Mel Lay – Leader in Therapy Business Growth.
Hi, I’m Mel,
The Private Practice Marketing Coach helping counsellors and therapists worldwide show up confidently, attract ideal clients, and build sustainable practices that get found by humans – and AI.
The Way Clients Find Therapy Has Changed. It’s not all about hashtags or reels, it’s about your Digital Legacy.
Yet here you are, worrying about reels, debating hashtags, juggling endless to-do lists and wondering if you’ll ever have a steady stream of clients.
You’re not alone.
But that’s not where visibility happens anymore.
It’s no longer just about SEO, keywords, websites or social media
Clients are turning to AI assistants, voice search, and answer engines that analyse your full online presence. They’re not searching for “therapist near me” – they’re asking questions like:
“Why can’t I stop overthinking before bed?”
“Who can I trust to help me feel less anxious?”
AI isn’t choosing the therapist who posts the most or uses the right hashtags – it’s choosing the one whose content feels most human, trustworthy, and emotionally connecting.
Creating a digital legacy that gets you found.
Join the Private Practice Marketing Membership Wait List: Opening Soon!
I help counsellors and therapists create full, connected online presences that work together, so that every part of your marketing builds visibility, credibility, and trust.
Your website, directories, Google profile, social media, and content all tell one consistent story: who you are, who you help, and how you make a difference.
Because visibility today isn’t about doing more, it’s about making everything you already have work smarter together.
You’re the expert in helping others heal. But right now, your business might not reflect that. Maybe you are:
- Relying on SEO and keywords when clients are now finding therapists through AI tools like ChatGPT and Google’s new assistant.
- Writing blogs or posts that sound like everyone else instead of using the real, human language clients actually search for.
- Treating your website like a brochure instead of linking it with your social media and directories so AI can recognise you.
- Posting without purpose, focusing on likes and hashtags rather than being findable and memorable.
- Spending time on colours and logos while the words, the part AI reads, don’t reflect who you truly help.
- stuck undercharging, because raising your prices feels like a moral dilemma.
- quietly terrified of inconsistent income and secretly question if you can really make this work long-term.
You don’t have to let business and marketing hold you back any longer. Marketing Is the First Step in the Therapeutic Relationship
The clients who are meant for you are already searching for connection.
Your marketing is their first experience of you – their first sense of safety, hope, and trust.
When your digital legacy reflects who you are and what you stand for, you don’t have to “sell” therapy, you simply become visible to the people who need your help most.
Join the Private Practice Marketing Membership Wait List:
What sets my approach apart:
- I teach what’s working now – not what worked once. My Finance & Accountancy background including Police Audit, data, and psychology means everything I teach is evidence-based, not trend-led.
- I focus on connection, not content churn – because clients don’t follow volume; they follow resonance.
- I help you become AI-ready – building a brand that’s findable, trustworthy, and recommended by AI.
- I blend data and emotion – you’ll understand the marketing psychology behind every decision you make.
Being visible is part of your duty of care.
Clients can’t work with you if they don’t know you exist. Your marketing isn’t a megaphone….it’s a bridge.
A lifeline.
A way for the person out there, struggling in silence, to finally find YOU.
And when your marketing speaks directly to them, not just about what you do, but about who you are and how you help….you stop being “another therapist.” YOU BECOME THEIR THERAPIST! This isn’t a dream, it’s your potential reality.
I’m Mel Lay, a Business & Marketing Coach who understands the unique challenges therapists face. With over 30 years in business and finance, and a decade of experience helping coaches and therapists build successful practices. I left the corporate world to live life on my terms, and I now help therapists like you do the same. But more than anything?
I help you finally feel safe to be seen. Confident to charge your worth. And proud to run your practice like the real, successful business it is. I offer tailored support to help you:
- Deep client understanding – so your marketing connects emotionally, not just informationally (this is what works for both humans and AI).
- Uniqueness and differentiation – because clients don’t choose you for your certificates. They choose you because of how you stand out from every other therapist. Inside the membership, you’ll learn how to identify, own, and communicate what makes you different in ways that build instant trust and memorability, something credentials alone will never do.
- Ethical visibility – showing up in ways that feel genuine, never salesy.
- Set and maintain pricing that reflects your worth.
- Develop marketing strategies that feel genuine and effective.
