Please read this entire document to avoid having your posts rejected!
Posting to FreeTree takes MORE CONSCIOUS EFFORT FROM YOU.
Welcome to FreeTree – a fully‑moderated Google Group for licensed mental‑health clinicians, pre‑licensed professionals, and graduate students. These rules keep the listserv safe, efficient, and compliant with legal and ethical standards. By joining or posting, you agree to follow everything below.
The Mission of FreeTree is to provide a safe place for referrals, information, and resources specific to mental health professionals. It is also our aim to minimize the amount of emails coming through the site (since we have well over 1,700 members as of December 2025). Note that FreeTree posts take some time to be approved—take your pick of reasons: (a) There are over 1,700 members posting; (b) We’re only human; (c) We’re working therapists; (d) There’s no fee for posting or membership; and/or (e) All of the above. For these reasons, we urge you not to assume that time-sensitive items will be approved the same day—they may not be posted until after the referenced date, event, etc.
OUR VALUES
Respect every colleague in language and tone.
Protect client confidentiality at all times.
Share only information that benefits the professional mental‑health community.
Help moderators keep the list usable by following the posting rules.
Breaches of these guidelines may lead to a warning or removal from the group.
A Note on Harm, Language, and Referral Requests
FreeTree is a shared professional space. All posts are broadcast to the entire community, not only to those who choose to respond.
While clients may legitimately seek therapists whose values, beliefs, or worldviews feel aligned, FreeTree referral requests must be framed in ways that do not cause harm to other members of the list or pressure colleagues to publicly disclose political or ideological positions in order to participate.
In professional communities, when members say that particular language or framing is harmful or identity-invalidating, we do not require those members to justify, explain, or debate that harm in order for it to be taken seriously. We separate intent from impact and adjust norms to reduce harm going forward. FreeTree applies that same standard here.
For this reason:
Referral requests should describe the clinical work and population being served, and the therapist competencies or experience needed for that work, rather than requiring therapists to self-identify or declare specific political, national, or ideological positions.
Referral requests that function as list-wide ideological screening of colleagues may be rejected, even when the clinical intent is sound.
Questions about values, beliefs, or worldview alignment should not be used as broadcast screening criteria. Instead, therapists may indicate interest or availability based on the clinical work described, and any questions about values, beliefs, or worldview fit can then be explored privately and one-to-one between the referring therapist, client, and prospective therapist during follow-up or consultation.
These guidelines are about protecting the professional container and the sense of safety and belonging for all members—not about judging anyone’s politics, ethics, or clinical judgment.
WHO MAY JOIN
Pre‑licensed and licensed mental‑health professionals (those under the auspices of the BBS and/or BoP).
Colleagues outside the San Francisco Bay Area are welcome.
Invite interested colleagues to apply here: https://groups.google.com/d/forum/freetree/join
POSTING: THE 14‑POINT CHECKLIST — “Measure-Twice-Cut-Once” — Send your post to freetree@googlegroups.com. Proofread before you hit “send,” and be sure your email:
Is addressed only to freetree@googlegroups.com (no CC to other lists). [To email the moderators, send your email to freetreelistserv@gmail.com. Keep in mind—email correspondence goes to gmail, and posts to the list go to googlegroups.]
Is of specific, direct interest to mental health clinicians (not peripheral, not just “therapists would be interested in this as well…”). This also applies to “therapist-adjacent” posts (posting about your non-therapy services TO therapists).
Mentions no client information whatsoever (NO references to any specific person, whether you think it’s anonymized or not). NOTE: The words “client” and “for” are rejection flags which will cause your post to be delayed or rejected. Even if you say something as anonymous as “the client is in California,” your post will most likely be rejected. We screen far too many posts each day to read for context.
Is written by and for you, not on behalf of a third party.
Summarizes any specific request in your own words (no direct quotes from potential clients).
Includes the cost of any event, rental, or item that has a fee. Costs (or any other required details) listed on an attachment, by a link, or within an embedded (in-line) graphic are not sufficient.
Includes the pay range for employment opportunities (California's salary transparency law requires this).
Does not mention your regular therapy/session fee.
Has a clear subject line: [Type] – [City, State].
Uses normal formatting (limited colors, no emojis (📅👍🏻🕛📍✅), no ALL‑CAPS or extra large fonts).
Has been proof‑read for tone, typos, and professionalism—note that “oops I made a typo” or other correction posts are rejected.
Has not been posted in the last two months.
Does not include ethically or legally questionable content.
Does not require therapists to self-identify, endorse, or reject specific political, national, or ideological positions as a condition of responding to a referral request.
If you are unsure, email the moderators first.
WHAT YOU MAY POST
Referrals & resources. Referrals should specify the therapist’s clinical skills, experience, and scope of practice relevant to the work, rather than screening therapists based on political or ideological labels.
