Therapist Website Privacy: What Your Contact Form Should Never Ask

Why does a contact form need care?

Most website contact forms send their messages by ordinary email. That's fine for "I'd like to book a consultation" - but not for someone's diagnosis, medications or what happened to them. Once it's sent, it sits in inboxes you don't fully control.

What should the form ask?

• A name (a first name is enough).
• How to reply: an email or phone number.
• Whether they'd like to meet online or in person.
• A good time to call.

What should it never ask?

• Diagnoses or symptoms.
• Medications or treatment history.
• Insurance member numbers.
• "Tell me what's going on" in a big empty box - people will share more than they should.

Where does intake belong?

In your practice software's secure client portal, after the first conversation. Your website's job is to start the conversation; your portal's job is to hold what's private. Link to the portal from your site so clients can find it.

Say it on the form

A line above the form - "please don't include health details here; we'll talk about that privately" - protects your clients and shows them you take their privacy seriously. This is general guidance, not legal advice: check your own obligations with your licensing board or a privacy professional.

Built in from the start

Therapist sites come with a consultation request that asks for no health details, and the line saying so.

See what your website is missing

Give us your website's address and we'll rebuild its home page, free, with a short report on what it's missing.