Key takeaways
- Why your online presence decides who books before you ever meet a patient
- Niching down: swapping generalist messaging for the specific language your ideal clients search
- Optimizing the searchable parts of your profile and bio so the right patients find you
- Why patients now ask AI like ChatGPT—and how consistent messaging gets you surfaced
- Reducing operational friction so booking is clear and obstacle-free
In this Lightning Talk from the 2026 Grow Forward Provider Summit, psychiatric nurse practitioner Lauren Prasek Castronovo shares how she grew an organic, engaged following—and a thriving private practice—by rethinking her online presence.
She explains why a generic “I treat anxiety and depression” bio gets lost, and how niching down (first to women’s mental health, then to perinatal and postpartum psychiatry) and using the exact language her ideal clients search helped the right patients recognize themselves in her profile. She also walks through the practical mechanics: optimizing the searchable lines of an Instagram bio, building trust and authority through psychoeducation and small personal disclosures, keeping messaging consistent so AI tools like ChatGPT surface your name, and reducing operational friction so booking is effortless.
It’s a candid, tactical talk about marketing for therapists, practice growth, and meeting clients in their most vulnerable moments, from the person Googling you at 11:30 p.m. after a panic attack to the partner asking ChatGPT for help.
