Have you ever noticed that about four out of five medical/therapeutic websites write around the patient instead of to and for the patient?
Doing research for a client, I noticed a disturbing trend in which website copy is written in the third person, as if the doctor/therapist is talking to the family of the patient, or the insurance company of the patient — everybody but the patient him/herself. It’s as if the writer assumes patients are in a catatonic state and can’t be reached by Internet, so there’s no point in speaking to them.
But according to Google, about 4 million people per month search “mental health,” and they aren’t all relatives of the afflicted. Those people who are searching the web for treatment options for themselves, not to mention understanding and empathy, need to be spoken to directly. What they need is less alienation, not more.
Therapeutic websites need to reach out and connect with sufferers. They need to do it by speaking directly to them in the second person. In second person, you’re writing to the reader. For example, You’re hurting. You need tools to get well. We can help. Let’s try to stop isolating people who need help and include them in the conversation.
