Quick answer: Counselors get featured in the media by answering journalist requests on mental-health and relationship stories, writing for outlets like Counseling Today, Psychology Today and Counselor Brief, going on counseling podcasts, and building a strong professional profile, then making sure that coverage is visible in AI search. As a licensed professional, you keep commentary inside the ACA Code of Ethics and your state board's rules.
How does a counselor actually get featured?
The honest answer: by being the clear, ethical, reachable expert reporters and audiences trust. Demand for mental-health guidance has never been higher, and a counselor who shows up in a credible article or a popular podcast becomes a go-to voice on stress, relationships, parenting, and coping. People increasingly find a counselor through that visibility, including by asking an AI assistant who the experts are.
Getting featured also builds a practice and a platform. Coverage leads to referrals, a fuller caseload, speaking invitations, and the authority to launch a workshop, course, or book.
What counselors can and can't say
Public commentary falls under the ACA Code of Ethics and your state licensure board:
- Make accurate public statements. Don't misrepresent your credentials, training, or results, and base commentary on sound professional knowledge.
- Protect confidentiality. Never share identifiable client information; use hypothetical or composite examples.
- Don't create a counseling relationship. Make clear that media commentary is general education, not therapy.
- Stay within scope and competence. Speak to your areas of expertise and license, and refer out for anything beyond them.
- Disclose paid promotions (FTC). If a brand compensates you, label it clearly.
These standards protect clients and your license, which is exactly why your public voice carries credibility.
Where counselors earn credible coverage
- Journalist requests: reporters needing a counselor's perspective on a mental-health or relationship story.
- Bylines and blogs: Counseling Today, Psychology Today, and GoodTherapy.
- Podcasts: counseling and wellness shows.
- Workshops and speaking: durable authority and a path to media.
- AI visibility: how you appear when someone asks an AI assistant for coping strategies or a counselor.
Step 1: Answer journalist requests
Lifestyle, health, and relationship reporters constantly need a licensed counselor on deadline. Help a Reporter Out (HARO) circulates these requests, and Featured, which operates HARO and Connectively and aggregates queries across the web, surfaces the relevant ones in one place. A typical query: "Seeking a licensed counselor to share strategies for setting boundaries with family." A warm, practical answer before deadline often earns the quote.
Step 2: Write for the field and the public
A Counseling Today byline builds standing with peers, while a Psychology Today blog gives you a client-facing platform. Translate what you see in session into guidance a reader can use.
Step 3: Go on podcasts
Counseling and wellness podcasts let you build trust through depth and reach the audiences who need your perspective.
Step 4: Run workshops and speak
A signature workshop or talk cements your authority and generates clips, quotes, and invitations.
Step 5: Show up in AI search
When someone asks an AI assistant how to manage conflict or find support, the answer draws on counselors already cited in credible coverage. Every feature becomes a future citation.
Tools counselors use to get featured
- Psychology Today (paid listing, free blog): The directory and blog clients and reporters already use.
- Counseling Today (ACA) (membership): The profession's flagship publication.
- GoodTherapy (paid listing): A directory and content platform for therapists.
- LinkedIn or a newsletter (free and paid): A direct audience and a discovery channel for media.
- Featured (free and paid): An AI co-pilot for PR. Build a workflow that runs as a 24/7 assistant, surfacing the mental-health journalist requests and podcast invitations worth your time.
Frequently asked questions
How do counselors get quoted in the news? By answering journalist requests on mental-health and relationship topics with clear, practical guidance, sent quickly and within the ACA Code of Ethics.
Can a counselor share client stories in the media? Only as hypothetical or fully de-identified composites. Never disclose information that could identify a client.
What topics get counselors featured? Stress and burnout, relationships and boundaries, parenting, grief, and coping with current events.
How do counselors show up in AI search results? By building credible coverage and content that AI systems draw on when answering mental-health questions, alongside strong directory profiles.
Get started
The counselors who become trusted public voices are the ones who respond first, explain clearly, and stay visible where people look for support. The simplest way to start is to let an assistant watch for the right stories. Set up a Featured workflow that runs as a 24/7 PR assistant, so a relevant journalist request, podcast, or speaking call never slips past you.
CounselorBrief.com is owned and operated by Featured. This article is general information, not legal, compliance, or clinical advice.