What we will not claim
No client stories, no stars, no awards. This practice is invented, and has had no clients.
AI-generated illustration. Not a real office.
New York lets a licensed professional publish a testimonial only with the client's written permission, and bans fictional ones outright. This practice has had no clients to ask, so there is no review, no rating, no award and no count of clients anywhere on this site.
What you will see advertised
“Read what our clients say — five stars from hundreds of happy clients. Voted the best therapists in Queens.”
Quoted in order to be refused: this practice never says it, and the rest of this page says why.
Why a practice says it, and why it misleads
People choose almost everything else by what others say about it, so a wall of praise, a score and a line about being the local favorite feel like the natural thing for any business to show.
Therapy is different in ways that matter. It is private, so a client who writes about it in public gives up some of that privacy, and the clinician cannot answer without confirming that the person was a client. A score measures how somebody felt on the day, not whether the work suited them, and a headcount of happy people says nothing about whether it would suit you. A ranking of local practices is a ranking of nothing a reader can check.
A practice with real clients still has to ask them carefully. This one is invented, so anything shown here would have to be made up, which is the one kind of endorsement that is plainly out.
What the law says
As it read in October 2026.
A testimonial needs the client's express written authorization, and fictional client testimonials are not permitted (8 NYCRR § 29.1(b)(12)(iv)).
A business may not write or buy a review or testimonial that misrepresents that the reviewer exists or had the experience (16 CFR 465.2).
A licensed professional may not claim professional superiority it cannot substantiate (8 NYCRR § 29.1(b)(12)).
- 8 NYCRR § 29.1(b)(12)(iv) (opens the source in a new tab) A testimonial needs the client's express written authorization, and fictional client testimonials are not permitted.
- 16 CFR 465.2 (opens the source in a new tab) A business may not write or buy a review or testimonial that misrepresents that the reviewer exists or had the experience.
- 8 NYCRR § 29.1(b)(12) (opens the source in a new tab) A licensed professional may not advertise in a way that is false or misleading, guarantees a service, makes a claim it cannot substantiate, claims superiority, or offers a bonus or inducement other than a reduced fee.
What this practice does
The social work profession's own ethics code tells its members not to ask current clients for endorsements at all, because a client may find it hard to say no.
Keep reading
The other things this site will not claim
Book a free call
Book a free fifteen-minute call, or go straight to a first session if you know what you want. Nothing is paid online, and nothing on the form asks why you're coming.