Ready to transform your practice? here’s what’s been missing all along:
Imagine having your own dedicated business partner, right in your pocket. Someone who understands the unique challenges therapists face, and who helps you build a practice full of clients who are genuinely aligned with your expertise & values. Here’s how we can work together:
1. Join the Private Practice Marketing Membership – £59/month
An ongoing space to build your confidence, connect with peers, and access real-time support. Because private practice doesn’t mean you have to do it all alone.
The September 2025 intake is now full – 25 therapists have secured their place inside the Empathic Entrepreneurs Club.
If you’d like to be first in line for the next intake, you can join the 2026 waitlist today.
By joining the waitlist now, you’ll be personally offered guaranteed early access giving you the best chance to secure a place when doors reopen.
Free Community
Join my FREE private community of over 2000 Counsellors & Therapists like YOU.This community is where you can gain free information & resources! CLICK HERE
Free Guide:
Grab your free guide for Website & Directory Profile Copy – Get Found, Chose and Trusted!
Your work is too important to stay hidden.
You’re not “just” a therapist. You’re a business owner.
You deserve to be fully booked. Paid well. Respected. Trusted. And the right clients?
They’re already looking for someone exactly like you. Let’s make sure they can find you.
With newfound clarity, you are able to gain the confidence to market yourself authentically. Confidently create compelling and impactful marketing that resonates with you ideal clients.
No more generic posts or impersonal ads – every piece of content a reflection of your true self and your deep understanding of your clients’ needs. But we don’t stop there.
Either In my amazing business membership, or in a bespoke 1 to 1 setting, together, we explore ethical promotion strategies that feel right for you.Learn to promote your services confidently, knowing you are offering genuine value.
The transformations are incredible.
Within months, and through implementing the information learnt, many of my clients go from feeling stuck and invisible to being fully booked. No longer dreading marketing; instead, they embrace it as a way to connect with and serve their clients.
Their practices flourish, and so does their confidence. Your journey is just one of many. Every therapist I work with discovers their own path to success and a thriving practice that reflects their authentic self.
The ultimate goal? A full practice where you’re doing what you love most: helping more of the people who need you.
About Mel Lay
I’m a Business & Marketing coach for therapists – but I didn’t come through the usual coaching route.
I spent 15 years working in corporate finance as an accountant and Police Authority auditor, before taking a leap and moving abroad to start a wellness coaching business. It took off far quicker than I expected, and before long I’d naturally pivoted into business coaching – blending my strategic, financial and people-first skills to help others grow businesses that actually work. That was over a decade ago, and I’ve been coaching ever since, with consistent success.
Along the way, I also trained as a counsellor – and that’s where I spotted a huge gap. Most therapists are never taught how to market themselves. Not in a way that’s ethical, not in a way that reflects the work they do, and definitely not in a way that gets them consistently found by the right clients.
So now, I specialise in helping therapists grow confident, fully booked private practices using emotionally intelligent, ethical marketing. I combine deep psychographic insight, sharp business strategy, and a strong understanding of what it means to be in this industry – helping you build a business that reflects your values, fills your diary, and allows you to work in a way that’s sustainable, meaningful, and profitable.
Qualifications
- Association of Accounting Technicians – Management Accountant
- Level 7 Diploma Business Coaching
- DipEd Marketing and Advertising
- CertHE Counselling and Psychotherapy
- CertHE Integrated Therapeutic Counselling
- Certificate in NLP Practitioner Training
Experience
- 12 times National Award winning Entrepreneur & Business Mentor
- Award Winning Direct Sales Champion
- 10 Years Business Coaching & Mentoring
- 31 Years qualified Accountant
- 20 years Corporate Finance Management Accountant
“Since our session I have had 9 enquiries! I really thought I was going to see nothing all summer !”
— Helen Stephens – Counsellor
Helping Therapists worldwide to show up with confidence, get fully booked, and create practices that are both profitable and sustainable.
Private Practice Marketing Coach for Counsellors and Therapists l Mel Lay
This site is run by Mel Lay, a Private Practice Marketing Coach for Counsellors and Therapists and counsellors. I help you stop feeling invisible and build a fully booked profitable practice, filled with the people who truly need your expertise.
Private Practice Marketing Coach for Counsellors and Therapists l Mel Lay 