If you've been showing up on Instagram, posting consistently, and still wondering why your reach feels like you're whispering into a void — this episode is for you. Because the algorithm has changed significantly in 2026, and here's the thing: most of these changes actually work in favour of therapists in private practice. Not influencers. Not brands. Us.

I've been digging into what's actually shifted and what it means if you're a counsellor, psychologist, or social worker trying to grow your visibility and attract more ideal clients. And what I found genuinely surprised me.

[00:00] Introduction — why Instagram feels broken for so many therapists right now

[02:30] The biggest shift: views are now the primary metric, not likes or comments. A "view" only counts when someone actually opens or watches your content — not just scrolls past it. This is good news because it means your real reach is finally being reflected accurately.

[05:00] The Audition System explained. Every new post gets shown to a small group of non-followers first. If they engage, Instagram pushes it further. If they don't, even your own followers may not see it. This means your hook — the first line of your caption, the first second of your Reel — matters more than ever.

[08:30] Watch time is now the number one ranking signal. Instagram tracks how long people watch, especially past the three-second mark for Reels. It also tracks rewatches. Educational content that people want to revisit — things about anxiety, burnout, boundaries, nervous system regulation — performs really well under this model.

[12:00] DM shares are weighted three to five times more than likes. When someone sends your post to a friend, Instagram treats that as a very strong signal. Think about the content that makes someone go "I need to send this to my person." That's what drives reach now.

[15:30] Authenticity is outperforming polish. Instagram's own head, Adam Mosseri, has said this publicly. AI has made perfect-looking content cheap and commonplace, so raw and real human content is cutting through. For therapists who've always felt they needed to look polished and put together — this algorithm shift is genuinely freeing.

[19:00] Topic clarity rewards consistent accounts. The algorithm gets confused if you're posting travel content one day and therapy tips the next. Picking three to five clear content pillars and staying in that lane improves your distribution significantly.

[22:30] Original content gets 40 to 60 percent more reach than reposts, and accounts posting more than ten reposts in 30 days are excluded from recommendations entirely. This one is important to know.

[26:00] Longer Reels are now being rewarded in Explore. Instagram is surfacing three-minute-plus storytelling content — which means if you've got something worth unpacking properly, you now have permission to take the time you need to explain it well.

[29:30] Saves signal deep interest. The algorithm reads a save as "I want to come back to this," which means resource-style content — self-assessments, explained concepts, reflection prompts — gets rewarded. This is a completely natural fit for what therapists have to offer.

[33:00] The three things to prioritise right now — and why the algorithm is genuinely working in your favour if you lean into the right things.

[38:00] How to think about this if Instagram feels overwhelming or like one more thing to manage

[41:30] Where to go from here

If this episode helped you think differently about showing up online, I'd love for you to share it with a colleague who's been struggling with their social media presence. And if you want to take this further and get really clear on how to market your practice in a way that feels sustainable and actually works, my free marketing quiz is a great place to start: https://brooklyn.myflodesk.com/moreclients

You can also find out more about working with me at https://brooklynstorme.com

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Constantly busy but nothing's really happening? This episode is for you. After trying lots of different approaches to getting things done, many of which didn't work or just left me feeling exhausted and wondering why it was so easy for others, I turned things around by creating my own approach. I'm breaking it down for you in this episode of the Practice Momentum private practice podcast. You'll hear not my only approach (you can use it too!) but also the process I used to create it. Hope it helps! #counselor #counsellor #psychologist #socialwork #privatepractice #timemanagementfortherapists

In this episode I explore a newly discovered social network where AI agents interact — revealing confabulation, identity swaps, and surprising debates — and discuss what that means for therapists and private practice: the risks, ethical questions, and practical time-saving possibilities.

I also react to Zoom’s new AI avatars, share a reflective trip to Phillip Island, and invite listeners who are ready for private-practice coaching to apply.

• VMHPAA Suggested Responses
• The Survey

Discover what the Regulation Consultation survey is actually asking and how your answers will contribute to shaping the landscape for counselling and psychotherapy in Australia. I'll walk you through some of the red flags for vocationally qualified counsellors (holding a Diploma and Advanced Diploma) in terms of private practice, bridging and transition, registration and licensing, accreditation pathways for counsellors and psychotherapists, National Standards for Counsellors and Psychotherapists and more.

Posting on social media can build your diary when done the right way and so in this episode, you'll hear about what therapists commonly think and do when posting, understand why it doesn't work and discover what to do instead that does. This approach doesn't require ick, pitching, link sharing or cold DMing strangers, in fact, it does the opposite; it's a way to attract the right people to your practice without doing things you don't feel comfortable about. I hope you like it and find it useful. How to get clients from social media for my private practice? Post less often and swap the time you're spending posting for interacting with others online Why doesn't posting on social media work for therapists? Facebook has an average view time of 1.7 seconds for posts on business pages and Instagram has an average view time of .7 seconds for a therapists static post. Basically, your posts rarely get seen. That's why swapping posting or doing less of it and instead focussing on interaction with your ideal client is more effective How long does it take to get clients by posting on social media? In our industry, the answer is in how long does it take people to feel like they KNOW you, that they RESONATE with you and that they can TRUST you? If you interact with people online in a way that allows them to feel like they're get a sense of who you are, that they align with you and that you know what you're doing, it'll take a lot less than if you continue to post random things. Some people get results faster than others. It takes time to trust someone enough to feel like you can open up and share intimate details about your mental health. Why isn't posting on social media working for me? If you're interacting with people on social media as opposed to putting up posts about vague, general or even random things that don't appeal to your ideal clients, if you're not interacting with them and getting to know them and them you, you've got a problem. Also, you don't know that it's NOT working for you. There's a good chance you're focussing on the wrong metric. If you're assuming that posts equal bookings and you're not seeing bookings, that's your mistake right there. What's probably happening if you're using social media the right way, is that your ideal clients HAVE found you, they are watching you and listening, they are reading your posts and they are developing trust. It takes time. How long would it take you to feel like you could trust someone enough to open up to and be vulnerable with about your mental health? An absence of a booking, or a follow or thumb or heart or comment does NOT mean it's not working. Keep going.

Discover three things every private practice needing more inquiries or bookings can do to give their business a visibility boost. Learn why some of the things you've been trying to do to attract clients haven't been working (hint: they're likely outdated) and what to actually focus on and why. Remember, results with organic (unpaid) marketing take 90 days in business so manage your expectations so take the pressure off yourself to keep tweaking and changing things because every time you do, you reset the 90 days and this is likely why it feels like it's taking you so much longer than everyone else to get clients. Track your data - you have a Google

Analytics dashboard - use it. And, know that your website is one of the most important assets for your business BUT you also need to be generating leads aka driving traffic to it. In my experience as a private practice business coach for women counsellors, psychologists and social workers, one of the things they often don't realise is that a website is passive and that they are required to also be engaging in active marketing regularly. As usual, I hope this episode is super helpful. If you're ready for business coaching, you are most welcome to look at Practice Momentum™ and submit an application. If you'd like me to audit your website and give you personalised recommendations on how to increase visibility, click here.

Shownotes to follow. If you need anything, head over to brooklynstorme.com