Therapist Marketing Without the Ick: Find Your Ideal Clients

It’s 1:00 AM on a Tuesday. Someone can’t sleep, so they type “why do I shut down emotionally?” into Google. They aren’t searching for a “developmental trauma therapist.” They don’t know that term yet. So will they find you?

In this episode, hosts Ashley Charbonneau and Morgen Villegas talk with Anna Khandrueva, LCSW. She’s a trauma and relationship therapist in Broomfield, Colorado, and she also helps therapists with SEO. Anna spent more than a decade in finance, opened her private practice right out of grad school, and later learned she is autistic and has ADHD. Ask her if the therapy field is oversaturated and she’ll say no. We don’t have too many therapists. We have a matching problem.

In this episode:

• Why marketing is really about fit, not sales (and how that takes the ick out of it)
• Finding your ideal client, who might just be you 10 years ago
• Self-disclosure as a neurodivergent therapist
• “Flow clients,” and how to bring up a poor fit with a client
• Interest vs. specialization vs. calling yourself an expert
• Hot takes on AI therapy chatbots and credentialing platforms like Headway, Rula, and Alma

Grad school didn’t teach you what Google wants from you. This conversation fills that gap.

Guest Bio:

Anna Khandrueva, LCSW, is a trauma and relationship therapist and the owner of Courage to Heal Therapy in Broomfield, Colorado. She works with late-diagnosed neurodivergent women and with couples navigating the beautiful complexity of neurodivergent partnership, using EMDR, parts work, and mindfulness. Anna holds a master’s in social work from Metropolitan State University of Denver and a certificate in marriage and family therapy from the Denver Family Institute. A former finance professional, she also helps other therapists with marketing and SEO. Outside of work, she knits, watches horror movies, and explores local restaurants and food trucks.

Website: https://www.couragetohealtherapy.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/couragetohealtherapy

Work with Anna on Therapist SEO and Marketing: https://www.couragetohealtherapy.com/seo-for-therapists

Your Hosts:

Ashley Charbonneau, LCSW, LAC, ACS, is a therapist, evaluator, clinical supervisor, consultant, and educator. She works with people affected by the legal system, with a focus on offender accountability, survivor healing, and restorative justice. She trains professionals across the country on restorative justice, addiction, clinical supervision, sexual offending, therapy boundaries, and mandatory reporting and is the author of The Resilient Therapist (Bloomsbury, 2026) and Supporting Clients of Sexual Trauma (PESI, 2026). Learn more at https://www.ensopllc.com/

Morgen Villegas, LCSW, LAC, ACS, is a therapist, consultant, EMDRIA Consultant, and author of Shadows to Light. Through her practice, Vida Idílica Therapy & Consulting, she specializes in helping women heal from trauma, attachment wounds, emotional neglect, and the lasting effects of overfunctioning and caregiving. Morgen also provides consultation to EMDR therapists seeking greater confidence and nuance in working with complex trauma. You can reach Morgen at https://www.vida-idilica.com