Guidelines on Advertising Services Offered by Psychologists

The Society is frequently asked for advice on acceptable ways of advertising the services offered by psychologists. Conversely the Society has to adjudicate on complaints when it is alleged that a Member is responsible for an advertisement which is in some way not entirely legal, decent, honest or truthful.The Professional Affairs Board prepared the following guidelines in an attempt to make explicit the principles involved.They are approved and adopted by the Council as a Society position statement.

A definition

In the following guidelines an advertisement is defined as a communication addressed directly to the public or a section of it, the purpose of which is to influence the behaviour or opinions of those to whom it is addressed. An advertisement therefore includes any announcement of the professional services of an individual psychologist or group of psychologists whether working in private practice or for a corporate employer, appearing, for example, in the press, television, radio, in the Yellow Pages of the telephone directory or in a brochure distributed directly through a potential client’s letterbox. Different principles would apply to a letter of introduction which a psychologist might send to a third party (e.g. a solicitor or medical practitioner) introducing the psychological services offered to clients who subsequently may be referred at the discretion of the third party receiving the letter.

The role of the Society

The Society adopts a neutral position on the quasi-political issue of the desirability or otherwise of Members working in private practice and thus charging clients directly for the psychological services provided.The responsibility of the Society is to ensure that however Members earn their livelihood, when they advertise psychological services they do so with due regard for acceptable standards. Announcements through agencies should conform to the same standards.

General concepts

All psychologists should recognise the need to encourage and preserve a relationship with those to whom their services are offered which is dignified and based on confidence. They will therefore refrain from making exaggerated and unjustified claims for the effectiveness of their methods, from advertising services in a way likely to encourage unrealistic expectations about the effectiveness of the services offered, or from misleading those to whom services are offered about the nature and likely consequences of any interventions to be undertaken.

What to include in an advertisement

In the past the Society has advised any psychologist advertising personal services of a therapeutic nature to individual members of the public (e.g. clinical psychology, educational psychology) to include only ‘visiting card’ particulars in the advertisement, that is, information giving name, qualifications, status, address, telephone number and consultation hours of the psychologist. However, experience has now shown that to limit the content of an advertisement to only this information is not always in the public interest. Not all members of the public will know what services, for example, a clinical psychologist can offer. ‘Visiting card’ particulars do not permit a psychologist who wishes to specialise in the treatment of particular presenting problems within a general field such as clinical psychology to make it clear from the outset in which areas the psychologist specialises. It is, for example, clearly in the interest of a client with a drinking problem to be able to discover from an advertisement which clinical psychologists offer help with this problem, thereby avoiding unnecessary approaches to other clinical psychologists who are offering treatment only for different problems (e.g. phobias).Therefore, the Society is now of the view that, in addition to ‘visiting card’ particulars, it is appropriate to include in advertisements for personal therapeutic services factual information about the specialist nature of the services provided and the methods employed.

When making reference to the specialist services offered, great care should be taken to avoid playing on the fears of a client and then offering to provide a cure. One way of meeting this requirement is to avoid reference to the kinds of client problems for which treatment is offered. However, it is not normally possible to refer to specialist areas of psychology other than by making reference to the problems for which the client is seeking help (e.g. stress-related disorders, marital problems, smoking).Therefore, when phrasing an advertisement discretion and judgement have to be used, the criteria being that no reasonable person would find the advertisement distasteful.Thus, by way of example, it would be reasonable to assume that a psychologist offering ‘help to those with marital difficulties’ or ‘help with slimming’ would be acceptable, but an advertisement stressing the health dangers of obesity and then offering help would not.

Some prohibitions or what not to include in an advertisement

(i) Avoid any comparative denigration of the services of other psychologists or practitioners from other professions. Avoid claims that the services offered are of superlative quality or that the psychologist offering the service is likely to give better advice than others. (Psychologists may, of course, mention their formal qualifications). Psychologists will not, however, advertise their availability to give second opinions or reassessments.

(ii) When advertising personal services directly to individual members of the public avoid playing on clients’ fears regarding their state of health and avoid stimulating in clients any feeling of dissatisfaction with their present life situation. For example, a psychologist offering occupational guidance when reporting this fact should do nothing to encourage a client to question his or her current level of job satisfaction.

(iii) Avoid the use of testimonials in advertisements for psychological services.

(iv) Never claim or imply the certainty of cure for any conditions to be treated nor the certainty of success with the resolution of a client’s problems.

(v) Avoid any offer to refund money to dissatisfied users of psychological services.

The competence of those claiming expertise in specialist areas of psychology

Attention is also drawn to the Society’s Code of Conduct (q.v.) in which psychologists are required to ‘refrain … from claiming competence in any particular area of psychology in which they have not established their competence, and from claiming characteristics or capabilities for themselves which they do not possess’. Therefore, where psychologists make claims to offer specialist services or specific treatments (e.g. hypnotherapy) potentially the psychologists concerned should be able to substantiate their claims, e.g. by demonstrating that they have received relevant training in the area.

Care should also be taken to avoid offering treatment or advice ‘as a psychologist’ in areas that do not form part of the discipline and profession of psychology and in which training is not normally given to psychologists. For example, if a clinical psychologist advertised an acupuncture service, his or her qualifications ‘as a psychologist’ would not allow him or her to claim expertise in this field as it is not accepted as a field of psychology. No other clinical psychologists receive training in acupuncture and no clinical psychologists are employed as acupuncturists. If psychologists have skills in other areas, those not related to psychology should be referred to in separate advertisements.

Fees for Psychological Services

It should be noted that, by law, the Society may not give advice on specific fees which should and can be charged by its members as this is a prohibited, restrictive practice. This position has been confirmed by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.

The Investigatory Committee has had to deal with a number of complaints from members of the public, that they have been overcharged or charged for reports that they did not need.The Chair of the Disciplinary Board (a lay member) has endorsed the view of the Investigatory Committee that it is not the role of the Society to adjudicate on charges. However, we are all concerned with the good name of psychology. Having considered the issue, the Professional Affairs Board has agreed to promulgate the directive that all psychologists in private practice should, as a matter of routine, make it clear to all clients before any interventions are begun what their fees are likely to be and for what they will be paying. Adoption of this practice is only common sense, but it is essential to give clients explicit guidance on charges if future misunderstandings and complaints are to be avoided.