Background

Heart & Soul Recovery is the practice of therapist Eric Belsterling. Possessing numerous licenses and certifications with a focus on addiction and in particular sex addiction, Eric’s former website read as though it was speaking to other therapists. Its language was authoritative and academic. His headshot featured him in a tie facing straight into the camera, which conveyed a stiff feeling.

As we got to know Eric we came to the awareness that the personality and tone of his website did not represent him, and more importantly his website didn’t speak to his audience, which are people (mostly men) seeking help with addiction disorders.

Given that addiction disorders tend to engender feelings of deep shame and guilt we recrafted his brand personality to reflect the authentic Eric, which is warm, contemplative, and deeply passionate about helping people heal and grow.

We redesigned his website to feel welcoming and accessible, to put people at ease with the knowing that Eric is a real person, not just a guy with a lot of letters after his name who will tell them what to do, or worse, to put a label on them.

Vision Statement

We believe that all people are capable of healing and transformation, and co-creating healthy, thriving lives.

Eric Belsterling is a sex positive therapist who practices trauma integrated care by utilizing Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP), EMDR, Internal Family Systems (IFS), and Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF/CBT). He’s a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist, Certified Sex Addiction Therapist, Certified Multiple Addiction Therapist,and a Certified Clinical Supervisor (CCS).

Believing in the inextricable link between physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being, Eric strives to embody these

The Strategy

The strategy process involved deep conversations about his audience — who are they, what do they feel, what are their fears, how will they find him, and what are their beliefs regarding addiction and healing. We were able to show Eric over time the importance of letting go of the need to come across authoritative, at least when speaking to those seeking therapy. And instead to tell the story of his own journey in recovery, which is inspiring.

Eric walks the talk of recovery every day of his life, and thus we co-crafted a mission statement that speaks to his unique nature and ability to help people as a therapist, as someone who has been where they are.

“Healing begins with us — the more we do our own healing, the more powerful a conduit we become for others to heal themselves.”

The Steps

We encouraged Eric to retake his headshot, and in particular to capture photos of him in nature, as hiking in the mountains is core to his personality. One of the shots we feature on his website is of Eric overlooking a vista on the top of a mountain, wearing a hat and backpack. Nature is like church to Eric, so what better environment to photograph him as his true and authentic self.

We designed a new logo and established a color scheme that reflects his personality and co-crafted the language that speaks to his audience in a way that is welcoming and accessible.

In a short time following the launch of his new website his practice filled up and he was turning people away. Over time he raised his prices, stopped taking insurance, and continues to refer people to other therapists.

Testimonial

Long Term Strategy

Six years following our initial work with Eric, he returned to us with the goal of developing his brand further. In the interim he garnered more certifications, became a Certified Clinical Supervisor to other therapists, and entered a PhD program for Clinical Sexology. He is now seeking to position himself as an authority in the field, to speak at conferences and become known as a Clinical Supervisor.

We went back through his brand strategy in detail, refined it, and expanded the vision reflected in his brand story. Without changing the personality and tone of his website as it speaks to his audience of potential clients, we added content that speaks to other therapists seeking supervision. An example of a subtle and yet important change that honed the tone of his website further was to change the use of the word “patients” to “clients” throughout his website. We also coached Eric on the shooting and editing of videos geared to both clients and other therapists to further develop his brand story.

One of Eric’s strategies is to develop more therapeutic men’s groups focusing on “Problematic Sexual Behaviors” and learning the difference between sex and intimacy. We produced landing pages (here and here) for these groups with the singular call-to-action of driving registrations and filling the groups to capacity. Participation in the groups can sometimes serve as a feeder to his therapy practice, but more importantly extends his reach to more men in need of his unique kind of approach.

We’ve encouraged Eric to write blogs and shoot more videos. Blogging and vlogging does not necessarily come naturally to everyone, even though they may have great content to share. Eric has 25 years of experience in the field, in addition to his own journey in recovery to share, and is in the beginning stages of blogging and vlogging.