Therapy practices: scheduling several therapists and rooms

A shared practice of psychologists or therapists can take every appointment on one Book page. Give each therapist their own services, such as "First session with Elise" and "Session with Elise", open their slots in the hours and rooms they use, and let new clients choose the therapist whose approach suits them. Book ongoing clients into their weekly time ahead, keep descriptions and notes discreet, and decide together what happens when a therapist is away. The practice pays €5/month in total.

Book gives one booking page per business. Each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on the page, and each slot belongs to one service, sits within one day and has its own number of places. There's no staff field, so the therapist's name goes in the service name. Each description can say who the therapist works with and their approach, so a new client can choose before booking.

Lengths are examples: set your own, according to your practice and the rules that apply to you. Each service can show a price if you wish; leave it empty to hide it.

New clients book a first session online with the therapist they've chosen. If you continue together, agree a regular weekly time at the end of the session and book the following sessions yourself from the calendar, for several weeks at a time. First and last name are required, email and phone optional; with an email entered, the client gets a confirmation with a calendar file for each date. Say in the ongoing session description that it's for existing clients, and move anyone who books it by mistake into a first-session slot.

A therapist with no room for new clients simply stops opening first-session slots, and says in the description when they expect to take new clients again. Their ongoing sessions carry on as before. New clients still see the colleagues who have first sessions open, so the practice doesn't turn people away while one list is full.

A couple or family session is booked by one person, with one place, like any other session. Say in the description who should attend and that one booking covers everyone present.

Shared practices share rooms, and Book doesn't know which room is free: slots of different services can overlap, so it won't stop two therapists being booked into one room at 18:00. Agree a room timetable first, with each therapist's days and rooms, then open each therapist's slots only in their room hours. Leave ten minutes between sessions for notes and the next client's arrival.

Slots repeat each week on the weekdays you choose until an end date, so a therapist who is in on Monday and Wednesday evenings gets one series, and a colleague who works Tuesday mornings gets another. When someone's days change, delete the remaining slots of the old series and create a new one.

The booking form takes first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note. The note reaches the practice in the new booking email and also appears in the client's calendar file, which others may see on a shared phone or computer. Say in each description that the note is optional and that clients should not describe their situation there; that conversation belongs in the first session. Keep service names neutral, such as "Session with Elise", so a calendar entry reveals as little as possible.

If a therapist also works by video, give those sessions their own services so you know no room is needed. Book doesn't create video links, so the therapist sends the link by email before each session.

Clients can't move or cancel online; the practice or the therapist does it from the bookings list. In therapy, a client may not want to see a colleague, so for ongoing clients, move sessions to the therapist's return rather than to someone else unless the client asks. Rescheduling works across services if they do. Book doesn't email clients about changes, so tell each client yourself, then delete the absent therapist's free slots. Every booking syncs with the practice's Google, iPhone or Mac calendar. Book doesn't take payments; say how sessions are paid. Book costs €5/month for the practice, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.