Unauthorized clinician listings on large directories - the documented cases
This is a documented, recurring industry pattern, not scattered anecdotes. The public record, dated:
- 2022–2023 - CareDash. The health-review site created profiles of therapists without their knowledge, drew a petition from psychoanalytic associations and an FTC complaint, and ceased operations on 2023-02-01 after pressure led by the National Association of Social Workers. CareDash is gone - cited here as history, because the model did not die with it.
- 2025-04 - 7 Cups. Behavioral Health Business reported therapists criticizing the platform for creating profiles without permission, with clinicians describing profiles apparently assembled from their legitimate paid listings. (7 Cups states it removes profiles on request.)
- 2025-11 - the pattern, systemically. BHB's investigation of unauthorized listings trapping therapists found the practice across the directory economy - profiles clinicians cannot edit, sourced from scraped content, with removal paths ranging from slow to nonexistent.
- Ongoing - the phish layer. Professional bodies including BACP warn members about look-alike directories that copy profiles and then send "renewal" payment emails.
What recurrence means practically
Each named site is eventually pressured, reformed, or shut - and the model reappears under new domains, because scraped clinician profiles remain cheap inventory for referral and ad businesses. That is why one-off cleanups don't hold: the defensible posture is knowing your exposure continuously and having the removal sequence ready as routine.
Common questions
Q: Are these listings ever good for referrals?
A: You can't know - inquiries route through the site's forms, get resold, or vanish. A listing you don't control is exposure, not marketing.
Q: Did anything change legally after the CareDash shutdown?
A: No new statute - the shutdown showed that collective professional pressure plus FTC complaints works. Individual removals plus FTC reports feed exactly that mechanism.
Q: How do I know my current exposure?
A: A free profile scan checks suspect directories and fresh therapy-directory domains for your name, identifiers, and profile text.
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.
Related answers
- How clients can verify a therapist's profile is real
- My headshot is on another therapy website
- How to remove your profile from a therapist directory
Therapist Watch provides monitoring assistance, not legal advice, and is not a licensing board. Findings are similarity signals that require your confirmation - they are not accusations about any website, directory, or person.