topic menu that also identifies the boundaries.
| Editorial question | What the specialist can discuss | What they should not be presented as doing |
|---|---|---|
| Why do couples repeat the same arguments? | General communication and conflict patterns within relationship counselling experience | Diagnosing either partner without assessment |
| How can workplace stress affect relationships? | General effects of external pressure on communication and routine | Diagnosing a work-related mental-health condition from a quote |
| Why do people struggle to set boundaries? | General relationship-boundary concepts | Giving an individual reader a personalised treatment plan |
| When might somebody consider seeking professional support? | General help-seeking signs and routes | Claiming every reader needs therapy |
| What does new relationship research suggest? | Explain findings within competence and limitations | Overstating a study or treating correlation as proof |
The table is useful because it stops PR teams, assistants or practice managers from accidentally pitching the therapist into subjects they should decline.
Prepare sample commentary, but never treat it as a script
Sample comments help a PR team understand the therapist's tone and approach. They can also make it easier to respond quickly when a similar question arises.
They should not be recycled blindly.
Example 1: recurring conflict
“When couples have the same argument repeatedly, the surface issue is not always the whole problem. Each person can start anticipating the other's reaction and responding defensively before the conversation has properly begun. That pattern does not tell us anything diagnostic about an individual couple, but it helps explain why apparently small disagreements can feel so familiar and difficult to resolve.”
Example 2: healthy routines during stressful periods
“During a stressful period, routines can reduce the number of decisions people have to make when they already feel stretched. That might mean protecting a regular meal, a walk or a predictable time to switch off work. A routine is not a treatment for every mental-health difficulty, but ordinary structure can be one useful part of maintaining day-to-day wellbeing.”
Example 3: seeking professional support
“People do not need to wait until a problem becomes a crisis before considering professional support. If a difficulty is persistent, affecting relationships, work or everyday life, or becoming harder to manage alone, it can be reasonable to explore appropriate help. The right service depends on the individual and the nature of the problem.”
These are fictional examples, not treatment instructions and not statements from a real Fair client.
The difference between a useful media quote and an advert is obvious. None says “book a session with me”. The therapist answers the reader's question.
What photographs should a therapist media kit include?
Prepare at least two strong professional portraits.
Ideally, have one portrait orientation and one landscape or wider crop, and, if genuinely useful, several accurate practice images.
Files should be large enough for editorial use and named clearly.
For example:
aisha-rahman-relationship-counsellor-headshot-portrait.jpg
is considerably more useful than:
IMG_4837-final-final-2.jpg.
Include the photographer credit and confirm that you actually have permission to supply the image for editorial publication.
An image licence that allows use on your own website does not automatically mean you can redistribute the photograph to newspapers.
What should not appear in therapist imagery?
Do not include recognisable current or former patients, therapy-session photographs taken for publicity, screenshots of notes, appointment diaries, computer screens showing patient information, waiting-room images where attendance identifies somebody, or stock photographs presented as though they show the real practitioner or practice.
If you want a photograph illustrating a therapy environment, photograph the room empty or use an image whose status is completely clear.
Client confidentiality should remain more important than making the press folder visually interesting.
Practice facts should be accurate without turning into an advert
A journalist may need basic information about the practice.
Include the practice name, website, verified public location where relevant, whether services are in person, remote or both, publicly displayed contact information, names of media spokespeople and, where appropriate, general public booking availability.
Do not overload the pack with sales claims, discounts, package prices, lead forms or repeated “book now” buttons.
The journalist needs facts, not a conversion funnel.
Separate the media contact from the patient contact route
A press email such as media@examplepractice.com can be useful for journalists and PR staff.
The practice's confidential patient enquiry or clinical contact route should remain separate.
That helps avoid an uncomfortable situation where a reporter sends an urgent deadline request into an inbox designed for sensitive clinical enquiries, or where a PR assistant gains access to messages that have nothing to do with media relations.
The separation is operationally simple and professionally sensible.
Be precise about physical locations and remote practice
If a therapist practises remotely, say so.
If a clinic has a real address, state the correct location.
Do not imply a New York clinic because the therapist works with American clients remotely.
Do not claim a London office because the PR agency has one.
For US practitioners, state or jurisdiction can also matter professionally. A media kit should not create the impression that somebody is licensed to practise everywhere simply because they can speak to national media.
Optional research and evidence section
A therapist's media kit can include a small collection of public sources they use regularly.
For example, professional-body guidance, relevant official statistics, peer-reviewed research, major public-health sources and clearly labelled original research carried out by the practice, if the methodology is strong enough to be useful.
Do not upload dozens of PDFs “just in case”.
A journalist needs to know which source supports which claim.
If you maintain a research list, record the title, original author or organisation, publication date, URL, what the evidence actually found and any limitation that matters to the way the therapist uses it.
That makes responsible media responses much faster.