Events & trainings of specific interest to mental health practitioners (cost required)
Practice openings, closures, new specialties
Office / group space rentals (cost required)
Items for colleagues (Furniture, books, etc. — cost required)
Job/position postings (NOTE: California's salary transparency law requires that most job listings must include the pay range being offered.)
WHAT YOU MAY NOT POST
Any description or identifying detail of a client or their relatives.
Messages written for a client or other third party, including your associates, supervisors, or other colleagues.
Direct quotes from potential clients.
Your private‑practice session fee or sliding‑scale range.
Posts including unethical or illegal content
General‑interest news, politics, or content not specific to psychotherapy.
Cross‑posts sent to multiple groups in one email.
Repeat announcements more than every other month, or every three months for in-group marketing (see “Frequency and Timing” below). NOTE: This also includes “oops I made a typo” correction posts. Proof your post before sending it.
Posts that are solely a critique of or response to another member.
Posts advertising your services TO therapists, rather than requests for services.
REPLYING ETIQUETTE
Reply‑All only when your answer benefits most members. Begin with a line explaining why the whole list should see it. Note that “sending this to all because I think it’s a good resource” is NOT sufficient. We have over 1,500 members—none of us wants THAT much email! Also: Please check your email settings (particularly on your phone) to make sure that “Reply-All” is not your default.
If you read FreeTree in “Digest” or “Abridged” mode, the default reply goes to everyone—copy the sender’s address instead.
Members seeking ongoing dialogues should move the conversations off‑list.
FREQUENCY & TIMING
Re‑post the same event or announcement no more than once every two months.
If you want people to remember your specialty, create a fresh “about me” post twice a year.
Posts that are strictly for advertising your services TO other therapists will be limited to no more frequently than once per quarter (once every three months).
TALKING ABOUT FEES – A NOTE ABOUT OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAW
Posting the price of a discrete product (workshop, office rental, group, etc.) is fine. Posting your hourly therapy fee, or the high/low end of a sliding scale, is not. Regulators may view that as price‑fixing. When in doubt, ask a moderator.
MODERATION & APPEALS
Every post is screened using a simple flow‑chart (see Appendix A). If your message is rejected, you will receive an automated notice. Forward the rejected post (not just an email from you) to the moderators if you need clarification. Abusive replies can lead to immediate removal.
CONTACTING THE MODERATORS
Email freetreelistserv@gmail.com with questions, suggestions, or concerns. Please include the full text of any rejected post for reference.
Appendices
Appendix A – Moderation Flow
Cross‑posted? → Reject
Reply‑All? → See 3 (if not skip to 4)
Does intro justify listwide reply? If no → Reject
Cost needed? If yes, is it listed? If no → Reject
Addresses event/program specific to MH clinicians → Reject
Session fee mentioned? → Reject
ALL‑CAPS / big fonts / symbols / emojis? → Reject
General‑interest news, or selling a non-therapy service? → Reject
Client described? → Reject
Posting for 3rd party? → Reject
Digest reply? → Reject
Critique of member only? → Reject
Duplicate < 2 months, or a “correcting my earlier post” message? → Reject
Requires therapist ideological or political self-identification? → Reject
Otherwise → Accept
Appendix B – Fee Examples
Allowed
“Sliding scale available.”
“4‑week workshop — $250.”
Not Allowed
“My session fee is $200.”
“Sliding scale $80–$150.”
Appendix C – FAQ
Why can’t referral requests screen for beliefs or ideology on the list?
FreeTree is a broadcast forum received by all members, not just those who choose to respond. When referral requests ask therapists to self-sort based on political or ideological positions, that screening request happens publicly and can cause harm to colleagues who experience the language as excluding or identity-invalidating.
This guideline does not mean beliefs don’t matter clinically. It means that belief or worldview alignment should be explored after a therapist has indicated interest or availability, in a private, one-to-one context where nuance, consent, and clinical relevance can be appropriately addressed.
Doesn’t this put burden or risk on clients to ask hard questions directly?
The intent is the opposite. Under this model, therapists first opt in based on the clinical work described. Alignment questions can then be explored privately with interested clinicians, rather than requiring clients to screen or educate every possible provider or exposing colleagues to list-wide ideological sorting.
Isn’t this inconsistent with affirming care (e.g., anti-racism, LGBTQ+ safety)?
No. Requests for therapists who are competent in providing affirming care to specific populations, or experienced with particular forms of trauma or systemic harm, are appropriate and encouraged. The boundary applies only to broadcast screening of therapists based on political or ideological labels, not to clinical competence or ethical scope of practice.
Is this about judging anyone’s politics or beliefs?
No. This is a moderation guideline about how referral requests are framed in a shared professional space. It is not a statement about which beliefs are acceptable, ethical, or correct.
[Revised January 9, 2026]