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Most fictional therapists in films and TV shows are buttoned up, with glasses and a clipboard, giving a stern look and analysing everyone they meet. Online, most real therapists I see talk about empowering your soul, playing with your inner child and holding your hand through your therapy journey. Whilst these are total opposites, I never fit into either of them.

After graduating, I struggled to get clients and stand out from the sea of other therapists. So many people said specialising or niching was the way to get more clients, but I didn’t know what I wanted that to be. I love variety in sessions, and part of that is seeing all kinds of clients with all kinds of reasons for therapy. 

But, whilst listening to a therapy podcast, the host mentioned they’d seen a therapist directory page which really stood out to them. It said the therapist will swear a lot in sessions, so if this might offend you – you’re not the client for them. This immediately stood out to me too – I’d been saying this to new clients in the initial session for the last year in my placement.

I started to think about how I am in sessions – sweary, straight-talking, realistic, avoiding cheesy and fluffy phrases, staying away from psychobabble, talking with my hands, and using diagrams to teach clients things in layman’s terms. After many ideas flooded through my mind, there was one that seemed the best fit for me, and that clearly got across what I wanted it to – The No BS Therapist. 

Since then, I’ve filled my therapy slots and started a client waitlist. Before, only around a third of potential clients who had an initial session with me continued afterwards. I got pretty burnt out in December, feeling I was putting in so much time and effort and only getting a small number of clients from it. 

Now, most clients stay on after the initial session because they already know what to expect from me. My website and directory pages already clearly tell people if ±õ’m the right therapist for them or not. So, they don’t need to use the initial session to work that out. I feel a lot more in control of my schedule now and don’t feel like ±õ’m just treading water. 

Most of my therapist friends were also reluctant to specialise as we all worried we’d have less clients and be saying the same things in every session. But, I’ve found a way to show a lot about myself without having to self-disclose any personal details, which works perfectly for me. 

±õ’m sweary and straight-talking in my personal life so I love that I can also be like that in sessions. And, even better, this can really help clients as they know they can do the same too if they want. If you’re also struggling to find a niche – there are other ways you can do it.