Include previous media work where it helps
Previous media does not prove that somebody is right about every future subject, but it can help a journalist see how they communicate.
Link to real articles, interviews or broadcasts.
For example, Fair's historical Cambridge Therapy Centre case study records more than 30 published media opportunities during a six-month campaign, with founder Christine Schneider contributing professional commentary across mental-health, relationship and behaviour subjects.
The Charisse Cooke case study records 26 published opportunities during a six-month relationship-expert campaign.
Those cases demonstrate that qualified therapist voices can contribute repeatedly without a media kit containing identifiable patient files. They do not establish that either client used this exact template, and we should not pretend they did.
What should never be in a therapist media kit?
The strongest rule is that a media kit is a publicity resource, not a clinical record.
Do not include real patient histories merely because the names have been removed, screenshots of treatment notes, private emails from clients, appointment information, photographs of therapy sessions, vulnerable current-client testimonials solicited for PR, unverified claims about curing mental-health conditions, internal documents that reveal more than the journalist needs, or fictional “case studies” presented as real patients.
The ICO's special-category data guidance explains that health information attracts additional protection under UK data-protection law.
BACP's social-media and confidentiality guidance also warns that several apparently non-identifying pieces of information can combine to reveal a client's identity.
For US practices, HIPAA may apply where the therapist or organisation is a covered entity, but not every therapist automatically falls within exactly the same HIPAA situation. US HHS guidance on HIPAA and marketing says covered entities generally require authorisation for uses and disclosures of protected health information for marketing subject to specific exceptions.
The practical PR conclusion is deliberately conservative: do not build therapist publicity around identifiable patient material unless the practice has separately established that the use is professionally, ethically and legally appropriate.
Patient testimonials deserve particular caution
Even where a client genuinely likes the therapist and wants to help, the professional relationship can create additional ethical questions.
For psychologists, the APA Ethics Code specifically says psychologists should not solicit testimonials from current therapy clients or others who may be vulnerable to undue influence. Different professional frameworks have different wording, but the broader point remains.
A therapist does not need a folder full of patient praise to prove media credibility.
Credentials, public expertise, evidence, previous independent coverage and a strong professional profile are usually more appropriate media assets.
Make the kit easy for a real editor to use
This is the part people often overcomplicate.
Every link should work.
Every filename should make sense.
The press email should be monitored.
The telephone number should be current.
The headshot should open without requesting permission from three administrators.
The shared folder should be view-only, not globally editable.
If there is one key download, make it obvious.
Do not send a 48MB attachment bundle when a simple link will do.
And check the pack from a browser that is not logged into your own Google account. Something that looks public to you may still demand access from the journalist.
From a newsroom perspective, friction matters. If two equally credible experts respond and one provides an accurate quote, clean bio and downloadable image while the other sends a broken Drive link and asks the journalist to create an account, the first person is easier to use.
Complete sample therapist media profile
The following is a fictional example designed to be copied and adapted, not a real client profile.
SAMPLE: Therapist Media Profile
Name: Aisha Rahman
Professional title: Accredited relationship counsellor
Professional status: BACP accredited, current status to be verified through public directory before use
Based: Birmingham, UK
Practice format: In-person and remote, subject to the practice's own current service information
Experience: 12 years with adult individuals and couples
Media topics
Relationship communication and recurring conflict
Boundaries in adult relationships
Relationship transitions and external stress
Common misconceptions about “healthy” relationships
Outside media scope
Psychiatric medication
Diagnosing public figures
Child psychiatry
Individual treatment recommendations for readers
Subjects outside current professional competence
Short media bio
Aisha Rahman is a BACP-accredited relationship counsellor based in Birmingham, with 12 years' experience working with adult individuals and couples. Her professional focus includes communication, conflict, boundaries and relationship transitions. She is available for evidence-informed general media commentary within those areas.
Sample comment one
“When people feel unheard, they can start repeating the same point more forcefully rather than changing how the conversation is happening. That can make both partners feel increasingly dismissed. It is a general relationship pattern rather than a diagnosis, but noticing the cycle can help explain why arguments sometimes intensify without either person introducing anything new.”
Sample comment two
“Stress outside a relationship can change how much patience and emotional energy people have at home. That does not mean external pressure automatically causes relationship problems, but it can reduce the capacity people have for difficult conversations and make existing tensions more visible.”
Website: [public practice website]
Professional verification: [public directory link]
Interview availability: Written comment, phone or video interview; working hours and time zone stated accurately
Media contact: [press email] / [press telephone]
Photos: Portrait and landscape headshots, with photographer credit and editorial-use permission confirmed
That one page gives a journalist most of what they need to decide whether Aisha is a plausible source.
Mini checklist for a practice with two spokespeople
If the practice has two or more eligible specialists, do not merge their expertise into one generic clinic profile.
