Online booking can save a psychotherapy practice a great deal of email and telephone coordination. To make day-to-day work genuinely easier, however, it needs clear boundaries. Not every prospective or existing patient should be able to see or book every free hour. Initial consultations, follow-up appointments and internal time serve different purposes. Cancellation, rescheduling and payment rules may also vary between appointment types.
A well-designed booking system reflects those differences. It shows only the times the practice has chosen to release and gives patients access only to the actions intended for them. Booking becomes simpler without exposing the practice’s full schedule or forcing the practice to organise its work around a rigid booking tool.
Why unrestricted online booking does not suit every psychotherapy practice
A completely open booking page may appear straightforward. In day-to-day practice, however, a free hour is not automatically a publicly bookable appointment. It may be reserved for ongoing patients, clinical notes, supervision, a break or another task that cannot simply be moved.
Without clear distinctions, a prospective patient may accidentally choose a follow-up appointment. Existing patients may take times intended for initial consultations. In-person, video and telephone appointments are not always interchangeable either. Different appointment types may also require different lengths, fees or deadlines for changes.
Online booking therefore needs to do more than display free times. It should reflect the practice’s administrative framework clearly: which appointment is intended for whom, where it is shown, and how late it can be cancelled or rescheduled.
1. Separate initial consultations from follow-up appointments
Begin with a small number of appointment types that patients can distinguish easily. An initial consultation often serves a different purpose from a session within ongoing therapy. The intended patient group, duration, format, fee and rules for changes may therefore differ.
Separate in-person, video and telephone appointments only where the distinction matters to the booking decision. A privately paid appointment that requires online payment should be labelled clearly. Time that can be booked only by the practice should remain a separate internal appointment type.
For a small practice, three appointment types may be enough to begin with:
- Initial consultation for new patients
- Follow-up appointment for patients already in therapy
- Internal appointment, bookable only by the practice
Further variations are useful only when they genuinely differ in audience, duration, format, fee or rules. In Theravo, each appointment type can be assigned to new patients, existing patients, both groups, or manual booking by the practice only.
2. Release only the times that should genuinely be bookable
Working hours, internal availability and publicly bookable time are not the same. A therapist may work from Monday to Thursday while offering only two initial consultations each week. There is no need to publish every otherwise free hour.
In this example, the practice releases exactly two times for initial consultations. The rest of the schedule remains protected for ongoing therapy, clinical notes, supervision, breaks and internal planning. Patients see only the times that are genuinely intended for online booking.
Theravo displays only appointment times that have been explicitly released. Some available times can remain hidden, public booking can be switched off temporarily, and holiday periods can be blocked. Where needed, the practice can also set daily booking limits for selected patient groups.
3. Set appropriate rules for each appointment type
Before publishing an appointment type, review the complete process from the patient’s point of view. The following questions provide a useful check:
- Who may book this appointment?
- Is it public, available only in the patient portal, or internal?
- Does it take place in person, by video or by telephone?
- How long does it last?
- Is a break or buffer needed afterwards?
- Is a fee displayed?
- Is payment through Stripe required before confirmation?
- How late may the appointment be cancelled?
- How late may it be rescheduled?
- Is a short administrative question needed?
In Theravo, these settings belong to the individual appointment type. A 20-minute introductory call can therefore follow different rules from a 50-minute session. Fees and payment requirements apply only to the appointment types for which the practice has enabled them.
An administrative question is not a clinical intake assessment. The booking flow should not ask for diagnoses, detailed treatment histories, crisis information or other health data that are not needed to arrange the appointment. Collect only information that is directly relevant to administration. Theravo is designed with GDPR requirements and data minimisation in mind. The practice remains responsible for deciding which information it collects in each situation.
4. Provide different routes for new and existing patients
People approaching a practice for the first time usually need a different booking route from patients who are already in therapy. A clearly described initial consultation with selected availability may be appropriate for new patients. Ongoing patients may need access only to the follow-up appointments intended for them.
Possible route for new patients
- Choose an appropriate initial consultation.
- Select an explicitly released time.
- Provide only the administrative details that are needed.
- Complete payment when the appointment is clearly marked as privately paid and payment is required.
- Receive confirmation and a calendar invitation.
Possible route for patients already in therapy
- Open the patient portal.
- View the released follow-up appointments.
- Book a suitable time.
- Cancel or reschedule within the practice’s deadlines.
- Where applicable, use existing funds retained for a later appointment or a session package.
Not every patient needs the same booking access. In Theravo, online booking can be disabled for an individual patient without deleting their profile or appointment history. The practice can continue to add appointments for that patient manually.
5. Let patients make routine changes themselves, within clear boundaries
Allowing patients to manage appointments does not mean opening the whole schedule. A useful arrangement is deliberately limited: patients can see their upcoming appointments, book only the follow-up appointments released for them, and make changes only within the stated deadlines.
