Counselling Website Design - Photographs and Images
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This is the Griffen Mill Design Guide to designing websites for counsellors. This section focusses on the use of photographs as well as images such as diagrams or illustrations. Other parts of the guide focus on colour, shape and aesthetic designs and making appropriate content and copywriting decisions. Click to return to the main guide.
Images and Photographs for Counsellors
In most cases, a counsellor will wish to convey a professional and inviting impression with their website. They will also be looking to emphasise a safe and trustworthy environment and give a reassurance that they can bring the client a sense of well being. Depending on the client, some counsellors will wish to convey a more therapeutic image, using photographs of clean and professional looking treatment rooms with comfy chairs and an inviting environment for where their work takes place. Others will take a softer approach, using images of natural landscapes and vistas that will help to create a calm and relaxed impression to their visitors.
Sourcing Images for a Counselling Website
You can take them yourself, but these days online image libraries are a fantastic resource of high quality, low cost and immense choice. In fact there are so many images online, that it is useful to experiment with keywords to find just what you are looking for.
The obvious starting point for an image for a counsellors website is to search for counsellor or counselling. However depending on how the photographer has tagged their image, it won't find everything that you may be looking for. Try searching for dialogue or talking perhaps. The other approach you can take is to type in mood keywords such as relax, as the emotional content of the website is all important.
A short list of words you might try for a counsellor may include: support, treatment, dialogue, speaking, health, group, healing, calm, conversation, balance, well-being, psychologist, advice and listening.
We often use Shutterstock for images for counselling websites, as we find they have a good range of high quality photographs.
Example Images for Counselling
Finally, we have included below a number of typical images we might use with a counselling website. These images are not intended for you to copy and reuse, in fact there are likely to be copyright problems with you doing that. However we have included commentary on how we feel these images suit a counselling website, so that you can take inspiration from them and find your own individual images.
A Counselling Session
A typical image for counsellors may be that of a counselling session in progress. The image will convey a comfortable environment and welcoming counsellor. It is important to remember when choosing images for the content of a counselling website, that the colours within the image should complement the palette used for the whole site. This ensures that images used do not clash against the overall design, but illustrate and inform effectively.
Depressed Man
Some, but not all counsellors decide to use an image such as this of a depressed man. The image is useful to bring a human element to the website, and can illustrate thoughts and feelings which may connect with a client. By use in conjunction with positive images and words, a very powerful message can be displayed. Again, it is important to think about the overall colour palette when choosing these images.
Open Door
Not all images used within counselling websites have to be of people. In fact many counsellors wish to avoid these types of images, so as not to convey the wrong emotion or feeling toward a client. An image such as this, of a door opening into a blue sky, provides a positive message, in tune with a feeling of hope and wellbeing.
Chris Walsh's couples and marriage counselling website incorporates classic counselling colours of blues and greens. Blue to convey integrity and green to provide a sense of calm and space. The feature image of a tree standing isolated in a field is also a metaphor which will strike a chord with many of his readers. The stark simplicity of this image is also echoed on his pages, where Chris has used white space around his text to give a clean, uncluttered look which is both calming and effective at drawing the eye into the page. These observations were made on December 10th, 2015 – the website may have been updated since then. www.chriswalshcounselling.co.uk
Julia Johnson’s counselling website is a lovely tranquil site. The soft pastel colours that have been picked up from the feature image convey a sense of calm while the gentle curves both in the design and the image, help to emphasise the general serenity of the site. The natural theme of the feature image has then been extended through out the rest of the site with the images that Julia has chosen. This theme helps to encourage a sense of discovery and optimism which is ideal for a counselling site. It is a good idea to maintain a consistent visual language with the images and colours on your website and the back ground of Julia’s portrait image incorporates a different brighter colour. With care this can be used as an accent colour to give emphasis to important areas. These observations and comments were made on December 15th 2015 and the website may have been updated since then. www.counsellingpsychotherapyplymouth.com
When you look at the website for counsellor Ellen Sharrocks you are instantly struck by the fresh and cheery feature image of a daisy. Flowers instil a sense of calm and new beginnings and are a great addition to a counselling website. She has married this with a strong blue colour scheme which gives off a trusting and peaceful energy and is also said to convey integrity and loyalty which are both very important in her line of work. She has used the same image on her pages, along with some other natural images which adds a consistency to the natural theme she has chosen. These observations and comments were made on December 8th, 2015 - the website may have been updated since then. www.ellensharrockscounselling.co.uk
The website of Insight Counselling is a mobile friendly design with a relaxed and natural feel. The photo of Lorraine, goes well with the rest of the site and she has done well to avoid any shadow behind her due to flash from the camera. She is dressed smartly, but in a relaxed, friendly and approachable manner making her come across as very approachable. Sometimes clients put a photo onto their website quickly and then take a more professional one at a later stage. This is a good idea as professionals can handle things like removing reflection on glasses. These observations and comments were made on December 3rd, 2015 - the website may have been updated since then. www.insight-counselling.org.uk
