For five years, I relied on my Psychology Today profile to connect with new clients. Every week brought one to three consultation requests — consistent, human, sustainable.
Then, almost overnight, it stopped.
At first, I blamed algorithms or seasonal shifts. But as the months dragged on and my inbox stayed silent, the silence itself started to feel suspicious. So, I did what any former reporter would do — I started digging.
The Discovery
On September 15, 2025, I deactivated the two Psychology Today profiles as it seemed pointless to be paying nearly $60/monthly for these two accounts with only a handful of referrals during the previous nine months.
During the morning of October 16, 2025, I created a new Psychology Today profile with the hope that maybe a new account might garner me some advantage within the company’s algorithms. That evening I decided to upload a 15-sec intro video to my new listing. I accidently entered into one of my deactivated profiles and I noticed a line I had never seen before:
“Managed by Grow Therapy. Your call or email may go to a representative.”
Below that were Grow Therapy’s email and phone number — not mine.
Grow Therapy is a telehealth startup valued at over $1.2 billion as of early 2025. I had briefly interviewed with them on August 26, 2026 but seven days later notified them that I did not want to work for Grow Therapy. Neither during the interview or the seven days that followed before I changed my mind, I never provided Grow Therapy with my password to my Psychology Today profiles. Yet somehow, their contact information was inserted into my paid Psychology Today profile — without my permission.
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I recorded myself calling the forwarding number. It connected directly to Grow Therapy.
You can watch the video here: Psychology Today- unauthorized access by Grow Therapy… deactivated acct_Oct. 16 and Oct. 19, 2025
What This Means for Therapists
Imagine paying monthly to be visible on the world’s biggest therapist directory, only to have your inquiries diverted to a company that profits from your invisibility.
That’s not marketing — that’s data interference.
It’s identity misuse.
It’s the quiet corporatization of therapy.
The Bigger Problem: Tech in the Therapy Space
This incident isn’t isolated. Across the country, independent therapists are reporting similar patterns — disappearing leads, “managed” listings, and control over visibility quietly shifting to corporate middlemen.
Companies like Rula, Headway, Brightside, and Grow Therapy promise to handle credentialing, billing, and marketing. What’s less obvious is how they can control therapist visibility, client access, and even the way clients find us in the first place.
What Therapists Should Do
If you’re a therapist using Psychology Today (or any online directory), take five minutes to protect yourself:
- Google yourself. Click your Psychology Today listing from search results. Make sure it takes you directly to your profile — not a general directory.
- Look for “Managed by…” language. If you didn’t authorize it, document it immediately.
- Take screenshots of your account settings before and after making edits.
- Be careful with third-party “marketing” permissions. Those checkboxes can hand over your client pipeline.
- Report suspicious redirects or unauthorized edits to Psychology Today, the FTC, and your state Attorney General’s consumer protection division.
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Why This Matters
Therapy has always depended on trust — not just between therapist and client, but between therapist and platform. Big Tech’s infiltration into mental health care threatens that trust by inserting opaque algorithms, private equity money, and hidden partnerships between directories and tech-based “service providers.”
When corporations mediate access to healing, they don’t just streamline it — they monetize it.
And when they quietly redirect your clients, that’s not innovation. It’s exploitation.
Final Thought
If this happened to me, it can happen to anyone.
Audit your digital presence. Protect your autonomy.
Because the next “optimization” might not just cost you a client — it could erase you from your own practice.
Resources & Discussion:
- Reddit: Psychology Today profiles being redirected to Grow Therapy
- Reddit: Issues with Grow Therapy + Psychology Today
- Grow Therapy FAQ: Psychology Today integration disclosure