Navigating authenticity, boundaries, and visibility as a mental health professional
When you work online, your presence on the internet often becomes the first way potential clients get to know you. Before they reach out, they may spend time reading your website, scrolling through your posts, or watching videos you’ve shared. This visibility is part of what builds trust. But it also brings up a more personal question: how much should therapists share online?
Often in our clinical training, we’re taught to be cautious about personal disclosure. The focus is on the client, and our role is to stay neutral and grounded. But running an online business, particularly one that involves marketing yourself, can challenge those boundaries.
What are you comfortable sharing?
There’s no universal answer to how much you should share. Some therapists feel comfortable mentioning that they’ve lived through similar experiences to their clients. Others prefer to keep their personal lives private and focus on sharing professional knowledge and support.
You might find yourself wondering:
- Is it helpful to name personal experiences if they relate to my niche or ideal client?
- How will this be received by potential or current clients?
- Will sharing parts of my story build trust or complicate my professional boundaries?
These are real and valid questions. And the truth is, what we post online might be seen by both potential and current clients. That adds an extra layer to our choices, especially when we consider how it could shape the therapeutic relationship.
Sharing In Session vs. In Public
It’s also worth noting that sharing in session and sharing publicly are very different. In the therapy or coaching space, we might share something small with intention, timing, and care to support the client’s process.
Online, we’re speaking more broadly, and we don’t always know who’s listening. That makes things feel more exposed and often more uncertain.
The question of how much therapists should share online isn’t just about transparency – it’s about timing, context, and connection.
You can change your mind
Like most things in business, visibility is not a one-time decision. What feels okay to share now might not feel right later. You might post something and then choose to take it down, or find that your comfort level changes as your client base or personal life evolves.
We encourage our LIT members to revisit this in their regular business reflections. Quarterly reviews, annual goal-setting, or vision-planning sessions are a great time to pause and ask:
- What still feels aligned?
- What has changed?
- What type of visibility feels manageable or meaningful right now?
These check-ins are a good time to revisit the bigger question of how much therapists should share online, and whether your current approach still feels right.
Find formats that work for you
If you’re unsure how much to share online, it can help to start by choosing a format that feels more comfortable or manageable. Not everyone enjoys being on video or posting frequently on social media, and that’s okay.
Some therapists feel more at ease writing blog posts or newsletters, where they have time to reflect and edit. Others prefer low-effort formats like a photo with a short caption, or audio-based content where they can speak more naturally. You might feel fine being visible in one format, and less comfortable in another.
There’s no rule that says you have to do it all. You can choose the platforms, styles, and content formats that align with your strengths and your current capacity.
Our blog posts on creating your marketing strategy and choosing your marketing channels can guide you through making these decisions.
What if I share something and regret it?
You might also worry that once something is out there, it’s permanent. While publishing content online can feel scary, it often has a shorter shelf life than we think.
The reality is that people are often paying less attention than we imagine. It’s unlikely that anyone will remember that blog or Instagram post you shared six months ago – and you can delete it if you change your mind.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be intentional, but it does mean we can be human. You can shift your tone, remove content, or change direction as your practice evolves. That flexibility is part of building a sustainable practice that grows with you.
Finding Support for these Decisions
It can be tricky to figure out the answers to these questions all alone. That’s where the support of a community of like-minded colleagues is really invaluable.
Make sure you have someone you can talk to about these questions – and ideally someone who understands the complexities of working as a location independent therapist.
We see this topic come up often in the LIT Community on our discussion board and in our events – it’s a common stumbling block for therapists, new and old, who are transitioning to working online. That’s why we dedicated a whole month to the theme of Online Visibility and Presence to explore these questions together.
In our case supervision sessions, members often bring questions about visibility, identity, and boundaries alongside their client work, and we’ve had related discussions during our Book Club events, too. Melissa and Sonia also explored this in our Monthly Theme video from May 2025, sharing how their views on visibility and personal sharing have evolved over time.
If you’re looking for a space where you can explore these topics, discuss with colleagues from all over the world and hear their perspectives, and find support as you build your online practice, join us inside the LIT Community! Join the LIT Community here!
There’s not a one-size-fits-all solution
When it comes to how much therapists should share online, there’s no universal rule that applies to everyone.
It’s also important to acknowledge that how safe or comfortable someone feels being visible is often shaped by their lived experience. Therapists from marginalised backgrounds, those who live in places with strict legal or cultural restrictions, or those managing health or family concerns may face different levels of risk and comfort.
There’s no right amount of sharing. The decision to be more visible – or more private – is yours to make, and yours to change over time.
Don’t fall into the trap of copying what other colleagues are doing and believing it’s the only way to reach people. (Hint: Instagram won’t work for everyone!).
There are many paths to success, and if you have a firm foundation for your business (for example, knowing exactly what your core offer is and understanding your ideal client), you’re already on the right track.
Questions to Reflect On
If you’re exploring this for yourself, here are a few prompts to help you figure out your approach to how much you share online:
- What feels safe and appropriate to share right now?
- Am I sharing from a grounded place, or from a sense of pressure to be more visible?
- What would I want potential clients to understand about me?
- Where are my current boundaries—and how might they change?
How Much Therapists Should Share Online: Final Thoughts
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how much therapists should share online. This is a personal decision that depends on your values, your boundaries, and your capacity at any given time.
What matters most is that your choices are thoughtful, ethically sound, and aligned with how you want to show up in your work. Being visible online as a therapist is not about doing it a certain way – it’s about finding your own balance between connection, professionalism, and authenticity.
If these are questions you’re exploring in your own practice, you’re not alone. Inside the LIT Community, therapists from around the world are navigating similar challenges. We’re here to figure it out together – join us inside the community now!
