← Therapist Watch · published 2026-08-14 · updated 2026-08-14

How to remove your profile from a therapist directory

Work in writing from the first message - the paper trail is the leverage.

1. Find the removal channel

Check the site for a removal form, a privacy/opt-out page, or a support address. Larger platforms honor removal requests (several state that requested profiles are deleted within days). If the only path offered is "claim your profile", do not use it - claiming usually means accepting terms of service and sometimes payment.

2. Send a written removal request

Short and formal: who you are, the listing URL, that you did not create or authorize it, that you request complete removal, and that you expect written confirmation within 10 business days. Do not attach identity documents - a site that scraped you has no legitimate need for your license PDF or ID, and document requests are part of the phish pattern.

3. Escalate if ignored

Copied profile text or your photo? Send a copyright notice - your written profile text is your copyright (photo rights are usually the photographer's - the honest distinction matters).
Host abuse desk - find the host via ICANN lookup and forward the ignored request; hosts act on copyright notices independently of the site.
FTC - reportfraud.ftc.gov, category business imposter. Attach the ignored correspondence.
Your professional association - several now track these sites and press them collectively; your report adds a case.

4. Keep everything

Every request, reply, and confirmation, dated. Sites that re-add profiles after removal (it happens) are much faster to escalate the second time, with the record in hand.

Common questions

Q: The site says my information is "public record" and refuses. Now what?

A: Name and license state may be; your written profile text and photo are not. Reframe around the copied content and escalate to the host with the copyright notice.

Q: A removal succeeded but the profile reappeared months later. Why?

A: Re-scraping. Send the prior removal correspondence with a one-line re-removal demand, and add the FTC report if you skipped it. Monitoring catches reappearances early - that is precisely what Therapist Watch automates.

Q: Should my practice manager handle this?

A: Yes, fine - but requests read strongest in the clinician's own name, since the identity at stake is the license holder's.

Check your own name now. The free scan looks for your profile on directories you never joined - no account, private report. Continuous monitoring: Therapist Watch from $9/month.