Jenny Poirier's counselling website is based on one of WebHealer's standard mobile-friendly designs that has been self-customised to use Jenny's own feature image. This bluebell wood image harmonises with the soft greens of her colour scheme whilst also providing a sense of peace and tranquility that is very appropriate for her work as a cancer counsellor. Spring, with its connections with hope, renewal and rebirth is also a very apposite theme for a counsellor to use. The same calming shades of blues and greens are later picked up on Jenny's 'Contact' page in a photograph of herself in a blue top against a leafy green background. These notes are based on observations of Jenny's website on December 8th, 2015 – the website may have been updated since then www.jennypoiriercounselling.co.uk
Judy Field's counselling practice is in Harrogate, a famous and attractive town in North Yorkshire. Green countryside is right on the doorstep and never more than a few minute's drive away which will have influenced Judy's choice of bucolic imagery. It is based around nature and countryside. www.judyfieldcounselling.com
Miranda Andrea is a counsellor based in Bounds Green, North London. She's chosen one of our established and popular standard designs, Chequers ColourMAX, for her website, and added a nice welcoming photo of her counselling room to her home page. Her photo reflects the reds and greens of the design and of the tulip image very harmoniously, making for a calming impression on viewing her website. Observations and comments were made on April 29th, 2016 - the website may have been updated since then. www.mirandaandreacounselling.co.uk
The design for Joy Archer’s counselling website is a mobile optimised design with a natural theme. The earthy brown tones have been picked up from the feature image of a winding stone path and this colour scheme helps to convey a sense of down to earth comfort, which is very apt for a person centred counsellor. With images it is a good idea to maintain a common thread throughout the website if possible. Even though every image might not be of trees or flowers the object of the picture might be in a natural setting and Joy has achieved this. These observations and comments were made on December 10th, 2015 - the website may have been updated since then. www.personcentredcounsellingservices.com
Jennifer Rose has chosen a mobile responsive design for her counselling website and the feature image of a meandering stone path gives a natural and reassuring feel to the site. She has then thoughtfully chosen a series of images of roses in different colours but with a similar tone which match this colour scheme really well and reinforces the psychological effect of the down to earth and comforting mood across the site as a whole. Matching the colours in your feature image or the style of image to the visual language of the website is considered good and creates a sense of balance that is naturally pleasing to the eye of the viewer (or potential client). These observations and comments were made on December 9th, 2015 - the website may have been updated since then. www.rosetherapy.net
James Hawes of Synergy Counselling has opted to go for a Silver design for his website. The Silver designs are created by a junior designer from Griffen Mill, and they are all mobile responsive. James chose a lovely landscape image as the feature image for the design, and the designer has then set a colour scheme that complements the image. Images taken from nature are a popular choice for therapists and soft white clouds such as in James’ image are said to signify peace and harmony. Blue is also a perfect choice as a basis for the colour scheme as this conveys a sense of trust and integrity which are all important qualities in a counsellor. James has then added further image to his site to break up the text and to help enhance and illustrate the message of a particular paragraph of text. These observations and comments were made on April 13th 2016 – the website may have been updated since then. www.Synergycounselling.com
Tracy Pinder has chosen a standard WebHealer design for her Counselling website but she has added a bright and cheerful feature image showing the sun shining through fluffy white clouds against a summer sky. This summery blue is then picked up and used in Tracy's headings and feature boxes. This choice of colour is unusual but very effective – many counselling websites use pale blues because these are calming to the eye. Tracy's bold blue scheme however is both peaceful and uplifting – and helps to reinforce her message that she wants her counselling clients to improve their lives and move forward. These notes are based on observations of Tracy's website on December 8th, 2015 – the website may have been updated since then. www.tracypindercounselling.co.uk
Jason Oddi has chosen Social ColourMAX as the design for his Counselling and Therapy website. He uses strong images to convey a welcoming feel to his website, including some friendly portrait images which are always valuable in establishing a connection with a website visitor. The feature "welcome mat" image in particular should put website visitors at ease, and he has also created a colour scheme that harmonises well with these images, and also allows important quotes to stand out well. These observations and comments were made on May 18th, 2016 - the website may have been updated since then. www.tri-therapy.com
On 18 September 2012 West Street Counselling relaunched their website www.weststreetcounselling.co.uk after an A La Carte redesign by our designer Megan. The client was looking for a professional design, slightly understated and was prepared to let our designer suggest options. See full press release
On 9 February 2012 Justin Smith relaunched their website www.witneytherapycentre.com after an A La Carte redesign by our designer Megan. The client was looking for a professional design, slightly understated, but with a preference for curves and organic flow. See full press release
On 28 October 2011 Chameleon Counselling and Coaching relaunched their website www.chameleoncounselling.co.uk after an A La Carte redesign by our designer Megan. The client preferred a look with individuality, but with a leaning to a structured, neatly sectioned design. See full press release
On 6 October 2011 Lorraine Quinn Counselling relaunched their website www.hertfordshirecounselling.co.uk after an A La Carte redesign by our designer Megan. The client was looking for a professional design, slightly understated and was prepared to let our designer suggest options. See full press release
On 22 September 2011 Kay Tromans relaunched their website www.londoncounsellor.co.uk after an A La Carte redesign by our designer Megan. The client was looking for a professional design, slightly understated, but with a leaning to a structured, neatly sectioned design. See full press release
On 10 August 2010 Rob Brown relaunched their website www.robbrowncounselling.co.uk after an A La Carte redesign by our designer Amanda. The client was looking for a professional design, slightly understated, but with a preference for curves and organic flow. See full press release
On 13 May 2010 Jo Atkins relaunched their website www.JoAtkinsCounselling.co.uk after an A La Carte redesign by our designer Amanda. The client preferred a look with individuality and was prepared to let our designer suggest options. See full press release