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A practical guide for online providers
Grow your multi-state therapy practice.
A new state opens possibilities. A clear plan helps you make the most of them.
Make it easier for clients and referral partners to understand where you practice, what you offer, and how to find you. Use this guide to connect your expansion plans with the everyday details of running an online practice.
For therapists, psychologists, prescribers, and other licensed mental health providers.
Your expansion plan
Work through your next state.
Choose states that fit your practice.
Keep your public information clear.
Give each state a place in your outreach.
Membership is free for eligible licensed mental health providers.
01
Plan where you want to grow.
Start with the clients you serve and the practice you want to build. Each additional state brings work as well as possibilities.
Choose a reason for each state
Consider where your clients move, where you already have professional connections, and where your specialties may be useful. A focused starting point makes your outreach easier to plan.
Match expansion to your capacity
Review your schedule, time zones, services, and administrative workload. Decide what you can realistically offer in a new state and whether fees, insurance participation, or availability will differ.
Confirm your authority before offering care.
Check the requirements where you are located and where clients will attend sessions. Depending on your profession and the state, the pathway may involve a license, compact authorization, or another approved route.
Confirm applicable requirements with the relevant boards or compact authority, and review malpractice coverage and reimbursement. Prescribers should also verify current federal and state prescribing requirements.
Explore our licensure compact guides
02
Update the essentials.
Once your authorization is active, make the change easy to see wherever clients and colleagues learn about your practice.
Website & provider bio
List the states where you can currently provide care. Make that information easy to find alongside your services and contact details.
Read What Your Therapy Website Needs to Tell a Potential Client.
Directory & community profiles
Update your authorized states, availability, and practice details. Keep your information consistent across the profiles you use.
Intake & practice procedures
Review location questions, consent documents, emergency planning, and any state-specific requirements. Clarify fees or insurance differences before care begins.
Referral information
Refresh your introduction, email signature, and referral materials. Let existing contacts know which state you have added and which clients you can help.
03
Give each state a visibility plan.
Authorization creates the opportunity to practice. Clients and colleagues still need a way to discover that you serve their state.
Read A License Is Not a Referral Network for a perspective on building connections across state lines.
Make your full state coverage easy to find
Show all the states where you are authorized to provide care in your provider profile. This helps someone looking for care across more than one state understand whether you may be an option.
Build a few useful connections in each state
Identify colleagues who serve the same state and understand the clients you work with. Introduce your services and availability, then make time to learn about their practices.
Review what your outreach is bringing in
Track where inquiries come from, whether they fit your services, and which connections lead to useful conversations. Use that information to decide where to focus your next effort.
As your practice expands
Plan the details with confidence.
Practical questions about presenting and growing your multi-state practice.
Should I create a separate website page for every state?
Only if each page gives visitors useful, state-specific information. If the pages would repeat the same content with a different state name, one clear multi-state practice page may be more helpful.
Can I prepare before my next state authorization is approved?
Yes. You can plan your outreach, draft profile updates, and meet colleagues. Keep your public service-area information limited to states where you are currently authorized to provide care.
How should a group practice describe its state coverage?
Show which states each clinician can serve. A group’s combined coverage does not mean every clinician can see clients in every state the group lists.
Will adding another state bring more clients?
It can expand the people you may be able to serve, but it does not guarantee demand or referrals. Clear practice information, relevant connections, and available appointments still matter.
How do I know which states to focus on?
Look at the fit of the inquiries you receive, your existing referral relationships, and your capacity to serve clients in each state. You do not need to give every state the same amount of outreach.
Bring your states together
Make your multi-state practice easier to find.
Create a Therapy Expanded provider profile that shows where you can help and what your practice offers.
Individual providers and group practices.