A negative Google review when you are a therapist

HHS lists psychologists among the providers who are covered entities under HIPAA when they bill a health plan electronically, and a therapy practice that takes insurance usually does. HHS also says a name becomes protected health information once it is linked to treatment at a clinic. In therapy the link is the whole secret. Writing “we are sorry your sessions ended badly” confirms there were sessions.

Your licensing board’s confidentiality rules apply whether or not you take insurance, so a practice that takes no insurance faces the same limits. The reply that protects everyone says nothing about the writer: the practice cannot confirm or discuss whether anyone is a client, it takes feedback seriously, and anyone with a concern can call. Many therapists choose not to reply at all, which is also safe.

• A client upset about a late cancellation fee, a waitlist or a referral elsewhere.
• A client’s spouse, partner or parent who never attended, angry about what therapy changed at home.
• One partner in couples work who blames the therapist for a separation.
• A former associate or intern at a group practice who left on bad terms.
• A review that names you and adds your home address, your car or your family.
• A review that names another client or describes someone else’s diagnosis.

The fee complaint and the couples client are both real experiences. They stay up, and the audit says so plainly rather than selling a case that will not hold. The spouse or parent who never attended is the clearest case in therapy: Google’s fake engagement policy covers content not based on a real experience, and the example above shows the writer saying so outright. Google’s conflict of interest policy also names familial relationships.

A former associate meets conflict of interest through former employment. Your home address or a remark about your children meets personal information or harassment, depending on the words. A review that names another client and their condition meets personal information, which Google defines to include medical information about others posted without consent.

The best therapy cases rest on the review’s own words, because those need no record from you at all. When a record is needed, it should prove something about the writer’s relationship to the practice, never about anyone’s treatment.

• The review text and the reviewer’s profile, captured with the date.
• A search of your client list that finds no one by the reviewer’s name, stated as a yes or no.
• Employment or contract dates for a former associate.
• For a threat or your address: the screenshot, and a note of any report you made to the police.

A client who writes that you ended therapy too soon, charged a late fee or simply did not help is describing their own experience. Google allows it, and the audit marks it No rule broken, with no filing and no fee. Reporting it anyway spends the one appeal Google offers on a review for nothing.

The better answer is the general reply and time. One honest complaint among years of quiet practice reads very differently from a pattern, and a calm, brief reply shows a prospective client how you handle conflict, which is part of what they are judging.

1. 01

   Pause before replying

   Draft any reply the next day. Check that it confirms nothing about anyone.

2. 02

   Report the review

   In your Business Profile, open Read reviews, select the Report icon, choose a reason and select Send report.

3. 03

   See what has a case

   The free audit reads each low review and marks it with a clause and a fee class, or No rule broken.

4. 04

   Accept only what you want filed

   Each case sheet sets out the clause and reasoning first. Nothing goes to Google without your yes.