Finding Your Mental Health Niche

Written by: Kelsey Someliana-Lauer, Therapy Practice Solutions Virtual Assistant 


When May rolls around, mental health therapists rejoice: it’s Mental Health Awareness Month!  May is all about eliminating the mental health stigma, showing those who need support that help is out there, and an extra-focused effort on marketing.  If you’re extra-excited about offering support to others this month and want to market your services to them, it may help to have a niche.

In the mental health world, a niche means choosing 1 or 2 treatment areas that you’ve decided you want to specialize in serving.  There are a variety of niches to choose from - childhood trauma, eating disorders, millennials making life transitions, gamer girls, Baby Boomers experiencing addiction … if you can think of it (and if someone experiences it), it can be a niche.

Do you know your niche? If not, here are some tips on how to find your niche, just in time for Mental Health Awareness Month.

Name What You’re Passionate About Treating

If you’re a brand new therapist, this may be a little more difficult.  However, if you’ve had a little time to see a variety of clients with numerous presenting problems, you may begin to get an idea about who you’re passionate about serving.  Maybe you’ve decided trauma cases hit too close to home, but you get so excited to talk to your clients with personality disorders.  Or maybe you don’t feel that spark from treating anxiety or depression, but really feel a fire for helping those with eating disorders. 

Name Who You’re Passionate About Serving

After you have a clear idea on what presenting problems really make you excited, think about the demographic you enjoy serving.  Do you like working with children, or are you more of an adults-only kind of clinician? Is there a certain spiritual, ethnic/racial, gender, or sexual orientation you feel especially equipped to treat? Maybe you enjoy clients with multiple marginalized identities and want to focus on intersectionality?  Try to determine what age range and cultural factors you really click with to get an idea of your ideal client.


*Please note - we definitely aren’t suggesting turning someone away based on their cultural identity; this

is just to help you identify your ideal client to help with marketing efforts!


Name What You’re Qualified For


Let’s say you have a clear idea of what presenting problem you feel comfortable treating, and who your ideal client is.  Now - are you trained in that area?  For example, if your ideal client is a teenage female-identified person with an eating disorder, are you equipped to treat eating disorders and work with teenagers?  If you enjoy coaching biracial married couples through conflict, do you have any special marriage counseling qualifications, and are you trained in multicultural competencies?  If you have a clear idea of who and what you want to serve, make sure you’re trained and qualified to do so!


Having a niche is a great way to ensure you’re providing excellent service to your clients.  At Therapy Practice Solutions, our niche is therapists who don’t want to do all the admin work anymore!  If you’re looking for a professional to take over insurance billing, social media marketing, communication with clients, scheduling, website design, and more, reach out to us today using our website www.therapypracticesolutions.com.  We look forward to hearing from you!

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