For each person, check the exact professional title, current verification link, specific media topics, topics outside scope, short bio, headshot, interview format, usual availability and correct practice location or jurisdiction.
Then add one practice-level sheet covering the official practice name, website, public locations, media contact and any common research or public background.
The journalist can then choose the right individual rather than being offered “one of our therapists” without knowing who is actually qualified for the question.
Can you build this in an hour?
You can build the basic structure in a focused 60-minute session if the source information already exists.
For example:
15 minutes: collect current professional status and verification links.
15 minutes: draft the short bio and topic menu.
15 minutes: select photographs and confirm rights.
15 minutes: assemble practice facts, contact details and folder permissions.
But do not turn “60-minute setup” into a deadline for professional verification.
If you need to confirm a registration, locate an image licence or review a privacy issue, take the time required.
Accuracy is more important than completing the folder before lunch.
Review it briefly every month
A 15-minute recurring check can catch the most common problems.
Has the qualification or accreditation status changed?
Has a registration expired or renewed?
Is the website URL correct?
Has the therapist changed practice location?
Is the headshot still available under the same permission?
Has the specialist's professional focus evolved?
Does the press email still reach somebody?
Have useful recent articles been published?
The media kit should be a living resource.
An outdated pack can create more work than no pack because somebody has to undo incorrect information.
How should the media kit be used in outreach?
Do not open a cold pitch with:
“Please find our press kit attached.”
Start with the story or the journalist's request.
Then give the journalist the relevant supporting material.
For example:
“Aisha can comment on why avoiding conflict is not the same as resolving it. Her current professional status and short media bio are here, and I can send a headshot if useful.”
The kit supports the pitch.
It does not become the pitch.
A therapist who sends a perfect press folder to 500 irrelevant journalists still has a poor media strategy.
DIY, Expert Commentary PR or Standard PR?
Some therapists can manage their own media work very effectively.
DIY is realistic where the practitioner has a narrow topic range, good writing skills, time to monitor news, prompt availability and confidence researching journalists.
For eligible professionals whose main objective is expert media commentary, Fair's Expert Commentary PR costs £397 per month in the UK, US$497 in the US and CAD$747 in Canada. It is a narrow, managed service for expert-commentary research, writing, pitching and follow-up.
For a practice with broader genuine stories, such as founder positioning, service developments, original research or several campaign routes, Standard PR is the wider account-managed option at £797 per month in the UK, US$997 in the US and CAD$1,497 in Canada.
Both begin with a three-month initial commitment, followed by one full billing cycle's notice.
A media kit does not make somebody automatically eligible for either service, and neither service guarantees coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a glossy PDF for my therapist press kit?
No. A simple, accurate and accessible media profile with well-organised supporting files can be more useful than a designed PDF. Journalists need to verify your professional status, understand what you can discuss and obtain usable assets quickly. A one-page profile, a view-only shared folder or a straightforward press page can all work. Choose the format that keeps information current and makes access easy rather than paying for design purely because a “press kit” sounds as though it should be glossy.
Should a therapist put patient testimonials or case studies in a media kit?
Normally, a therapist should be extremely cautious about using patient material for publicity. Removing a name does not necessarily prevent identification, and different professions and jurisdictions impose different confidentiality, privacy and testimonial obligations. Current or vulnerable clients can also create particular ethical concerns. A safer media kit usually relies on verified qualifications, public expertise, responsible sample commentary, research and legitimate previous media work rather than identifiable treatment stories.
What qualifications should I list in a psychologist or counselling press biography?
List the qualifications and professional status that are genuinely relevant to the subjects you want to discuss, using the exact terminology that applies in your jurisdiction. Where appropriate, include a current public verification link. Do not treat professional membership, accreditation, statutory registration and a US state licence as interchangeable. A journalist should be able to understand both what the practitioner is qualified to discuss and where the boundary of that expertise lies.
Can I send the same media kit to every newspaper?
The core verified facts can be reused, but the outreach should still be tailored to the journalist and story. A relationship writer, workplace reporter and health editor may all need different parts of the same therapist's expertise. Check that the professional status, availability, source links and images are current each time, then send only what helps that specific journalist. A reusable media kit reduces repetitive preparation, but it does not replace a relevant angle.
Your media kit should help journalists understand what you know, not expose details of the people you help
If you have qualified experience and are considering earned media, our Therapy PR service explains how Fair works with suitable therapists and mental-health professionals.
You can also tell us about your specialisms through our contact page. We can help assess whether narrower expert commentary or a broader campaign makes sense, and which materials you should prepare first.
Coverage is never guaranteed.
About the author
Jordan Baker is the founder of Fair Public Relations and a former UK national journalist with more than a decade of journalism and PR experience. His work focuses on making expert information genuinely usable for journalists rather than turning media materials into oversized marketing brochures.
View Jordan Baker’s media expert profile