In the Theravo patient portal, eligible patients can also see payment status, retry an incomplete payment and use an appointment credit or session package where available. An appointment credit means previously paid funds that may remain available for a later booking after an eligible cancellation. The practice still decides which appointment types are visible and bookable.
A patient in ongoing therapy may book a released follow-up appointment and reschedule it up to 48 hours beforehand. Initial consultations, internal appointments and unpublished availability remain hidden from that patient.
The important point is that these options remain transparent and limited. The practice defines the administrative framework. Within it, patients can resolve straightforward appointment matters without another email exchange or telephone call.
6. Add booking to the existing practice website
There are several ways to add booking to a practice website. A direct Theravo booking link can be used in the navigation, in an email or on a professional profile. A QR code can be added to printed practice information. With the booking widget patients can begin choosing an appointment directly on the existing website.
A shortcode is available for WordPress. Other websites can use the JavaScript widget. The existing practice website does not need to be replaced. Public booking can be offered in German, English and Polish. The right approach depends on the website, who maintains it, and how the practice would like patients to enter the booking process.
7. Keep administrative appointment communication separate from private accounts
Administrative appointment messages can use a dedicated practice address provided through Theravo’s email infrastructure. The therapist does not need to connect a private Gmail or Outlook mailbox, and no access to another private email account is required.
A private Google or Outlook calendar does not need to be connected either. Theravo uses its own internal appointment schedule and can provide .ics calendar invitations for confirmed appointments. Confirmed appointments can also receive an automated reminder when fewer than 24 hours remain. This is not synchronisation with a private calendar.
A clear professional boundary remains important. Confirmations, access links, cancellations and rescheduling messages belong in appointment communication. Diagnoses, treatment decisions, crisis communication and clinical advice do not. Theravo supports appointment administration; it is not a clinical communication or documentation system. Further information is available on the Theravo security page and in the privacy policy.
Example: controlled online booking for a solo practice
The following configuration is one possible starting point, not a general recommendation. Each practice should adapt its appointment types and rules to its way of working, therapeutic approach and administrative requirements.
Scroll sideways to read all columns.
| Appointment type | Visibility | Bookable by | Payment | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20-minute introductory call | Public | New patients | No online payment | Cancellation up to 24 hours beforehand |
| 50-minute privately paid initial consultation | Public, selected times only | New patients | Payment before confirmation | Rescheduling up to 48 hours beforehand |
| 50-minute follow-up appointment | Patient portal | Patients already in therapy | According to practice rules, credit or package | Cancellation or rescheduling up to 48 hours beforehand |
| Internal appointment | Not public | Practice only | No online payment | Managed manually |
Set-up in eight steps
- Create the appointment types the practice needs.
- Set the intended patient group and visibility.
- Define duration, format, fee, and cancellation and rescheduling deadlines.
- Prepare available times.
- Publish only the times that should be bookable.
- Add the booking link or widget to the practice website.
- Invite ongoing patients to the patient portal where appropriate.
- Complete the whole process yourself using a test-patient account.
Checklist before publishing
Do not check only the settings. Complete the whole process once from the patient’s point of view:
- Initial consultations and follow-up appointments are clearly separated.
- Only deliberately released times are visible.
- Duration, location or session format, and fee are clear.
- Any required payment is visible before confirmation.
- Cancellation and rescheduling deadlines are communicated clearly.
- Only necessary administrative information is collected.
- Booking works on a small screen.
- Confirmation, reminder and change emails have been tested.
- Patients already in therapy see only the appointment types intended for them.
- Internal time remains internal.
Frequently asked questions about online booking
Do I have to publish my entire calendar for online booking?
No. Theravo displays only the times that you explicitly release for a suitable appointment type. Other free or internally planned time remains hidden.
Can I offer online booking only to existing patients?
Yes. An appointment type can be available exclusively in the patient portal for eligible existing patients. Public booking for new patients can be disabled independently.
Can new and existing patients see different appointments?
Yes. Appointment types can be assigned to new patients, existing patients, both groups, or manual booking by the practice only.
Can I decide how late an appointment may be cancelled or rescheduled?
Yes. Each appointment type can have its own cancellation and rescheduling deadlines. Patients can make changes in the patient portal only within those rules.
Does Theravo need access to my private email account?
No. Administrative appointment emails are sent through infrastructure managed by Theravo. You do not need to connect a private Gmail, Outlook or other mailbox.
Does Theravo synchronise with my private Google or Outlook calendar?
No. Theravo uses its own internal appointment schedule. Confirmed appointments can include .ics calendar invitations that patients and therapists may add to their personal calendars.
Is Theravo an electronic health record?
No. Theravo manages appointments and the administrative patient information required for them. It is not a clinical patient record or a system for clinical notes, diagnoses or treatment decisions.