45% of therapy clients drop out before their treatment plan is complete.
We analysed client retention patterns across Australian psychology practices. The finding is consistent: clients disengage before reaching therapeutic outcomes, and almost none receive structured follow-up. Here's the opportunity.
Routiq — Australian Psychology Report 2026Psychology is Australia's largest mental health profession and one of the most funded.
Mental health treatment is designed to be ongoing.
Client behaviour says otherwise.
CBT typically requires 10–20 sessions. EMDR requires 6–12. Schema therapy runs even longer. These are evidence-based treatment durations — and the vast majority of clients disengage well before reaching them.
PMC, WebPT, SPRY PTClient attrition is the single biggest drag on practice revenue.
Most practices invest heavily in acquiring new clients while existing clients silently disengage — taking their therapeutic progress and future sessions with them.
A consistent pattern across every psychology practice we analyse.
Different sizes. Different modalities. Different locations. The same retention gap shows up every time.
What follows is representative of what we typically see in psychology practice databases.
In a typical psychology practice database, nearly two-thirds of all clients have not been seen in the past 90 days. Many haven't returned in years — despite having incomplete treatment plans.
Typical client recency distribution
Most psychology practices have no automated system for sending sensitive, clinically-appropriate reengagement messages to lapsed clients at scale.
The clients are reachable. The clinical need is there. The system isn't.
Four reengagement segments hiding in every psychology database.
What reengagement looks like for a typical psychology practice.
Based on a practice with 1,500 clients, ~65% lapsed beyond 90 days, at standard Australian psychology session rates.
| Segment | Estimated Pool | Reengagement Rate | Recovered | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treatment Plan Dropouts | ~340 | 8% | 27 | $42,930 |
| Maintenance / Check-in | ~146 | 10% | 15 | $14,310 |
| Initial Contact Only | ~195 | 5% | 10 | $31,800 |
| No-Show Recovery | ~78 | 20% | 16 | $5,088 |
| Total — First Pass | 68 | $94,128 |
These numbers aren't optimistic. They're conservative.
“Isn't reengagement in psychology… different?”
It is. That's exactly why generic recall messages don't work. Clinically-sensitive, behaviourally-informed outreach does.
Behavioral science applied to client retention.
Routiq's messaging engine is built on behavioral science frameworks from 20 seminal works in psychology and economics — calibrated specifically for the sensitivity required in mental health outreach.
Commitment & Consistency + Fresh Start Effect
Tone is warm and non-judgmental — critical in mental health outreach. The message validates the gap rather than guilting the client, affirms their existing progress, and puts them firmly in control of next steps.
Social proof (many of our clients), shrink the change (30-minute session, not a full commitment), autonomy framing (no obligation), pratfall effect (zero guilt for no-shows), and planning prompts (specific options, not open-ended). Every message is designed to feel like a gentle invitation, never a demand.
The 3-touch clinically-sensitive sequence.
Every campaign follows the same evidence-based structure. Three messages. Three psychological mechanisms. Clinically sensitive throughout.
Validation + Endowment
“We understand life gets busy. The progress you made in your sessions is still yours. Whenever you're ready, we're here to help you continue.”
Fresh Start Effect
“A new week can be a good time to pick things back up. Dr Chen has availability on Thursday — would you like us to hold a spot for you?”
Social Proof (gentle)
“Many of our clients find that checking in after a break helps them maintain the progress they've made. No pressure — just letting you know we're here.”
Clinically sensitive throughout. Every touchpoint prioritises warmth, autonomy, and zero guilt.
Three layers no one else has.
Routiq doesn't just know a client is “lapsed.” It knows they completed session 4 of a 10-session CBT plan, their presenting concern is anxiety, and their psychologist is Dr Chen. Treatment-plan-aware reengagement at scale.
82 principles from 20 seminal works — with sensitivity calibration for mental health contexts. Every message is warm, non-judgmental, and designed to feel like a gentle invitation rather than a clinical recall. Psychology-specific engagement protocols.
Daily monitoring against each client's treatment plan and session schedule. Messages sent from your own practice number at the right moment. Replies handled instantly with AI-powered clinical context. Works nights, weekends, holidays.
Where Routiq sits.
| Capability | Front Desk / PMS | Practice Software | Routiq |
|---|---|---|---|
| Treatment plan tracking | Manual chart review | Stores data, doesn't act on it | Yes — plan-aware |
| Same-day follow-up | If receptionist remembers | No | Automated, instant |
| Clinically-sensitive messaging | Depends on individual | Generic templates | Sensitivity-calibrated |
| Behavioral science | No | No | 82 principles, systematic |
| White-label sending | Practice number | Third-party number | Your practice number |
| AI reply handling | During office hours | No | Instant, 24/7 |
| Predictive disengagement flagging | No | No | Yes — before they lapse |
Your practice software holds the data. Routiq turns that data into recovered clients.
Reengagement isn't a campaign. It's a system that compounds.
10 clients per month at a blended $636/client (2 sessions average). Each reactivated client often continues beyond their initial return.
By month 6: 60 reactivated clients generating $38,160+ cumulative revenue — and many of those clients continue with their treatment plans beyond the initial return session.
What this means for your practice.
The pattern is universal. The opportunity scales with your database size.
| Your Database Size | Conservative Recovery | Moderate Recovery |
|---|---|---|
| 500 clients | $15,438 | $30,875 |
| 1,000 clients | $30,875 | $61,750 |
| 1,500 clients | $46,313 | $92,625 |
| 2,000 clients | $61,750 | $123,500 |
| 5,000 clients | $154,375 | $308,750 |
Based on $950 per recovered client (blended across segments). Conservative assumes lower reengagement rates. Excludes ongoing session revenue from clients who continue treatment.
Without Routiq
No follow-up after treatment plan dropoff
Revenue dependent on new client acquisition
No visibility into incomplete treatment plans
Generic recall messages that feel clinical
Therapeutic progress left unrealised
With Routiq
Warm, non-judgmental outreach at the right moment
Revenue from clients you've already built trust with
Automated behavioral campaigns for every segment
Sensitivity-calibrated messaging for mental health
Fraction of the cost, measurable ROI
You already did the hard part — creating a safe space, earning their trust, helping them start to heal.
Those clients didn't leave because therapy wasn't working. They left because life got in the way and nobody followed up.
Their mental health hasn't stopped needing support. They just need the right nudge — delivered with the right sensitivity.
How many clients are you losing to silence?
routiq.
Clinical Intelligence Meets Behavioral Science
routiq.ai
AHPRA & Psychology Board of Australia
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)
Medicare Benefits Schedule Data
Services Australia
Department of Health and Aged Care
Bain & Company / Harvard Business Review
WebPT / SPRY PT
Dialog Health
PMC Systematic Reviews
Etactics
Practice analysis data from Routiq platform analysis. All data anonymised and presented as industry patterns. February 2026.