Google Business Profile for therapists and psychiatrists: make your local details easier to trust.

A Business Profile checklist for psychiatric practices

For an in-person psychiatric practice, the Business Profile is often the first thing a local patient sees. Small details in it decide whether they call.

Choose the primary category deliberately

The primary category tells Google what you are. A practice led by psychiatrists can use the psychiatrist category; a practice led by nurse practitioners or offering broader mental health services may fit a different category better. Pick the one that describes the practice truthfully.

Secondary categories can add related services, but adding many loosely related ones dilutes the profile rather than strengthening it.

Practice listing or practitioner listings

Google allows individual practitioners to have their own profiles in some situations, alongside the practice’s. That can help patients search for a clinician by name, but it also multiplies the details you must keep current.

For a small group, one strong practice profile and clear clinician pages on your website are often easier to keep accurate.

Hours, services and booking details

If your office keeps set hours, list them accurately, including any differences for telehealth if you offer both, and keep holiday hours updated. If you see patients only by appointment, read Google’s hours rules first. Add the services you actually provide, such as psychiatric evaluation and medication management, in plain language.

If you take appointment requests online, link to the page that explains how, not to a generic homepage.

Photos that build trust

Real photos of the building entrance, waiting room and accessible parking help a nervous first-time patient picture arriving. Avoid stock images and anything showing patients.

Refresh photos when the space changes, so what people see matches what they find.

Replying to reviews without risking privacy

A reply should never confirm that the reviewer is or was a patient, or mention anything about their care, even when the review itself does. A short thank-you and an invitation to call the office keeps the conversation private.

For negative reviews, respond calmly and offer a way to talk directly. Readers judge the practice by its reply as much as by the complaint.

Keep the profile and the website in step

When the profile says one thing and the website another, people and search engines both lose confidence. Change hours, phone numbers and services in both places on the same day.

A quarterly review of the profile against your website and directory listings catches most drift before patients notice it.

Name the profile the way your sign reads

Google’s guidelines say the business name should reflect the real-world name you use consistently, such as on your signage. Adding “Psychiatrist”, a city, “ADHD” or “Accepting new patients” to that name is not permitted, and neither are taglines, phone numbers or service descriptions. A stuffed name breaks the guidelines and puts the profile at risk.

Use the categories, the services list and the description to say what you do. The description cannot contain links, so write a few plain sentences about who you see, whether visits are in person, by video or both, and how to request an appointment. Leave the detail to your website.

Clinician profiles in a group practice

Google allows a public-facing clinician to have a profile of their own, but only one, never one per specialty. When several clinicians work at one location, the practice keeps its own separate profile for that location. A clinician who practices alone under a practice brand uses a single profile named in the format “Practice name: Clinician name”.

Each extra profile is another set of hours, phone numbers and reviews to keep accurate. Before creating any, decide who will maintain each one and what happens to it when a clinician leaves, so a former colleague’s profile does not keep sending calls to your front desk.

Hours for appointment-only offices

Google asks businesses to list their regular customer-facing hours, and its guidelines say businesses that operate only by appointment should not provide hours. Many psychiatric offices have a front desk staffed during set times, which fits the first case. An office that opens only for scheduled visits fits the second.

Decide which describes each location, then make the website say the same thing. If the profile shows hours, keep holiday closures up to date so nobody arrives at a locked door.

Read the performance report every month

The profile’s performance report shows the search terms people used when your profile appeared, how many people viewed it, and how many called, clicked through to your website or asked for directions. Search terms update at the start of each month, so compare month to month rather than day to day.

Look for mismatches. If people find you through searches for a psychiatrist but rarely call, check that the phone number, hours and booking link work. If many click through to the website, the page they land on matters as much as the profile. These counts show interest; they do not show how many people became patients.

Duplicates and ownership problems

Old addresses, former clinicians and earlier managers often leave duplicate or unclaimed profiles behind. If someone else controls a verified profile for your practice, you can request access. The current owner has three days to respond, and if they do not, claiming the profile may be possible, though Google notes that option is not always available.

Duplicate profiles for the same business can be merged through a suggestion on Google Maps. When profiles merge, their reviews are combined but replies may be lost, so save any replies you want to keep. Creating a second profile for the same location is never the fix.

Reporting reviews that break the rules

Google removes reviews that violate its policies, such as spam or offensive content, but not reviews you simply disagree with. You can report a review from your profile or through Google’s Reviews Management Tool, follow the report’s status there, and make a one-time appeal if the review is not removed.

While a report is pending, avoid replying to argue the facts. Any detail about a visit would confirm a patient relationship. A short reply inviting the person to call the office is usually enough, whatever the outcome of the report.

How LunahUP helps with profiles

We check eligibility first, compare the profile with your approved practice facts, flag mismatched hours, categories and services, and draft review replies that protect patient privacy.

Your team approves every edit and every reply before it is posted.