Grow Therapy Now Manages Your Psychology Today Profile. Here's What That Means.

The change is documented in Grow's Psychology Today FAQ (last updated August 30, 2026): "As of June 1, 2026, providers must opt in to a Grow-managed Psychology Today profile. Providers who were on the platform before this date may request to opt out." The same page still also describes the Grow-managed profile as "recommended but not mandatory," so it is worth confirming with Grow which rule applies to your account.

What the managed profile actually does

Grow pays for the profile. When a prospective client contacts your Grow-managed profile, the details listed are Grow's, not yours, and Grow says its "dedicated New Client Booking team follows up with prospective clients to ensure they have the correct information and access to schedule with you." Asked why it does not use your own contact information, Grow says providers using its reception services "typically experience a higher client conversion rate."

The "Managed by Grow Therapy" label comes from Psychology Today. Grow says the disclaimer "is added by Psychology Today whenever Grow Therapy's contact information is listed in your Psychology Today profile's contact or website fields."

If you already have a personal Psychology Today profile, the Grow profile does not replace it. You can have both active at the same time, which means two profiles for the same therapist in the same directory, one with your contact details and one with Grow's.

Our view: why this matters beyond the obvious

The immediate concern most therapists have is the duplicate listing and which one a client sees first. The deeper point is what it shows about platform participation. Joining Grow gives you credentialing, billing, and referrals. It also lets a platform represent you on a directory and handle the first contact with clients who find you there.

A client who finds you through the managed profile and books through Grow's team starts their relationship with you inside Grow's systems. If you leave Grow and opt out, that profile and the contact route through it go away. This follows the same pattern as the Aetna rate change for Alma therapists: a platform changes the terms, and your options are to accept, opt out of the feature, or leave. That one was on the billing side. This one is on the referral side.

What Psychology Today says about platform profiles

A Psychology Today spokesperson told ClearHealthCosts in December 2025 that "network affiliation does not influence ranking or placement. All profiles follow the same visibility criteria." In January 2026 Psychology Today added that it identifies which therapists are in-network "so consumers understand the type of services being offered and how they are accessed, but that information has no impact on ranking." Its directory terms also require anyone managing a profile for a therapist to "obtain clear authorization from the Professional Member."

Our view: that answers the question of ranking, not of intake. A platform-managed profile may rank the same as yours, but what happens after a client clicks is different. Your own profile reaches you. The Grow-managed profile reaches Grow's booking team first. For the therapists who report far fewer Psychology Today referrals, more platform-managed listings in the same directory are part of the same pressure.

What Rula, Alma, and Headway say

Rula says in its therapist help center that it "cannot take over existing Psychology Today profiles. However, we are happy to create and manage a new one for you," and that it cannot use personal phone numbers or email addresses on those profiles.

Alma describes a different arrangement on its Psychology Today FAQ: an invite-only, six-month pilot in which participating members can be reimbursed for a profile they keep themselves, using Alma's referral email. Alma does not manage the profile.

Headway does not describe a Psychology Today profile program on its public pages. ClearHealthCosts reported in January 2026 that therapists named Headway among the platforms that "often manage profiles for their therapists."

The scale of the platforms is worth knowing. Grow announced a $150 million Series D on March 4, 2026, at a reported $3 billion valuation according to Bloomberg. Alma is now part of Spring Health, which says the combined company supports "more than 170 million lives globally across employers and health plans."

What to do if you are on Grow Therapy

Check whether you have a Grow-managed profile. Look for a Psychology Today listing under your name labelled "Managed by Grow Therapy," or ask Grow through the Help Widget in your provider account.

Decide whether the managed profile serves your practice. Grow covers the cost and its team follows up with prospective clients, which has real value if you are building a caseload quickly. The trade-off is that first contact runs through Grow's team and the profile is not in your direct control.

If you want to opt out: Grow says providers who joined before June 1, 2026 can complete the opt-out form linked from its Psychology Today FAQ, which notifies Psychology Today that you would like the profile removed. Grow notes this "may take 1 to 2 weeks." Your personal profile, if you have one, stays separate.

If you want to keep both: Make sure your personal profile is fully up to date with your own contact information, your direct booking link, and a clear description, so a client who sees both listings has a reason to contact you directly.

Our view: the longer picture

Directories and therapy platforms are moving closer together. For many independent practitioners, the directories they rely on now include platform-managed profiles that carry their name but route to someone else. This is not a crisis that needs immediate action, but it is a trend that adds up quietly.

The practices least exposed to it are the ones with visibility outside the directory: a website that shows up for the searches their clients already run, a Google Business Profile, and a presence in AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity that clients use without going through a directory at all. Building that is what our work with private practices is about.

If you are thinking about leaving Grow Therapy altogether, the referral and insurance picture looks different from leaving a directory. See what happens to your caseload when you leave a platform. For Psychology Today's own rules on cost, cancelling, and ranking, see our Psychology Today profile FAQ.

FAQ

Does Grow Therapy take over my existing Psychology Today profile? No. Grow's Psychology Today FAQ says an existing personal profile can stay, and Grow creates a separate profile alongside it. The Grow profile displays "Managed by Grow Therapy" and lists Grow's contact information, not yours.

Can I opt out of Grow Therapy managing my Psychology Today profile? Grow says providers who joined before June 1, 2026 may request to opt out by completing the opt-out form linked from its Psychology Today FAQ, which notifies Psychology Today that you would like the profile removed. Grow says this may take 1 to 2 weeks.

Who answers calls and emails from my Grow-managed Psychology Today profile? Grow's New Client Booking team. Grow says the team follows up with prospective clients to make sure they have the correct information and access to schedule with you.

Will having two Psychology Today profiles hurt my visibility on the directory? Psychology Today says network affiliation does not influence ranking or placement and that all profiles follow the same visibility criteria. Having two profiles does mean a prospective client may see the Grow-managed one, with Grow's contact details, before yours.

Are Headway and Alma doing the same thing with Psychology Today profiles? Not in the same way. Rula says it cannot take over existing profiles but will create and manage a new one. Alma runs an invite-only pilot that reimburses members for a profile they keep themselves. Headway does not describe a Psychology Today profile program on its public pages.

What can I do to make my practice less dependent on platform-managed referrals? In our view, the most direct path is building channels you control: a website that shows up in Google for relevant searches, a Google Business Profile, and visibility in AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity. These send inquiries to you, not through a platform's team. For the full US picture, see SEO for therapists in the United States.